Seattle native follows feet to worldwide success in Riverdance return

A lot of kids dream of making it big on the stage one day. But not many growing up in Seattle dream of doing it via Dublin.

It certainly wasn’t anything that was on young Julia Gats’ radar as a 6-year-old. But when her mom saw some other kids doing Irish dance, she talked Julia into giving it a try.

It must have been destiny, because even though the class was full, for some reason the Tara Academy of Irish Dancing let her in.

“I went to my first class and hated it,” said the Queen Anne native. “My mom said just stick it out for the first trimester that we’ve paid for and then if you still really hate it then you don’t have to do it anymore. By the end I was hooked.”

For the uninitiated, Irish dance is actually a variety of dances done by individuals and groups – socially, as a performance art and even in competitions. It’s characterized by a stiff upper body, arms glued to the dancer’s side, while they rhythmically kick up a storm.

Julia was captivated and began devoting a good portion of her free time to Irish dance, continuing on throughout her school years. It was a far cry from what many of her friends were doing. And that was a big part of the appeal.

“It was just always very different. Although at my grade school there were quite a few people that did it when we were younger. But then as we got older, I was the only one that stuck with it,” she said.

Julia became a top Irish dancer around the region in both competitions and performances. She dreamed of one day sharing the stage with the likes of Michael Flatley and other top dancers in the world famous Irish company Riverdance.

After graduating from Bishop Blanchet High School, Julia went on to Gonzaga University. In the summer before her senior year, she got the opportunity to audition for Riverdance’s touring company. And against the toughest of odds, she got the call to come to Ireland and join the cast.

“Every summer they do a run at the Gaiety Theater in Dublin. I’ll never forget the first number I did,” she said. “Your face is supposed to be very serious. I was finding it so hard not to smile because I just kept thinking ‘oh my gosh, I’m on stage in Riverdance.’ This is insane. This is crazy.”

What started as child’s play turned into a chance to perform around Europe and North America for hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. She’s one of three Americans in the entire dance troupe.

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the sold out spectacle continues to dazzle and attract crazed fans that constantly surprise Julia, especially the ones in Japan. They crowd outside the stage door, screaming for Julia and the other dancers, she said.

“They would just want pictures and autographs,” she said. “You’d think we were One Direction or something. It was crazy.”

It’s also grueling. They can do up to eight shows a week, sometimes hitting three different cities. Recently they went two weeks without a single break &#8212 16 shows in a row.

“And we look back now and think ‘how in the world did we do that?’ But your body; it’s incredible what it does when it has to.”

Julia shouldn’t have any problem getting up for this coming weekend though. There are five virtually sold out shows Friday through Sunday at the Paramount in Seattle.

“My parents have gotten to fly out and see me but my dance teachers never have, so I’m really excited to dance for them,” she said.

She’s actually expecting several hundred family members and friends to come see her perform in Seattle. But one friend can’t be there. Fifteen-year-old Molly Conley was a fellow Irish dancer and Blanchet student murdered in a Lake Stevens drive-by shooting as she walked with friends celebrating her birthday.

Still, Molly is never far from her heart.

“At Molly’s service, quite a few of us did an honor guard with her lacrosse team we were in our school dresses and they were in their lacrosse uniforms and then my dance teacher gave us a little necklace with angel wings on it and I wear it every day,” she said.

Julia won’t have much time to hang out with any of her friends or family. Immediately after the Seattle shows, the Riverdance tour hits the road again for San Francisco. And other than a little break for Christmas, the shows go virtually non-stop across the country until next July.