Irish Dancers Step Up for Pre-St. Patrick’s Day Show

Just a mere 24 hours before the was set to trace its new route through the village, the helped numerous residents get their Irish on by playing host to the School of Irish Dance on Saturday afternoon.

The show consisted of many variations of traditional Irish dancing and Celtic music with dancers ranging from as young as eight all the way to 23 years old. It was the first Irish dance show in the auditorium since it has been renamed for Ann C. Hurley, who passed away in 2011, with the production also in dedication to her.

The dancing began with a classic style called a reel, one of the four main traditional dances along with the jig, the waltz and the strathspey. The senior dancers – four girls and two boys – opened before being followed by some of the younger reel dancers while members of the generationally mixed audience clapped and sang along with some of the more familiar tunes.

Tommy Deegan, father of one of the senior dancers, performed some classic Irish folk music with his guitar in between the sets, which resumed with a group of six dancers doing a treble jig, performed wearing hard shoes which make noise as the dancers tap around stage.

For some contrast the next set was a slip jig, performed in soft shoes with the only sound during being the Celtic music in the background and another hard shoe dance style called the hornpipe.

Kristin Callaghan – one of the senior dancers – performed a solo piece which helped her win the under-19 Ladies Oireachtas, the qualifying round before World Irish Dance Championship competition. She was then joined on stage by dancers of various ages to give a demonstration of a four-handed kayleigh step dance which requires precision and teamwork as dancers most keep time together and hold hand throughout the piece. The dance is often taught at an early age to more or less force the younger dancers to learn how to work together for other dances.

One of the first routines most Irish dancers learn is a light jig, which members of the younger group – some of whom were medalists at All Ireland dance competition – also performed while on stage.

The troupe capped off the performance with an extravaganza set with all the dancers taking the stage at once.

Deegan’s wife, May O’Boyle-Deegan, who also announced the show, noted that the troupe will be walking in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade along with the Irish American society.

For more information on Irish dancing or the Donny Golden dance school, email donnygoldenschool@gmail.com or visit Donnygoldenschool.com