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Matthew Olwell has worked as a musician and dancer at festivals and theaters across North America and Europe since 1996. The son of renowned flute-maker Patrick Olwell, Matthew began his professional career touring for nine years with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, with whom he appeared in Riverdance. Currently a student at Davis & Elkins College, Matthew is pursuing an interdisciplinary studies degree in Multimedia Performance, with a focus on vernacular music, dance, and theater. He has performed and taught at numerous festivals and camps, including the Swannanoa Gathering, the Augusta Heritage Center, and the John C. Campbell Folk School. In the summer of 2014, Matthew performed in Russia on a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy tour with The Meaning of Buck Dance. Other recent projects include a guest appearance with Anam, a new performance piece co-produced by Ireland’s national Folk Theatre and The Dublin Dance Festival, and CyberTrad, Matthew’s debut solo album, which blends wooden flute and Human Beatbox with traditional and original Irish and Breton music, and of which the Irish Echo writes, “Outstanding... Olwell is an artist with a keen vision.” 

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