Irish dancer glorifies God as he steps, taps and leaps

“Let them praise His Name in dance.”  – Psalm 149:3

Ronan Kristufek has been praising God in dance for at least 13 years.

He started Irish dancing when he was 8, immediately fell in love with the art form and has been smitten ever since.

As part of the Taste of Ireland dance company, Kristufek will perform at 7:30 tonight at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha.

“I think dance is one of the greatest gifts that God gave us, and me especially,” the Illinois native said in a telephone interview on Friday.

Kristufek said he developed an interest in Irish culture and a love of his Catholic faith through his grandparents, who immigrated from Ireland when his mother was young and settled in the Chicago area.

Ronan Kristufek COURTESY PHOTO

“My grandmother always instilled in me a strong belief and trust in God and the Catholic Church to bring me through difficult times, and that’s gone hand in hand with dance throughout my whole life,” he said.

“There has been good and bad times in dance, just like anything. I’ve turned to the Catholic faith and I’ve turned to God to help me through it.”

Being on tour “is a very unique lifestyle,” Kristufek said, “going from place to place.”

Often, wherever he’s at, he tries to find a church or cathedral for Mass.

“Going to those Masses really helps bring a sense of community and can stave away any feeling of loneliness or homesickness,” he said, “because going to church back home is such a family thing. And I feel very connected to my family when I go to church, no matter where I am.

“I think that’s something very special about the Catholic community, that I can be anywhere in the country, even anywhere in the world, and can find a community of people who share some important values, despite how different we may be.”

Gratitude is a theme that runs through his faith and dancing.

“I feel so grateful for both the art form, and of course my faith, to have brought me to such a blessed place,” Kristufek said.

He said he’s grateful to God, his family, his dance company and everyone who’s helped get him along the way. He said he’s grateful to be able to express his love through dance, which he’s passionate about.

“I am incredibly blessed to be in this position,” the performer said. “Dance can be like a universal language … that can reach so many different types of people and so many different cultures.

“Even with such a specific niche dance like Irish dance, I think God made it so that it can reach not just one group of people or one type of person, but everyone in a unique way. I encourage everyone to come to the show and experience that. We have so much fun on the stage, and I think the audience can really feel how happy and how lucky we feel every time when we dance.”

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