So You Think You Can Dance - the big night is coming!

Rosanna Morelli dances with the adult Irish dance troupe the Banshees and is sure that Irish Eyes will be smiling on the night or at least laughing a lot when they see what this bunch of hooligans gets up to.

Riverdance pales into the background when you see what this team of well-honed artists is capable of and with a few short weeks of dedicated rehearsal behind them, they are well and truly ready to take centre stage.

Let’s meet the McHooligans - Eddie Cassells is a bit of a veteran at the jigs and reels now as this is his second year of taking part. He is fast becoming an accomplished Irish Dancer and figures he is ready to give Michael Flatley a run for his money.

Portrush is represented by Stephen O’Neill who will dance the leading man role. He is not quite sure what that actually means but if it all goes wrong, he is keeping his day job as a civil servant just in case no offers come from Arlene Phillips.

Tony McGill, the Montra Club’s answer to John Travolta, is back to strut his funky stuff. This time he is determined to bring the glitter ball back to the Montra Club where he has already made space behind the bar - let’s hope he doesn’t end up sitting in the space himself!

Cathal McGowan joins the team with no dance background at all. This may be a case of ignorance being bliss as he really has no idea what’s ahead of him and with only two weeks to the big night his dance shoes should be well and truly polished to a high shine.

David McDowell is more accustomed to being on stage as opposed to the dance floor however the big event may well be a bit of a drama and there will be more than enough suspense waiting for the votes to be counted.

And finally the shy, retiring Dr Owen Rea who has become an accomplished Salsa dancer over the years but in the true spirit of So You Think You Can Dance he has been parted from his much loved Latin rhythms and been introduced to the beat of the Celtic drum. He is relishing the challenge of the night and hopes the night will be a great success.

With only two weeks to the show we have two more teams to reveal in next week’s Coleraine Times. We spice it up a little in the Latin Quarter when the last two couples will be revealed.

Remember to get your copy next week for this EXCLUSIVE showstopping edition.

The March 20 show in aid of the Changaro Trust is now SOLD OUT but there will be a second show in the Lodge Hotel on March 27th in aid of the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. Contact the Lodge Hotel or any of the dancers for further details.