Bio

Darren Smith, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and now living in Toronto, has been Irish Dancing since the age of three, following in the footsteps of his mother and grandmother who danced in County Derry, Ireland.  Darren has been dancing professionally since shortly before becoming the 1997 World Irish Dancing Champion, a competition title he achieved with a rare perfect score from every adjudicator -- and a truly significant accomplishment for a dancer from outside Ireland.  In addition, Darren has a total of eight North American Championship and nine Canadian Championship titles to his credit.

He has been touring internationally with Chicago's critically acclaimed Trinity Irish Dance Company since 1996, appearing in world renowned performing arts venues such as the Joyce Theatre (New York), New Victory Theatre (New York/Broadway), UCLA Royce Hall (Los Angeles), Annenberg Center (Philadelphia), The Hummingbird Centre (Toronto), Ford Centre (Toronto), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), NJPAC (Newark), Bass Hall (Ft. Worth), and as far away as Switzerland, Austria, Taiwan, Japan, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.  He has appeared in a number of national television commercials, the motion picture Mafia! with the late Lloyd Bridges (Touchstone Pictures), on Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, and a rather amusing encounter with a sheet of bubble wrap on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  In addition, he has performed across North America at industrial events for corporations such as Ford Motor Company, Pepsico, McDonald's, State Farm, Dr. Pepper, and Philip Morris.

While not touring, Darren provided additional choreography and appeared twice, with much acclaim, as a Principal Dancer in The Needfire, at the Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra theatres in Toronto.  Additionally, he has appeared in the Juno Awards (with Natalie McMaster & Jesse Cook), Dance For Life (Toronto and Chicago), and the du Maurier World Stage Concert Series in Vancouver, aired nationally across Canada.  He has been featured as a Canadian "Success Story" on the CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson, and also received an award recognizing his outstanding contributions and achievements in dance from the city of Mississauga's Annual Arts Awards.  During his competitive career, Darren was taught by three-time World Champion dancer Brian Grant and his mother, Brigid Grant, at the Grant School of Irish Dancing in Mississauga.

Outside of his passion for dance, Darren has a love for flying and constantly dreams of obtaining his Private Pilot's license when he has the time and money.  He is also a graduate and recipient of an Alumnus of Distinction award from Centennial College's Bell Centre for Creative Communications, where he majored in Radio and Television Broadcasting.

Copyright (c) 2001-2007 by Darren Smith | All Rights Reserved