Ballymena's '˜Lord of the Dance' - Norman Maen

Domy Reiter-Soffer will be reflecting on the life and enormous accomplishments of Norman Maen, international director and choreographer, on Thursday, February 25 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.

Norman Maternaghan (1932-2008), originally from Ballymena, used the stage name of Norman Maen. He had an illustrious career in show business earning him the title of ‘Ballymena’s Lord of the Dance’ in the tribute piece carried by the Ballymena Times after his passing.

The event will appeal to people in Ballymena who can reflect on Maen, as a man who never forgot his roots and loved Ballymena where his large extended family still reside.

He trained at the Seven Towers School of Irish Dancing and began his dancing career with the Patricia Mulholland Irish Ballet Company. Norman then spent three years as choreographer with RTE before going on to London to form the Norman Maen Dancers.

Norman Maen had a distinguished international career as a director-choreographer of stage and television for over 40 years and was awarded an Emmy for his work on ‘This is Tom Jones’ show in 1970.

He also spent several years as a director of the Royal Variety Performance and worked with Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews and Rudolf Nureyev.

Admission is free and everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

For further information, contact Ballymena Central Library (5 Pat’s Brae, BT43 5AX) on telephone number 028 2563 3950 or