Volume 7, Issue 3

As I See It: Transferring dance schools can be the right thing to do
by Russell J. Beaton ADCRG

Mention the word “transfer” within the context of Irish Dancing, and you are likely to get many, varied responses. Most tend to regard the idea of transferring, leaving one registered teacher and enrolling in the class of another registered teacher, as something rather negative. I disagree. At the risk of offending some folks, I think the concept of transferring from one teacher to another is a perfectly natural step in some situations.

Think about it! How many individuals choose high schools or colleges, expecting to be successful and satisfied there? Lots! How many discover that, for one reason or another, the schools or colleges just aren’t for them? Quite a few! Finding another place to be educated is perfectly natural, and folks do it all the time. After evaluating several other possible schools, we select a new school and transfer there. If things go as expected, we find what we hoped to find at the new school and go on to finish our education happier and more satisfied than we were at the first choice of schools.

When we transfer from one school or college to another, do we expect everything to be exactly the same? On the contrary, we recognize that each school or college has its own requirements and criteria. It may take some time for a transferring student to become familiar with the rules and procedures of the new school, and we all accept the fact that some course and credits completed at the first school will not be accepted at the new school. When we get to the new school, we try to learn the traditions of that new school. We become part of the student body and gradually assimilate. In some cases, we transfer to a new school with the understanding that we will be on probation (or some other kind of trial basis) for a period of time, until the new school is certain that we have made the transition successfully.

The entire process makes sense to us, and it happens repeatedly every year across our country and continent. Is it the right thing for students to do? Absolutely! Should it continue? For certain! So, why doesn’t it seem so logical and practical for many people associated with Irish dancing? Why the shudder when it is mentioned, or happens, in Irish dancing?

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Dancer to Dancer: Community service volunteers are champions
by Erin Reilly

It is true. It seems to me that lately, many Irish dancers are extremely competitive, in a cycle of “win-rush”. I describe “win-rush” as the feeling that the dancer gets when she places well at one feis and it seems to obliterate the memory of the other twelve that she did not place as well as she had hoped.

So on we go, attending feis after feis with the associated enormous amount of hours and expense associated with feeding the passion in the quest for that ever-elusive “win-rush.” Some dancers thrive on this life and are completely satisfied to “chase the place” so to speak. Nevertheless, after a while, for some, this can dampen the enthusiasm that originally drew the dancer to the dance. Many quit and that is a shame in my opinion, as that feeling of happiness and connectedness to our culture that dancing provides, is still in the dancer.

Week after week, competitive dancers pack up the dress, the shoes, and literally the game face (wig, makeup, tiara) and make the pilgrimage to far away places. As every feis dancer knows, we spend hours preparing and waiting, for five minutes of dancing. The entire day is devoted to activities of the feis – travel, waiting for the competition to start, waiting for results, and travel home. Some are obsessive about competition and do everything possible to feed the cycle. They invest precious time, money and probably the most valuable of all – their emotions. Is feis competition the only outlet to dance?

For some children and young adults, competitive dancing does not suit our psyche or our lifestyle and I am suggesting that there are rewarding alternatives that provide a rush equal to or better than placing well at a local feis.

One alternative that provides an extraordinary outlet to express our culture and love of dance without the competitive pressure is performing in community service events. Many dance schools encourage “dance-outs” where you can participate in a show for a local charity, school or a hospital. There are numerous opportunities here, especially around Saint Patrick’s Day.

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Volume 7, Issue 3

Kelly Nagen ushers in a new era of Irish dancers

Nashville, TN

The dance form known as “Irish Dancing” was given that moniker for two reasons. The first is that this unique style of dance, with arms held at the dancer’s sides and feet in perpetual motion, originated in Ireland. The second reason was that almost exclusively the Irish danced this beautiful poetry-in-motion. It was Irish Dancing danced by the Irish.

Dance popularity abounds beyond the beautiful green borders of the Emerald Isle into every corner of the globe. Over recent years, due in part to the popularity of Riverdance, Irish Dancing has not only spread to other countries – attracting the Irish living there, it has also started to attract dancers from other cultures. The dancers I see today are simply magnificent; such fine examples of the great things that can be achieved when you start with a solid cultural tradition and evolve it with creativity, love, passion and a bit of diversity!

So Irish Dancing is not all about the Irish anymore but instead, Asian, African, Latin and other girls and boys from various ethnic backgrounds, from all over the world are making their mark in this cultural activity - and why shouldn’t they?

Kelly Nagen, 20, of the Comerford School in Seattle, Washington, came in fourth in the ladies under 21 competition. A stunningly beautiful brunette with slight body and a strong physique, she is Japanese and Irish.

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As I See It: Traditional sets are building blocks of Irish Dance Technique
Russell J. Beaton, ADCRG

Let me begin the column for this edition by sharing three brief experiences of mine.

Several years ago, I accompanied my wife (Millie Allen Beaton, TCRG) and my children Angela and Brendan, on a surprise visit to a feis in Lincoln, England, that was being run by Aidan and Helen Comer-ford. We had a great time that afternoon, but I was especially struck by the fact that all dancers, including those who were well-known names in All Ireland and World Championship contention, were required to compete in solo competitions before being allowed to enter championships level events. It was eye-opening to see these title holders performing the single jig, traditional sets, as well as their other solo dances.

Just a few years ago, I was honored to be selected as an adjudicator for the All Ireland Championships, held in Killarney at the Glen Eagle Hotel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the competitors in the youngest age groups were required to perform a traditional set in the recall round of their competitions, rather than the type of original, more complex set dances usually performed by dancers in recall rounds.

Recently, I watched a public broadcasting program about world-class ballet dancers. I noticed that prima ballerinas and premier danseurs attended mandatory classes each day, classes in which they rehearsed at length – along with the corps de ballet and aspiring company members — basic steps and simple combinations, not the elaborate performance pieces they would be performing that week for enthusiastic audiences.

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Dancer to Dancer: That first dress was more than a dress
by Erin Reilly

I always find myself racing to green and pink colored clothing at mall stores. I attribute this color attraction to my love for my first Irish dancing dress. Nothing will ever replace that delightful velvet green and pink piece of art in my heart.

Dancing has come a long way the last ten years – from the introduction of wigs and diamante tiaras to style changes of dance dresses. Remember the days of sweating under blankets of velvet or the poor women and girls decades before who wore woolen frocks? I feel even worse for girls who had the dark colored dresses during stifling outdoor feisiannas. I bet they spent many dollars on dry-cleaning bills, especially in the summer. Yet no matter how uncomfortable costumes can be, I would not have traded that first dress for anything. To me it was so beautiful, and I felt like a million bucks wearing it on stage.

At age eleven, getting my first dancing dress was the best thing that happened to me – even better than the extra hour added to my bedtime curfew. It seemed I had complete control. I picked out the colors and designs that I liked best, even if my mother disliked them. I got to be rebellious without being reprimanded and most importantly, I got to be myself. Choosing a dress of my own wonderfully expressed my creativity and independence.

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The Joy of Sets
Bill Lynch

Quite different from step dancing is set dancing, which is the type of traditional social dancing done strictly for pleasure in rural communities in Ireland for a couple hundred years or more. ‘Sets’ came from quadrilles, the eighteenth and nineteenth century court dances of France which spread across Europe. Irish peasants learned the quadrilles from British landlords and soldiers and took them home to their cottages where they became the uniquely Irish sets when traditional music and steps were applied to them.

Four couples arrange themselves in a square to dance—the term ‘set’ refers both to the eight people in formation and to the dance itself. When the music begins they dance a variety of intricate moves and steps. One set can last from ten minutes to half an hour. The dancing is divided into separate sections called figures—when a figure is finished the music stops and the dancers remain in place waiting for it to resume. A set usually has from three to six figures, each one different but always danced in the same sequence. After the last figure the dancers thank one another and leave the floor.

Traditionally the sets weren’t formally taught—children were brought to the floor at house dances by their parents or siblings and learned by repetition. Usually people knew and danced only one set, which might be different from what their neighbors danced just a few miles away. There was no need for a caller as the set was always the same and everyone knew it.

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Rhythm – Confusion, Certainties and Suggestions
by Donagh Corcoran

Irish Dancing has a critical relationship with music rhythm. Yet it is a subject that is perhaps not explored enough. Of course some regulations are established by the dancing organizations and this helps to create understanding or standardization. The key questions however are has this work reached complete-ness or is there still some confusion, uncertainty and suggestions that should be considered? In this article I want to suggest that there is an interesting body of work that the dancing organizations could still do in this area. The result would be that the overall effect on dance performance could be highly beneficial.

The sight of competitors naming their required dance speed is a regular feature in a championship when a solo set dance is being performed. This is fine in itself. The big question however is should there be limits to this. The setting of maximum high speeds and low speeds should be considered. This requirement should be evident from the effect such wide discretion can have on individual dancers performances. There is nothing more unattractive than watching an otherwise good dancer performing to unrealistic rhythm.

The setting of speed limits by An Coimisiun for the traditional set dances is a move in the right direction. However, is there not a case for having actual fixed speeds for these? Indeed as these traditional sets were composed with regular hornpipe and jig speed a strong argument could be made for this to be considered.

Dancing on the pulse of the beat or with emphasis on the off- beat syncopation is another issue that could be objectively debated. One problem that arises is when two dancers are performing on stage one may be dancing to regular tempo and the other to syncopation. These are two different patterns of rhythm. Firstly, it is difficult for the adjudication panel to hear the ‘true rhythm’ of each dancer. Secondly, the music can appear to be out of sequence with the dancers as the musician will be playing at regular tempo. Thirdly, it is difficult for the dancers themselves to hold perfect rhythm when they are producing different beat patterns. In some competitions this can raise doubts about the rhythm performance of the dancers.

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Teamwork Dancing
Highlights the best elements of the art

As a young dancer, I began taking lessons in Irish dance at a somewhat “advanced” age. I was ten when I began my lessons. For the first few months, I was excited by every solo step I learned and mastered. It was a great thrill to be able to perform new and increasingly complex steps to music. I could tell by the look on the face of my teacher, Mary Costello Madden, TCRG, that she was pleased as well. I also was quite happy to demonstrate the steps I knew to anyone who would watch: my parents, my grandparents, other family members, and neighbors! This was, indeed, a really good thing, to my way of thinking. I was very content about what we were learning and how weekly lessons were extending and enhancing our solo dancing skills.

Imagine my surprise and concern when my teacher announced one Saturday morning that we would not be learning any new steps that week. Instead, we would be learning a figure dance, the three-hand reel! I had no idea what that was, and I was not sure that I was comfortable with taking time from learning more and more solo steps with which I could impress my family and friends. I was skeptical, but I was also curious.

I quickly discovered several things about figure dancing. I had to hold hands with other dancers, especially girls! We were supposed to dance as a team, matching each other in how we danced the threes and sevens. In other words, no showing off! In addition to worrying about dancing the threes and sevens accurately, we had to hold our arms just so, catch hands on the right beat, worry about even spacing, and be sharp and precise as we moved around the floor. At first, all of this seemed overwhelming. However, in a very short time, I began to think very differently about these expectations and requirements.

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Time For the All-Ireland Championships

For first timers to Ireland, this competition is not what you may expect. You are in for quite a ride!

Before I expose competition secrets, let me review some short term planning.

I am sure you are practicing harder than ever since qualifying at oireachtas, though that is not good enough – at least for this match. Rehearse twice as much as you are now for the next 8-10 weeks before the competition. Think of this time as a chance to train as a professional with dogged determination. This is the next level.

If you practice a jig three times in a row, good. Even better, however, is to double the amount; repeat the jig twice in a row without stopping for three consecutive intervals. Do the same with your other dances and do not take a day off. I know this sounds rigorous, yet the competition is fierce. Every time you feel a cloud of exhaustion loom over you, know that overseas they NEVER stop practicing!

Concentrate on your health. Remember you are dancing as if training for an Olympic event. Diet and exercise are important for peak performance and overall well-being. Of course, we all love McDonald’s Big Macs, and it is ok to eat one occasionally. Keep in mind that “you are what you eat.” You will feel much better if you consume healthy foods. Drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Get yourself on a regimented sleep schedule. Set up a healthier routine that you can commit to daily, or at least for the next month. The results will surprise you and you will feel immense personal satisfaction.

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Are Our Girls Growing Up Too Fast?
What if J-Lo suddenly took up Irish dancing?

By Robin Ross

If J-Lo traded her onstage bumping and grinding  for good posture, pointed toes, and her flesh-colored spangles for a knee length costume patterned with Celtic knots, the preteen girls in her fan base would rush to follow. Enrollments in Irish dancing classes would soar across the country and parents would be battered with constant requests for spiral perms, if not a wig. During elementary and middle school recess, boys would tire watching female classmates practice the latest treble jig from J-Lo’s video — versus suggestive shakes and thrusts. Interesting thought.

This serves to illustrate the enormous influence that J-Lo and her fellow pop culture stars have over young audiences, especially female. Through MTV, the Top 40, prime-time TV, teen magazines, and the advertisements that permeate them all, girls have plenty of chances to find a heroine who seems attractive, exciting, and whose style can be imitated. Is that style a healthy one for a girl of thirteen to adopt?

Christina Aguilera, Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston. Women who represent success and happiness on television share a few things in common: a slim body, beautiful face, lots of possessions and overt sex appeal. Some experts say this combination can be lethal to a young girl deciding the kind of person she wants to become. The emphasis on possessions and appearance, replacing one’s true self and talents, are unhealthy. So is their short-lived childhood.

“Girls start out becoming themselves until about fifth grade, after that they become very aware of the media,” said Holly Nishimura, assistant director of The Ophelia Project® of Erie, Pennsylvania, an organization formed to help girls keep media influences in perspective. “Then the girls want something different than they originally wanted – now it is to be thin, perfectly dressed, sexy, desirable and unattainably perfect — the media’s ideal. It is a culmination of all the images they see on TV.”

Teresa Kelly, founder of The Ophelia Project, Austin, Texas, shares the same goals (though unconnected with the Pennsylvania project) and agreed that strong media influences force girls to grow up too fast. “The pop stars and fashion models who market to young girls are very sexual,” Kelly said. “Even Disney cartoons have real sexual overtones that girls did not use to be subjected to. Ads in teen magazines have twelve-year-olds modeling underwear in sexual poses. That is bewildering for girls. If they dress and act the way the media dictates, reactions from boys and men can be very confusing.”

Both Ophelia projects owe their unusual name to a book written in 1994 by Mary Pipher, a psychologist in Nebraska. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, details patterns Pipher noticed in her female, teenage therapy patients, who usually had intact families yet were suffering from serious problems such as anorexia, depression, self-mutilation or addiction. She concluded that it was not so much the parents’ failure, but the culture’s failure which caused the problems. Repeated media messages about the importance of beauty, sex appeal, and popularity hit the girls just as they were beginning to form their ideas about adulthood. The result was a dramatic drop in the girls’ self-esteem as they realized that they could not attain the ideal. Ophelia in the book’s title comes from the character in Hamlet, who drowns herself when rejected by the man she adores, not seeing hope for her own life.

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Personal Satisfaction

By Donagh Corcoran

Enjoyment is not a constant state of mind. However, when we achieve things in life we experience a sense of enjoyment. When such achievements are publicly experienced it often leads to celebration It could be passing an examination, winning at a feis or performing well in a concert.  In that state we are happy, fulfilled, excited and feel good. When we reflect on this we will notice that enjoyment is always the end of a journey. It is helpful to trace the journey and the route before that final destination.

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The journey of a student

The first stage on the journey towards enjoyment is always to develop an interest in what you are going to do. Students in school or college will each have such a journey. The student who makes the correct effort will (a) wish to understand the subjects, (b) be curious enough to deepen his/her knowledge of the subjects, (c) read books, articles and magazines on the subjects, (d) enter into discussions with other students or those with knowledge, (e) ask Teachers relevant questions, and (f) see examinations as a challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate what you have achieved through following a clear journey of knowledge.

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