Watch the viral Irish stepdancing video set to Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’
Black History Month is ending and St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, so perhaps it makes sense that a pair of Irish stepdancers hit it big by sampling Beyoncé’s history-making hit “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
The Gardiner Brothers, of Galway, Ireland, have racked up more than 22 million views since posting a clip of the duo dancing to the song. In it, the Gardiners trade the glitzy costumes some associate with stepdancing for cowboy hats and jeans, hoofing it as Beyoncé sings about tornadoes, whiskey and huddling in the basement.
Check it out, but be warned: You may experience the urge to jump up and start dancing yourself.
@gardinerbrothers Beyoncé 🤝 Irish dancing #beyonce #countrymusic
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The brothers, Michael and Matthew, posted a couple of follow-ups since attracting so much attention earlier this month. One is a blooper reel, illustrating the difficulties of stepdancing outdoors in the elements:
@gardinerbrothers Beyoncé Bloopers #texasholdem #gardinerbrothers
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“Maybe wait till it’s not raining?” suggested one commenter, CatmomAlice, noticing that the wet dancing surface was causing some traction issues.
“We can’t wait that long cus we live in Ireland,” replied the brothers, using the cry-laughing emoji.
Point taken, Gardiners.
Perhaps as a nod to this helpful commenter, they next posted a video in a decidedly drier climate — atop a sand dune at sunset. “No hats this time but we’re still cowboys,” they wrote:
@gardinerbrothers No hats this time but we’re still cowboys #beyonce #texasholdem #gardinerbrothers
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The Gardiners are no strangers to going viral. They’ve been on TikTok for years and have more than 3 million followers. Their TikTok account boasts several videos that have gotten more than 25 million views, and they break the 1 million mark pretty frequently when they’re dancing to popular songs like Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” and Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
Though the champion dancers are now based in Ireland, they started dancing in their hometown of Denver. They’ve even posted videos wearing Denver Broncos jerseys and dancing at the Broncos’ home field, Empower Field at Mile High.
And while Beyoncé, country music and Irish dancing may initially seem like a strange mix, it’s in line with country music’s history — a combination of disparate influences in one twangy package, including Black music, Black instruments and Irish folk tunes.
Irish Americans using Irish traditional dance to interpret country music by a Black American superstar? Sounds about right, really.
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