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Justin Boros — a 15-year-old basketball player in Akron, Ohio — took to Irish dancing as surely as if he’d been born to it. After catching Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” on TV in the mid ’90s, Boros began going to local Irish dance performances, and he watched when Flatley appeared on Larry King.
When “Lord of the Dance” toured Cleveland, Boros attended, and soon afterward he bought himself a pair of Irish dance shoes and taught himself the intricate steps.
“It took over my life. I practiced in my basement for a year and a half,” recalled Boros, 35, taking a break from rehearsal in Colorado Springs as his tour wended its way west to the Bay Area. “I saw one dance number with warriors, a masculine number, and decided, ‘I want to give this a try.'”
“My parents were supportive but thought, ‘What is this?'” he added with a laugh.
When his family vacationed in Florida, “Lord of the Dance” was performing, so the teen brought an audition tape that he handed to the dance captains. He was asked to try out the very next day and was offered a position, just one of three Americans to perform with the world’s best Irish dancers.
Boros flew home, quit the basketball team, then joined the “Lord of the Dance” for 2-1/2 years, becoming a lead dancer and completing his education while on the road.
Meanwhile, he began to conceive of a unique Irish dance show that would move away from the traditional tin whistle and fiddle. Andrew and Jared DePolo of DePolo Music created an original soundtrack, a new genre of Celtic music with an orchestral foundation.
Now Boros is founder of Two Step Productions and the creator and producer of “Rhythm of the Night: The Irish Dance Spectacular,” which is coming to the Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center this week.
To play the lead role of Balor, a 6-foot-4-inch, 275-pound villain, Boros weight-trained to acquire a muscle-bound physique that is rare in the world of Irish dance.
“Ours is an exciting, full show, a story of good vs. evil,” he said. “I play the lead villain. I am under the spell of a seductress who has me controlling her army.”
After Balor crosses over to the dark side, his former love and his younger brother try to rescue him.
“The battle scenes transcend the struggle of dark vs. light as the thunderous rhythms and lightning fast taps turn an age-old art form into an exciting Irish dance spectacular,” Boros said. “The soundtrack is one of the things that really differentiates the show — it took two years to compose.”
The inaugural production in 2014 was such a success that this year’s fourth traveling show is dubbed “The Celebration Tour,” and it has added San Ramon and Campbell to its stops.
“This is our first coast-to-coast tour, and we are super excited to come to California,” Boros said, noting this show is “not your traditional Irish dance or music show, but an epic journey that reimagines traditional Irish dance and takes the audience on an exciting adventure of a fallen hero and his rise to redemption for an unforgettable experience the entire family will enjoy.”
It is also a family affair for Boros as his uncle drives a bus and his parents help with the wardrobe.
“The reception of the show has allowed it to be the fastest growing in the country,” he said. “We have the best dancers in the world — 20 dancers.”
The rich soundtrack is enhanced by two live violin players. The crew includes a lighting designer, sound engineers and drivers that travel with the equipment and sets.
They hired many of the dancers last July at the North American Irish Dance Championships in Orlando.
“I like to give the opportunity to young dancers,” Boros said. “There are not a lot of shows out there, just ‘River Dance’ and our show that tour the U.S. We were able to find the cream of the crop of the dancers.”
After each show, the cast has a meet-and-greet in the lobby with the audience.
“We like to have that personal touch,” Boros said.
The two main comments he hears are: “Wow, that wasn’t what I expected,” and “When are you coming back?”
Audience members like to meet the dancers, who are from countries around the world, including Ireland, England, Mexico, Russia and Canada.
“Sometimes we’ll go out and there will be a school of Irish dancers who have come to the show,” Boros said. “Sometimes we’ll do basic dance steps in the lobby with the little girls and boys. It’s fun to do that — it keeps our energy level up.”
From practicing in his family basement in Akron to performing his own show on stages across the country, Boros hopes his story will inspire others to follow their dreams.
“I remember how rewarding it was to dance on stage night after night in Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance,'” he said. “Now after years of hard work coming to fruition, which has allowed me to tour and dance in my own show that has been extremely well received year after year, it is a dream come true.”
Irish dance reimagined
What: “Rhythm in the Night: The Irish Dance Spectacular”
Who: 20 Irish dancers and musicians
When: 8 p.m., Saturday, March 4
Where: Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center
Tickets: $44. Call 973-3343; visit www.sanramon.ca.gov/parks/theater; or go to the box office at 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon.