Cork-led group dance for joy after €300k win

Riverdance spin-off group Prodijig were last night dancing for joy after scooping £250,000 (€300,000) as champions of Sky’s Got To Dance.

Over the course of the competition, the seven-strong ensemble, five men and two women ranging in age from 21 to 27, managed to jig their way through the rounds before battling for the crown in the live final last night.

Lead dancer and choreographer, Alan Kenefick from Silversprings Court in Cork City, spoke of just how hard they had worked to win the show.

“We gave up everything and put our heart and soul into it,” he said.

“We practiced for six hours every day; this is everything we wanted, “ Alan said.

“We all have the same aim, to have Irish dancing take the world by storm again. We did it for Ireland.

“It’s amazing that we can bring Irish dancing and make it contemporary again. We want to be the next generation of Irish dancing. Since we all gave up our jobs we didn’t have the money to take a holiday before, but we definitely will now. The rest of the money will be put into making Prodijig a long-term success,” he said.

It was clear after their performance in the final, that the group had a strong chance of winning, not least when they heard the judges’ comments.

“That was disgustingly good,” said Ashley Banjo, leader of the award-winning dance troupe Diversity.

“Look what you did to the 6,000-strong audience here, everyone was on their feet. Incredible.”

Dancer and recording artist Kimberley Wyatt told them: “You’re world class, you’re absolutely phenomenal. That was outstanding. You’re on another level. You are so crowd pleasing, it’s just brilliant.”

Actor and West End dancer Adam Garcia said: “I actually wasn’t sure what your limit could be, and I certainly don’t think you’ve reached it. You’ve surpassed yourself again and the level of excitement that you induce is so thrilling. It was just fantastic, you were amazing.”

With the title secured, the group’s goal now is to begin a revolution by mixing traditional Irish dance with cutting-edge hip hop moves.

Social media sites were last night flooded with people both here and in Britain congratulating Prodijig on their win.

Almost 700 people had visited the group’s Facebook site within two hours of their victory.