The Love of Irish Dancing

We have recently started to learn Irish dancing and love it. We have been so lucky to come across Sister Anne at Sacred Heart. She was born in Ireland and is the ripe age of 71. Sister Anne has been Irish dancing since she was 6 years of age. She now volunteers her time along with a friend and teaches children Irish dancing each week. Even though there are dance studios in our small town ... you won't find Irish dancing in one.

Each week the children and most of them are schooled at home arrive at 4pm ready to learn this interesting dancing method of dances that are characterized by quick, intricate movements of the feet.

We have had so much fun learning the "Reel" and "Jig". We were also fortunate to be able to do community service and perform at several nursing homes around town and at the Knights of Columbus dinner at Sacred Heart for St. Patricks Day. March is Irish dancing's busiet time of year.

Since we are not a formal dance studio and dance for recreation not competition we do not wear the beautiful fancy Irish costumes. We still try to represent the Irish culture by wearing traditional plaid pleated skirts and white shirts with knee high socks.

My girls are 5 and 7 years old and have fallen in love with Irishing dancing. All day long they hop around the house practicing their footwork. My 7 year old wants to catch up with the "big girls " who are in the intermediate and masters class. These girls wear the hard soled shoes and are taught by a gentleman who also volunteers his time. He was a competitive Irish dancer and is sharing his expertise and talent with the dancers who have mastered the 1,2,3's and hops.

This is a short video clips I took of the girls dancing the "Walls of Limerick".

This is a fascinating story of kids being taught Irish dancing in the Bronx.

Don't miss this New York Times article on the Keltic Dreams troupe of Irish Dancers - mostly of Hispanic or African American cultures themselves - being taught in the Bronx by Irish native Caroline Duggan. The accompanying video will nearly bring you to tears, and the stories of what these kids have had to go through to participate in the program and ultimately their journey to Ireland are something to remember.
For more about the group, shown in the photo above, go their Web site.