March Madness

March 17th is the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. While many celebrate by raising a glass, I’ll be celebrating by pointing my toes. It’s time for March Madness, and I’m not talking about basketball. Each March, Irish Dancers in Brooklyn perform at parades, pubs, parishes, and schools, and I am lucky to count myself among them.

The first time I laced up my ghillies, it was a warm September day in 2002. I was six years old and ready to enter the world of Irish Step. I haven’t looked back since. Typically, high school graduation marks the end of your Irish dance career at my studio, but I have stayed on as an assistant teacher, which has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Celebrating my 15th Saint Patrick’s Day (Month) as an Irish Dancer! These four costumes are the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and reunion group costumes, respectively.

There are two types of shoes worn for formal Irish dance routines: ghillies (or soft shoes) and hard shoes. At my Irish Dance School, hard shoes are a privilege granted only to students who pass the “hard shoe test,” but all students dance in soft shoes. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes (but not exactly the same-for a comparison video that went viral last year, click here) and ghillies are closest to ballet shoes (though even that’s a stretch).

Then, there are different types of dance for each type of shoe! Below you can see some examples of each from The Buckley School of Irish Dance (which, you know, may or may not feature a certain blog writer).

Soft Shoe Dances

Up first we have our Advanced Reel! It’s a soft shoe dance for the oldest and most experienced students. This is a performance from Coney Island’s Great Irish Fair of 2015.

Next, we have the Slip Jig! This dance features some very elegant footwork. This particular performance is from Buckley School’s recital in 2016. I am not featured, because I was already in the Reunion Group, but slip jigs make you feel like you’re flying and watching this routine can give you just a taste of that.

Meanwhile, Reunion Group was gearing up for “Human,” a more modern take on Irish Step.

Hard Shoe Dances

Here we have another performance from The Great Irish Fair of 2015. This dance is called “Irish Dance Beats.”

Lastly, we have “Irish Warriors.” This is a more traditional hard shoe routine and is a favorite among our dancers.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this teeny tiny look into the world of Irish Dance. If you’d like to know more about it and the competition world, check out the documentary JIG!

Wishing you and yours a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Margaret Iuni

Looking for more Irish culture? Check out this playlist I put together of some of my favorite (old and new) Irish Folk Songs!