An upcoming show at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center will give audience members a chance to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a little early.

Presented by Pace Live as part of its 2025 world tour, “A Taste of Ireland – The Irish Music & Dance Sensation,  made its debut in the United States in 2024 with an off-Broadway engagement, according to a news release from Pace Live.

Bowling Green is one of three Kentucky stops for the show, which features a cast of World Champion Irish dancers, stars from “Lord of the Dance” and “Riverdance,” musicians and a contemporary vocalist.

“The show, which will take audiences through the tumultuous history of Ireland, will be told through Irish music and dance,” said dancer Cian Walsh, world championship runner-up.

Walsh, who was introduced to Irish dance when he was 4, is now 25 and joined the “Taste of Ireland” tour in 2022.

“My mom and dad had an Irish dancing school, and I was put in it as a little kid,” he said. “It’s in the blood for me. I grew to love it and I joined the competitive side of Irish dancing when I was 19 or 20, then veered over into the professional side when I joined the “‘Taste of Ireland’ tour.”

He said he has really enjoyed the tour since it came to America.

“I’ve never experienced anything like the American audiences before,” he said. “They just love it.”

Walsh said the show, which features eight female dancers and seven male dancers, is “a really great, interactive show.”

“We are a really tight-knit group,” he said. “One of the things we like to do is banter back and forth with the audience. It’s not really a sit-down kind of performance for the audience. From the get-go, you can be on your feet. It’s a really energetic show.”

The show will be set to classics such as “Danny Boy,” “Wild Rover,”  “Tell Me Ma,” and others that have been given modern spins.

Walsh said that, as one of the lead performers this year, he has a lot of solo numbers that he can put “his own little spin on.”

“Every night will be a little different,” he said. “Someone might say ‘go a little faster’ or ‘kick your heels.’ I love the interactive parts when the audience gets involved.”

For those who are not familiar with Irish dance, Walsh said he likes to compare it to tap dancing, but “a lot more crossed over at the feet and knees and with more rigid posture.”

“A Taste of Ireland” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at SKyPAC.

For tickets and more information, visit theskypac.com or atasteofireland.com.