(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)November 18, 2004

(Mahwah) – Long before Riverdance, ordinary Irish men and women knocked the sparks off the flagstone floors of their cottages with jigs, reels and hornpipes, and the rafters rang with the fiery music of the fiddle, bodhran, tin whistle and uillean pipes. A Celtic Christmas, to be presented at the Sharp Theater on the campus of Ramapo College on Friday, December 17 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, December 18 at 2 p.m., brings to life just such a gathering, with some of the most gifted performers of the Celtic arts.

Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas recreates the joy and innocence of a night in a remote farmhouse when the old traditions of song, dance, music and storytelling glowed like embers in the fireplace. What the people gave to each other at that time was always something of themselves: a riveting traditional dance, a lovely old song, wild music and above all else, stories.

On stage, the spirit of Christmas dances to life and glows brightly when the neighbors gather to grace the long wintry nights with the laughter of their stories, their ancient music, and dances that they always said they were much too old for.

Tomáseen Foley, a native Irish storyteller, is the second youngest of a family of seven children, born and reared on a small farm in the remote parish of Teampall an Ghleantáin. The stories he tells have their source in the vitality and warmth of the ordinary people of his hometown.

Tickets for A Celtic Christmas at Ramapo College are $24 for adults, $21 for senior citizens and $15 for youth. The Sharp Theater is located at the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus. For more information call 201.684.7844.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

###

About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Press Release Archives

| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 |