Wings on their dance shoes

      

Irish weddings are big events in a  young couple's life together. 

Not many blog readers have participated in such a wedding as witnesses, family, and share in the reception. Well, after the wedding ceremony, people head to food and drink, cut the cake, and then dance. Then they dance. Oh my do they dance!!

 At this bride's reception, some gifted dancers stir up the pot, set the kettle on to boil: Members of the Riverdance are on the dance floor.

The Riverdance performances are breath taking.  When Flatley comes on stage like a shooting star, it is impressive. See below.

   1988 was the beginning of Irish Dance Popularity Jean Buter and Michael Flatley(the choreographer and creator of RiverDance). 

          

He is not a humble man.

Enjoy St. Paddy's Day!  Avoid the garishness of canals died green in Chicago.

  Eat corned beef (not really an Irish thing), boiled potatoes, onions, and cabbage. Irish brown bread is essential. Top it all of with a "trifle", which is really a British and Irish dessert.

Guinness is up to you.

Hoist a pint, or maybe two

Pionta a chrochadh.

Dancing in the Rain

 

 With Guinness and shepherd's pie on the line, St. Paddy's Day cannot be ignored.

My gr-daughters are Irish dancers. It is possible that our photos and dance recordings of the two of them could overwhelm you.  Instead, you will  see a world record of Irish dancers performing across the bridge, with the line wrapping down along the street.  

Riverdance on the banks of the Liffey

 Here is a write-up about that day:

"Riverdance World Record Longest Line 21st July 2013 - What a fantastic day on the banks of the River Liffey. A sincere thank you to all who made it happen - .. but most especially all the 1693 record breaking dancers from 44 countries whose enthusiasm and energy made the day and broke the record! Thank you!


Lead by Jean Butler and Padraic Moyles and over 115 Riverdance dancers in costume, the Riverdance line stretched for 1km along the north and south banks of the river Liffey, Dublin. The dancers were watched by an audience of thousands cheering them on as they danced for 5 continuous minutes in an unbroken line into the record books.

Over a 1000 of the dancers mastered the Riverdance step and these fantastic dancers danced Riverdance for 5 continuous minutes with the professional Riverdance dancers then after a short rest they joined the other dancers to dance for another 5 minutes to break the world record.

Our gr-daughters in 2018 Yosemite trip. 

You cannot picture how amazing that time was.

                         “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!”

Law leh Paw-drig suna yee-uv

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Raise a Cup, Hoist a Pint

Weddings are joyful (usually) events where two people make vows to love and care for each for the rest of their lives.  

Probably each reader participated in such a wedding as witnesses, family, and share in the reception. Well, actually, after the wedding ceremony, people head to food and drink, cut the cake, and then dance. It can all be pretty sedate and forgettable.

  

Riverdance in 1988 which inspired Irish Dancing all over the world

On YouTube you will find so many clips of Michael Flatley who was never a humble self-deprecating fella.

But, have any of you EVER witnessed an Irish wedding? Look at these men, of all ages, dancing in rhythm.  Father of the bride is in there, with them all.

There you are, a St. Patrick's Day gift for all to enjoy a wedding done right.
Did you notice all ages join in?  The guest dancer is a professional dancer.

Enjoy St. Paddy's Day!  Avoid the garishness of canals died green in Chicago.

  Eat corned beef (not really an Irish thing), boiled potatoes, onions, and cabbage.  Top it all of with a "trifle", which is really a British and Irish dessert.

Guinness is up to you.

Hoist a pint, or maybe two

The Dancer Is a Child

Satellite view of Ireland

From the first slip jig of the day to the last reel at the end, one fact was abundantly clear:  every competitor in this Irish Dance Feis (Fesh) was still a kid. 

Oh, each one gave their best to stand tall and be mature. 

Their toe points were perfect.  The arms were straight.  Knees straight on the kicks.  1 2 3 4 5 6 7, Hop 2 3, Hop 2 3, Back you go 4 5 6 7, Hop 2 3 and Hop 2 3. 

Wigs are now required as dancers move up the ranks—curly crazy wigs that bounce to accentuate the dance.  The dance schools each have their own school color and design.  It can be blue with red pleats, the Celtic designs in bold embroidery, white with orange pleats, or any of many variations.  The shoes are either soft shoe or hard shoe.  The white socks are held in place up to the calf with sock glue.

This is a long way from the surge of Irish dance of Riverdance fame.  

For an article that compares the past to the present click here.  You will see the before and after photos of Irish dancing!

Many words could be written about how something simple and pure morphs into a huge business in the world of dance with rules and regulations, expense (one “worn only twice” solo dress was for sale: $1,200) and dedication.  They won’t be written here.

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After the dancers finish and the dance costumes carefully put away, the dancers are children.  The shoes are packed, and flip flops replace them.  Tee shirts and shorts don’t glitter, and the wigs are off with a pony tail in their place.   

They stand before the wall with the results numbers.  There is both joy and disappointment.  One little girl (in the beginners 1, under 8 yrs. competitions) searched for the scores for her dances.  There she was:  a 3^rd place, another 3^rd place, oh and a 2^nd place.  Oh, Mommy, there I am!  I got a 1^st place!! 

That little face lifted to her mother, those sparkling eyes, and a huge smile say that the dancers are still kids-- kids who want a hug and then go to get some ice cream, and maybe a movie.