Notes from the Boneyard: Boogie Knights

It is an honour and a pleasure to announce that this week’s guest boneyard writer is my good old friend Conor O’Kane (or as we all know him, Doke).

Take it away mister…

From Omagh’s Disco Floors to Global Stages: My Dance Journey Comes Home

For me, discovering my lifelong passion for dance truly began when I was around 15. It was the mid-90s, at the GAA discos, when I first recognised who could really dance. I remember a few boys back then who just had the rhythm, the moves, and the confidence to dance like no one was watching. I used to watch in awe, mesmerized as they effortlessly bounced around to whatever tune was playing.

A few years on, as I started attending raves and dance nights around Northern Ireland, my fascination deepened. I was drawn to the unique ways people moved, trying to find my own flow, even ‘stealing’ moves and making them my own. Of all the sports and hobbies I’d undertaken to this point, nothing quite moved me the way dance did.

Then came a truly pivotal moment. In 1998, not long after the tragedy of the Omagh bomb, my good friend Paul Martin and others organised a fundraiser for those affected. It was at the Omagh Youth Centre during this event that everything changed. I witnessed the legendary Belfast City Breakers perform a breakdance showcase. Seeing them spin on every body part, freeze in impossible poses, with an undeniable confidence and swagger, literally catapulted me into a lifestyle I could never have imagined. I was 18, and this was the day my passion transformed into a relentless pursuit.

Paul and I soon formed ‘Bad Taste Cru’ with a bold dream: to become UK breakdance champions and make the world finals in Germany – a dream we remarkably accomplished. Our story is unforgettable, wild, and pretty awesome; a bunch of young men from Omagh went from dancing at local nights to winning the UK, Irish, and Scottish breakdance championships.

My journey from passion to profession truly took off. As a proud member of BTC, I spent the best part of 25 years immersed in dance – learning movement, coaching and mentoring young people, choreographing community dance, and promoting breakin’ and hip-hop culture through events and festivals. During my 19 years living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, I established ‘Just Jam International’, an annual festival celebrating Breaking and Hip Hop culture, which attracts dancers from over 20 countries worldwide. I also helped to establish, coach, and mentor leading UK breakdance crew, Battalions.

After all this time, dance is still the coolest, most profound, and most challenging movement discipline, or creative art form I’ve ever found. I love it. Now, that journey has brought me right back home to Omagh, and my goal is to get more people hooked on it. It’s a hell of a drug!

To kick off the workshops and events program I have in store, I’m announcing my first adult dance class called ‘Dressed to Express’. It’s an introduction to dance for men and women, set to funk, soul, and hip-hop music, and incorporates steps from the dancers I’ve learned from over the past 25 years. It’s very much a starting point to create a community of people who appreciate a good old-fashioned boogie. This is a call to all the old school heads and new school cats, and everyone in between, to come along and give it a go. Wear something fresh – a shirt, a top or a hat that’s been in the back of the wardrobe; get ready, get set and get dressed to express!

The ‘Dressed to Express’ workshops will take place at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Wednesdays from 7pm to 8.30pm, starting next Wednesday (June 4). It’s a four-week taster, and I can’t wait to share, play and create with people from my home town.

For further updates keep an eye on those socials:

facebook: /conorok

insta: @btcdoke