Derry's Damian McGinty: "Dancing with the Stars feels like a ridiculously lucky opportunity"

The ‘Glee’ star and ‘Celtic Thunder’ and solo singer is one of the celebrity dancers on this year’s hugely-popular dance show

Voting is already underway and the first contestant will be eliminated this weekend.

Speaking to the Journal, Damian said that, while he has performed on many stages across the world, dancing on live TV in front of the nation is a completely new experience.

"In Celtic Thunder and as a performer, you’d sometimes have choreography in some form and while there was dancing in ‘Glee,’ it was more group performances. There were a lot of places to hide and if you got four or five seconds of screen time within a minute of performance, that would be good. This is so different. You’ve nowhere to hide and you’re honing in on different techniques.”

Damian said while the experience has been ‘surreal,’ he is ‘really enjoying it’ and his first two weeks have ‘gone better’ than he thought they would.

"I’m doing something I never thought I could do, I’d love to hang around for a while to get the chance to get better. But even at this point, I’m like: ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this!’

Damian has received a lot of praise from the show’s judges, which, he said, is ‘really encouraging’.

"I feel like, at the start of this experience, it could have gone the other way. I had no idea what I might have been capable of. But, the idea that they’re hopefully seeing potential and saying positive things is lovely. They’re adding critiques to that too, which I find really helpful and fully agree with. I know there are things I have to work on and Kylee (Vincent), my dance partner, tells me these things in training too.”

Damian described how there is a ‘brilliant atmosphere’ on set and each of the other stars are ‘really supportive’.

"We’re all in it together. There’s great craic in the studio.”

As to how he got involved with the show, Damian revealed that he had been in ‘conversation’ with teams in both the US and Irish versions of the show before, but it was ‘never quite the right time’.

He was in Dublin, on a break from his own tour of the States and working on a new ‘Celtic Thunder’ album, when a producer of RTE’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ reached out to him.

"For whatever reason, I don’t know why, it just felt like a good time to give it a go. I was excited about the challenge and I’m a firm believer in not standing still and challenging yourself. The way I’ve learned most in my career is that, when you’re not in your comfort zone and you face your fears, that is when you grow, For me, this feels like a ridiculously lucky opportunity, because I’m really learning a new skill set. Hopefully too, what I’m learning can be applied in future projects. When I said to my wife and she was on board with it immediately, I knew it was happening.”

Damian’s wife, Anna Claire, and dog have moved over from their home in America to support him on the show. His family back home in the north west is also being hugely supportive.

However, he quipped that, when he first told them he might be taking part, ‘nobody took me seriously.’

“Everyone knows my limited ability and they also know my personality, as I don’t do anything to just take part. I fully commit to it. When I told them I was negotiating for ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ they wouldn’t believe it until the contract was signed and I was on TV. But, they are massively supportive. My mammy, at first, thought I was a lost cause, and then she couldn’t believe what I could do in week one, No-one who knows me could! To be honest, watching it back, I couldn’t believe it was me. Kylee taught me really well. But there’s still a long way to go and a lot to learn.”

All of the dancers face elimination this week and Damian hopes he’ll receive as many votes as possible in order to stay.

"I would absolutely love it if the people of Derry and Donegal could get behind me, as it’s very much about having a support system too and having your own local people go on the journey with you and get behind you. They've always been so kind and supportive to me. I’m hoping people in Derry and Donegal can relate to throwing yourself into an uncomfortable situation, giving it your all and leaving everything out there. The craic is good as well and it’s great entertainment. There’s a really strong cast this year and I’d love to stay around as long as possible.”

There’s a strong Northern Irish and Derry contingent in this show this year, with Derry woman Brooke Scullion and ‘Derry Girls’ actress Leah O’Rourke also taking part.

“We were telling the producers that the northerners were taking over this year. I think this is the first time they’ve had three people from the north on the show. The three of us are in the same apartment block, so the craic is good.

Damian and Kylee will perform a Viennese Waltz this weekend, which is a ‘nice change’ from the faster-paced dances of the last two weeks, he explained.

You can watch the show at 6.30pm this Sunday on RTE One.

You can vote for Damian by texting DAMIAN to 53125 (This applies for ROI and NI), calling 1513 71 71 03 from the Republic of Ireland or  09011 3311 03 from Northern Ireland. For details, see here