• FALL 2016

The Business of Living the Life of Your Dreams

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” That’s the fridge door quote that sits on my Kenmore next to Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous suggestion, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

I find that these daily reminders to be brave are essential to staying buoyant and focused as an entrepreneur. After all, when dealing with the uncertainty of business, it’s not always easy to keep small-business dreams alive.

That’s why this month we are excited to feature entrepreneurs Chris Smith and Scott Doherty, the creators and producers of Rockin’ Road to Dublin. The hit Irish dance and rock show embarked on a 60-city tour on Sept. 22, which is taking them around the country.

In this issue of Be Inkandescent magazine, you’ll learn how they are making their dream of bringing the new generation of Irish dance to audiences nationwide. You’ll meet some of the 34 members of the cast and crew — including Broadway director Jeff Whiting and three-time world Irish dance champion Ashley Smith.

What’s it like to be in a bus traveling the country from show to show? You’ll get an inside glimpse thanks to Irish dancer and cast member Billy Kanaly. He is also a professional videographer, and on the tour he is creating a weekly webTV series that takes us behind the scenes. Click here to watch.

Are you living your dream? If not, take a tip from entertainer and entrepreneur extraordinaire Walt Disney, who said: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

Here’s to embracing your courage! — Hope Katz Gibbs, publisher, Be Inkandescent magazine • Inkandescent PR

Are You Ready to Take on the Rockin' Road to Dublin?

On Thursday, Sept. 22, the new generation of Irish rock and dance began when ROCKINROAD TO DUBLIN inaugurated its 60-city national tour with a performance at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in Henderson, NC. The entrepreneurs and co-creators who brought the show to life are Celtic rocker CHRIS SMITH and Irish Dance World Champion SCOTT DOHERTY.

“We bring a wee bit of Dublin with a rockin’ edge to the stage,” explains Smith, who has gathered an elite class of musicians to perform in the ROCKINROAD TO DUBLIN band:

  • JOHN BALDWIN (bass player, The American Rogues),
  • KEVEN EKNES (an award-winning guitarist from Norway),
  • MARITA MAY (classically trained on violin since age 5; Celtic Fyre),
  • KELLY MILLS (five-time winner of the Drum Corps and Percussion World Championships),
  • MIKE MOORE (Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion),
  • JOE SCHERMANN (“Guys and Dolls,” “White Christmas,” “Grease,” “Smokey Joe’s Café,” and “Shout”),
  • COREY WALDEN (The American Rogues, and founder of The Suzuki School of Milford).

“It’s truly the music that gets the audience on their feet,” insists Doherty (“Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance”), who has worked his own magic choreographing the critically acclaimed show. The 2009 Men’s World Champion of Irish Dance, Doherty made his professional debut in 2005 with the North American tour of Michael Flatley’s “Riverdance,” and also has toured the world with “Lord of the Dance.”

The show’s star power continues with ROCKINROAD TO DUBLIN’s two lead vocalistsMEGAN LYNN BROWNING (Harley Boone) and BRETT BENOWITZ (Born Blue).

“The lyrics of the songs tell a love story that weaves together the music and dance,” explains the show’s director, Broadway choreographer JEFF WHITING (“The Producers,” and “Bullets Over Broadway”). “Our goal is to have the audience walk away having had an experience that is entertaining, uplifting, and inspirational.”

Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations are by BRENT FREDERICK; original costume design is by SARAH COFFEY and ASHLEY WILSON; lighting is by CAROLYN WONG; scenic design is by BRIAN BARKER; and sound consultation is by TREY SMITH.

Of course, ROCKINROAD TO DUBLIN wouldn’t be the show it is without the Irish dancing. For the cast, choreographer Doherty chose three-time international Irish dance champion ASHLEY SMITH to be his lead female dancer. On stage since the age of 3, at 16, Smith (no relation to Chris) was crowned the World Irish Step Dancing Champion in Belfast in 2004 — making her the youngest American female ever to win the world title at that time. A top-30 female finalist on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” Smith was a featured dancer on the Oscar-nominated film “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Rounding out the cast are other well-known Irish dancers:

  • COLIN BARKELL has earned three regional titles, a fourth-place finish at the North American Championships, and an eighth-place finish at the World Championships. He has been the lead dancer in Rhythm of the Dance and Celtic Fyre and is also a member of the Hammerstep Dance Crew.
  • MARK CHICHESTER won the All England Tap Championship, All England National Championship, and was crowned UK’s Young Tap Dancer of the Year. He went on to join the cast of “Excalibur: The Celtic Rock Opera,” “Gaelforce Dance,” “Dance Masters,” “Celtic Dream,” and “Rhythm of the Dance,” as well as Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance.”
  • DECLAN CROWLEY is an eight-time Mid-Atlantic, two-time National, and All-Ireland champion. He also won the coveted Minor Belt National Championship in 2005, and has placed within the top three in the world times over. Crowley’s filmography credits include “Feet of Flames RAW” (2010), “Irish Celtic Generations — Live in Paris” (2016), and “West Side Story: Mashup” (HBO, 2012).
  • BERNADETTE DEVEREAUX has won multiple titles during her competitive career, including winning first place at her Regional Championships five times, placing in the top five at the National Championships, and placing at the World Championships. She toured with Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” and achieved her dream of dancing the lead, performing alongside Flatley.
  • MEGAN KIRK DRAKE first began touring with Celtic Legends and has since performed with Atlantic Steps, A Gaelic Gathering, Raglan Road at Disney World, and in “Rhythm of the Dance,” where she performed as principal female dancer. She has competed at the World Championship level and placed in the top five in the Western US Region multiple times.
  • PATRICK HOLLAND, a two-time Mid-American champion, has placed as high as fourth in the North American Championships, and 10th in the World Championships. Holland has performed with various productions, including Cherish the Ladies, Michael Londra’s Celtic Fire, and The Chieftains.
  • BILLY KANALY has been a professional Irish dancer for eight years, performing around the world, including four years as a cast member of “Riverdance.”
  • EMILY MACCONNELL has achieved competitive career highs of eighth in the world, third nationally, and first in her own and Southern England regions. She has danced and toured both nationally and internationally with “Magic of the Dance,” and “An Irish Christmas.”
  • ERIKA NIELSEN has competitively achieved Southern Region Oireachtas Champion three times, top five at the North American Nationals, and medaled at the All Ireland and World Championships. She also performed in Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games.”
  • TYLER SCHWARTZ has won many dance titles, including the Midwest Regional Championship, the All-Ireland Championship, All-Scotland Championship, North American Championship, and Great-Britain Championship, and he won the Senior Men’s World Championship in 2013. He has been principal lead dancer for the Magic of the Dance, and “Gaelforce Dance.”
  • CIARA STILLSON has performed with renowned Irish music acts, including Solas, Eileen Ivers, and Cherish the Ladies. For three years she danced in Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens and recently graduated magna cum laude from Gorham High School.
  • MAIRÉAD STILLSON has spent the last seven years as a principal dancer and dance captain of Busch Gardens’ Celtic Fyre. She recently performed the lead role of Morrighan in Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games.”

Learn more about the musicians and creative team here. Click here to see when the show is coming to your city. Be sure to read our Q&A with the creators and producers of the show, Scott Doherty and Chris Smith.

We are perfectionists. We are hungry to work all the time. We are entertained by every aspect of business and we never want to stop working.”

– Suzy Welch

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

– Basil King

‎That which grows fast withers as rapidly; that which grows slowly endures.”

– J.G. Holland, novelist

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow.”

– Langston Hughes

I can’t go back to yesterday—because I was a different person then.”

– Lewis Carroll

‎The biggest flaw in our existing theory of capitalism lies in its misrepresentation of human nature.”

– Muhammad Yunus

They who give have all things. They who withhold have nothing.”

– Hindu Proverb

If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”

– Jesse Jackson

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

– Magical

Instead of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better.”

– Edgar W. Howe

Change is a math formula. Change happens when the cost of the status quo is greater than the risk of change.”

– Alan Webber, author, "Rules of Thumb"

The music is all around us. All you have to do is listen.”

– August Rush

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

– Nelson Mandela

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

– Thomas Edison

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen.”

– Sarah Ban Breathnach

Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the gift is yours.”

– Noela Evans

Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what nurtures creative thinking.”

– Anita Roddick, founder, The Body Shop

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.”

– Robert Fritz

The dove descending breaks the air / With flame of inkandescent terror.”

– T.S. Eliott

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”

– Bruce Lee

The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”

– William James

You’ve got to be willing to crash and burn. If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t get very far.”

– Steve Jobs

You don’t go into a field that requires cracking people’s heads open or operating on something as delicate as the spinal cord unless you are comfortable with taking risks.”

– Dr. Ben Carson

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”

– Helen Keller

When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

– Audre Lorde

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”

– Robert Frost

Look at everything as though you were
seeing it either for the first or last time.
Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.”

– Betty Smith

The awakening to the mystery of life is a revolutionary event; in it an old world is destroyed so that a new and better one may take its place.”

– J.J. Van Der Leeuw, The Conquest of Illusion

Success is the necessary misfortune of life, but it is only to the very unfortunate that it comes early.”

– Anthony Trollope

I may not be able to change what takes place, but I can always choose to change my thinking.”

– Michelle Sedas

Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.”

– Benjamin Disraeli

When a dog runs at you, whistle for him.”

– Henry David Thoreau

How do you stay resilient? It’s about momentum. Like riding a bicycle. If you stop you fall over. So I keep pedaling.”

– Diane Lane

Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now.”

– Jack Kerouac

If it really was a no-brainer to make it on your own in business there’d be millions of no-brained, harebrained individuals quitting their day jobs.”

– Bill Rancic, "The Apprentice"

Do one thing every day that scares you.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

Traveling is one way of lengthening life, at least in appearance.”

– Benjamin Franklin

I always maintained that the greatest obstacle in life isn’t danger, it’s boredom. The battle against it is responsible for most of the events in the world — good or ill.”

– Dr. Evelyn Vogel, Dexter

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.”

– Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

– Dalai Lama

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.”

– Leo Jozef Suenens

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

– Charles Darwin

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”

– Groucho Marx

When I was younger I thought success was being a star, driving nice cars, having groupies. But today I think the most important thing is to live your life with integrity.

– Ellen DeGeneres

A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three.”

– Marilyn vos Savant

Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.”

– Debbi Fields, Mrs. Fields Cookies

You take your life in your own hands, and what happens?
 A terrible thing: no one to blame.”

– Erica Jong

The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”

– Nolan Bushnell, founder, Chuck E. Cheese's

I don’t do very well without fear. There needs to be a part of me saying, ‘That’s going to fail,’ so I can prove myself wrong.”

– Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe

Your own words are the bricks and mortar
of the dreams you want to realize.
 The words you choose and their use establish the life you experience.”

– Sonia Croquette

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