Five tips to improving an Irish dancing step

by BRIAN PARRY, Feis America Magazine contributor

Easy ways to get those steps down…besides doing what your teacher tells you.

When I was 11, and just getting into the Novice/Prizewinner level, I was convinced I would never get the slow hornpipe down. Between the syncopated timing and the complex footwork, it seemed like nothing was going right in that step. Now, the hornpipe is both my favorite dance and the one I am strongest in. Why? Mainly because I worked hard at getting it all down. Here are some methods that might help you, too, when struggling with a step.

1) Find someone else who has the steps you are trying to acquire and copy them. While they are practicing those steps, hang back a bit and dance the steps with them, making sure that you don’t get in the way or unduly distract them. The trick with this technique is to make sure that whoever you are copying is doing the steps correctly, or run the risk of learning bad habits.

2) Be stubborn about it. And by stubborn, I mean focus on nothing but the footwork and the music. Every time you foul up, stop, go back to the beginning and do it over again correctly. Practice is only good when you do the steps right.

3) Ask another dancer for help. Remember, there are other resources out there when your TCRG is tied up. Find another dancer who has had the steps you are trying to learn and ask them to help you out. Tell them about any changes the teacher made to the choreography in your case. And just be polite. Kindness can go a long way.

4) Get your pride involved. This works best if you are dancing with a sibling who is learning the same steps. “How dare they get those steps before I do” is the sort of attitude you want. But at the same time, be careful that you keep it internalized. Prove you are just as great of a dancer as any of your siblings through your hard work, not verbal jabs.

5) Tape it. If you can get a videotape of another dancer correctly doing the steps you are trying to learn, then videotape yourself doing the same steps and try to contrast the two. Seeing it visually might help put the pieces together in your head.

What are some tricks you use to get a step down? Let us know.

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5 reasons to Irish dance as an adult

BY: CHRISTY DORRITY, Feis America Magazine contributor

I’ll never forget the feeling I got the first time I competed onstage as an adult Irish dancer. The rush I felt at accomplishing a goal and using talents I previously had shelved when I started a family made me realize that yes, I really could pursue dance as an adult.

If you are like me, you put aside many of your goals and talents after college, thinking that it was time to put away childish things. That’s where we were wrong. Who says Irish dancing is only for kids? In my first Irish class, I danced every week with a woman who was in her sixties. I plan to follow in her footsteps and dance until my body tells me it is time to stop.

It is never too old to start down a road that leads you to a better place. So here are five reasons to embrace Irish dancing today:

1. A goal to stretch for. Yes, we adults desperately need something to look forward to that is OUR thing—not our spouse's, or our children’s or our mother’s.

2. Camaraderie. You will find a tremendous support group in the adults you dance with. I am a friendly person and involved with church and community groups, but my adult dancer friends are some of my most loyal.

3. Exercise. What? I can dance and burn calories at the same time? Bonus. The more you dance, the better you will feel, the better you feel, the more you will dance. Let the cycle begin.

4. Self-confidence. When you master that tricky hornpipe, you will have a boost of confidence in yourself that will bleed into other areas of your life. Windows will open up and you will have the gumption to try all sorts of great new things (and finish some old things).

5. Quality of life. Just knowing that you have something that is your own, something that builds you up and pushes you to be a better person, will help you see life in a whole new light.

Do you Irish dance as an adult? Do you want to? Introduce yourself and let’s get started.

Photo Credit: Christy Dorrity

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Boston Irish Festival: Irish Dance tent Sunday feis schedule

Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann Tent features set dancing with live music!

Ice cream, cupcakes, cotton candy.... and rides for the kiddies, too!

The fun continues Sunday June 19th at the Boston Irish Festival in Canton, Massachusetts with more Irish dancing at the Irish Cultural Center's Step Dancing Frenzy Tent and the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Tent! From adults to a public school class from NYC, to instruction for children of all ages, check out these great performances all day long:

ICC Step Dancing Frenzy Tent:
12:00 noon Damhsa Irish Dance Studio
1:00 p.m. The Keltic Dreams School from New York (featured special guests)
2:00 p.m. Sean Nos Irish Dance Workshop with Kieran Jordan (all ages and levels) with live music by Sean Gannon
3:00 p.m. Dunleavy-Shaffer School of Irish Dance
4:00 p.m. Children's Irish Dance Workshop with Jackie O'Riley (all ages and levels welcome)
5:00 p.m. O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance

Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann (Traditional Set Dancing)
12 noon - 4 p.m. Ceol tradisiunta na h'Eireann
4:30 - 8:30 p.m. Boston Comhaltas

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