PAULA GOULDING & SHANE MCAVINCHEY
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
AMCO ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Shane & Paula
Shane McAvinchey and Paula Goulding come from an extensive background in Irish dance and both have achieved the highest accolades in their competitive careers. As performers, they have toured all around the world with numerous dance companies including the venerated, world
famous Riverdance production.
Shane and Paula have collectively performed on stages and television in over 30 countries throughout the world and have performed to live audiences in excess of 8,000,000.
PAULA GOULDING
Paula Goulding hails from Co. Waterford, Ireland and danced under the tutelage of the world renowned, Michael Ryan School. Along with performing lead role in various shows and with well known artists like the Chieftains she has danced her way across the globe spanning 5 continents with a memorable 18 month run on Broadway, NYC with Riverdance.
After finishing out a 7 year run with Riverdance, where she was dance captain and lead understudy, Paula immediately went on to co-produce, direct and choreograph ‘Dancing Thru The Ages’ which ran for 6 years in Ireland.
She studied speech and drama under LAMDA (the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) and has performed in London’s Westend as well as Ireland’s National theater, The Abbey Theatre.
Paula was a pro dancer on RTE’s television series Celebrity Jigs n’ Reels.
Along with her business partner, Shane they started producing their own shows and choreographing for other productions in 2012.
They produced the largest scale Irish Dance production and the first of its kind with Take The Floor and they are the directors of The Irish Dance Festival.
As well as qualifications in Sports therapy and pilates, Paula is also a Style and Image Coach and studied dress design with the Grafton Academy in Dublin. She resides in Dublin with her husband Mark and her 2 children, Harry and Shanna.
SHANE MCAVINCHEY
Shane McAvinchey, from Tipperary, Ireland, began dancing at the age of six. Under the instruction of Anne Callanan he had much competitive success, most notably ranking 4th in the world. At the young age of 16 he started his professional dance career with Riverdance where he spent four years performing on stages and television stations across the globe.
Shane has since performed principal roles in various productions worldwide including ‘The High Kings’, ‘Dancing Thru the Ages’, ‘Ragus’ and as featured dancer with the ‘Niamh Ní Charra Band’. In 2009 he had the honor of accompanying President of Ireland, Mary MacAleese, on a state visit to Luxembourg where he performed for royalty and dignitaries representing Irish culture. He choreographed and starred in online commercial “Steps” which has had over 7 million views on YouTube to date.
Shane has conducted workshops worldwide and is the co-director of the Sweeney-McAvinchey Irish Dance School in Germany. He also volunteers time for various boards and committees whose purpose is to support dancers and teachers and promote Irish dance internationally.
In 2017 Shane was named runner up in the regional final of “Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur”, his combined study of business and dance has led to the creation and development of innovative products and services. He is the Owner of Irish Dance Pro ltd., a dance product company with a global audience and is the creator and inventor of the Irish Dancing Practice Pad.
Along with dance partner / business partner / fellow AMCO Artistic Director & lifelong best friend, Paula Goulding, he has co-produced shows and events including Take The Floor, Journey to Ireland, Celtic Dances, The Irish Dance Festival and a Flashmob video at Dublin airport which has had over 6 million views on YouTube to date.