Rochelle Hoffmann is a Canadian Irish dancer and performing artist from Kelowna, BC. She is currently touring internationally with A Taste of Ireland as a lead dancer, performing across North America.
Her work has taken her to stages around the world, including Off-Broadway in New York City and London’s West End. Her work has also reached wide audiences online through performance content created with the show.
We usually start our mornings with breakfast at our accommodation. With shows almost every day, it’s important to fuel up so we have enough energy to get through long travel and performance days.After breakfast, we hop on our bus with our favourite driver, John. This bus has taken us everywhere, through long travel days, early mornings, and late nights, and has definitely become a big part of our routine on tour.On the bus, I’ll usually catch up on admin, read, or watch something on Netflix. The movement of the bus tends to rock me to sleep, so I’ll often sneak in a nap on longer travel days.Today we headed straight to the venue for a technical run ahead of opening night. Once we arrived, I grabbed a coffee and some food at a nearby café while our crew prepared the stage for tech rehearsal. When we have the time, we’ll also try to fit in a gym session to stay as strong and fit as possible throughout the tour.Today we’re in Hoquiam at the 7th Street Theatre. It’s a beautiful Spanish Revival theatre built in 1928. One of my favourite parts of touring is getting to perform in so many unique and historic venues like this.Here’s a photo of me and my friend Ella. We were both on lead tonight, as there are two female lead roles in the show. We wear microphones on our feet to pick up the sound of our hard shoes during the show. Since everything is performed live, this is a really important part of making sure the audience hears every detail.Before the show, we run a lineup, where the cast walks through spacing, entrances, and transitions so everyone knows exactly where they need to be. Depending on the size of the stage, we’ll adjust how many people are on at once.After lineup and soundcheck, we spend time getting ready by finishing hair and makeup and warming up before the show. Here’s a quick mirror moment with some of my cast mates just before we go on for opening night.
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Which ’hood are you in?
Rochelle is from Kelowna, MB.
What do you do?
I’m a decorated champion Irish dancer on tour with “A Taste of Ireland – The Irish Music and Dance Sensation.”
What are you currently working on?
I’ve been touring the world with “A Taste of Ireland”
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