And they can suffer. While the companies tour with a masseur and physio, problems do occur.
“It’s the biggest challenge we face,” admits Erskine. “Irish dancing was never intended to be done as a public performance, eight times a week. We have taken that into account and carry a lot of equipment including a sprung dance floor for theatres that don’t have one.
“We insist on a long warm-up period before each show and a cooling down time afterwards.
“Dance has really become more like a sport. Dancers now realise that they cannot smoke, drink and lie in bed until five in the afternoon and then go on stage and perform.
“They go to the gym in the daytime and are careful about what they eat and when they eat.”
But injuries can occur, most notably with their shins. “There is the vertical impact of jumping in the air and landing with a dead straight back and straight legs and the biggest impact is to the shins. They can be cracked.”
It sounds a lot worse than it is, he suggests, and, while it is common, can be quickly overcome. And the fact that his dancers are fit also helps.
“We had one dancer who tore her Achilles tendon and that could have been the end of her career. But, after six months, she was back and is now our principal dancer in the US. You and I would have been gone, but she was fit, you see.”
