Want to try Irish dance this summer? Naples School of Irish Dance is offering a drop-in mini camp for ages 7+ from June 20 to Aug. 5 (Monday-Friday) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for $20 per day. Preregistration is required. Email naplesirishdance@gmail.com or visit www.naplesirishdance.com and www.facebook.com/DanceIrishNaples for more information.
Irish dancing is one of the oldest forms of dance, with some historians dating its beginnings from as far back as 1600 BC, and yet it is more popular today than ever, especially here in Southwest Florida. For many local families, Irish dance is more than just another afterschool activity. It’s their way of celebrating centuries’ old traditions and maintaining a connection to the past while forging new, lifelong friendships.
“When I started to dance, I danced to honor my grandmother,” says Patricia Oxx, who runs Tir Na Nog Academy of Irish Dance in Naples. “She was from Ireland and born on St. Patrick’s Day. As I got older, I began to understand the history of Ireland and the sacrifices that Irish Americans made to come here. Irish dance is part of that culture and something that needs to be continued for my generation and for future generations.”
Says Claire Gorman, co-owner (along with sister Catherine Gorman) of Celtic Spirit School of Irish Dance in Naples, “You are carrying on a tradition. There are dance steps that have been passed down from generation to generation to generation.”
But you don’t need to be Irish to learn how to Irish dance. Even the oldest traditions change in time.
Riverdance
The more modern version of Irish dance is what started Catherine and Claire Gorman, as well as many other boys and girls across the globe, on their dance careers.
According to Claire, her sister saw “Riverdance” on television when the Catherine was seven and Claire was five, and said “I want to do that!” The younger sister, of course, wanted to do the same as her older sister, and now, “We’ve been dancing our whole lives,” Claire says.
March madness
The traditional dance form of Ireland, Irish dancing is characterized by quick feet and leg movements, with the arms andbody usually kept straight and stationary. There are varying accounts of how this style developed. Some point to a belief among Catholic priests that hand movements in dance were evil, while others maintain that the small spaces available for dancing in Irish homes necessitated the limited upper body movements.
Children as young as four years old can start Irish dance lessons (the minimum age varies among schools). Dancers wear soft shoes, called ghillies, which are soft leather (somewhat similar to ballet shoes) and progress to wearing hard shoes. Students learn both individual and group dances.
All of the Irish dance schools perform throughout the year — at festivals, weddings, assisted living facilities, etc. — but the busiest day of the year is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day. To meet the large demand from the community, schools divide students into teams, and tackle several performances on the day. It's a long, exhausting day, but one that the dancers look forward to all year.
“It’s a fun bonding time because there’s so much going on,” says Julia Lupu of Naples, mother of two Irish dancers. “You really get to know people during St. Patrick’s Day performances because you spend so much time together. You carpool together, help everyone into their dresses, eat together,” she says.“It’s also fun to see everyone in the community and their attachment to their Irish roots.”
Kimberly Knaub, artistic director and co-owner, along with sister Jami Knaub, of Kellyn Celtic Arts Irish Dance Academy refers to the St. Patrick’s dance season as “March Madness.” Rightly so, as her school tackles more than 10 performances on the day, and nearly 50 during the weeks leading up to and after March 17. “The kids love it,” she says. “It’s a bonding experience. It’s not like anything else, and we talk about it forever—the crazy things that happen as we go from fine dining establishments to dancing on grass to a pub and everything in between. It’s exhausting. It’s who we are, it’s what we do.”
Dancing toward the dress
When Pat Oxx started Tir Na Nog in 1998, she was the only Irish dance school in Collier County. Celtic Arts Irish Dance Academy followed in 2003, and in 2009, Celtic Spirit opened its doors. Naples School of Irish Dance opened its doors in 2021, and is affiliated with Tir Na Nog and the Drake School of Irish Dance. With several schools in our community, families can decide if a performance-based school or competition-based school is the best fit for their children.
Tir Na Nog dancers focus on group performances, so rather than striving for medals, the (female) students’ goal is “the dress”. After progressing from soft shoes to hard, the female students know that the next step is being presented with one of the coveted purple velvet dresses to wear during performances. “The dresses are a rite of passage—and they are beautiful and traditional. It means a lot to the dancers,” says Lupu.
The progression of individual students at Tir Na Nog “totally depends on whether they have taken other dance lessons, their age, their motor skill levels, and their determination and willingness to take on the challenge,” Oxx says. “Some students progress faster than others — we don’t hold back kids back who are moving at a faster pace. One of the benefits of having a performance-based school is moving at your own pace. The individual dances don’t have to be as strong but you can still feel successful.”
Kellyn Celtic Arts also is performance-based, “because we are more interested in the art form of the dance,” Knaub explains “But some dancers do compete. It’s a facet of the dance, but it’s just one of many facets, and I don’t think it should be exalted above the others. Competitions and performances are options, not requirements.”
Dancers at the Naples School of Irish Dance can choose performance or competition.
What is a feis?
Irish dance students often can be found on weekends at an Irish dance competition, or
feis (pronounced fesh). There are hundreds of feiseanna (the plural of feis) held in the country each year. Unlike travel sports, families can choose how many (if any) feiseanna they will travel to. To participate in a regional competitions requires the permission of an instructor, and from there dancers can qualify for national and world events.
Celtic Spirit students also compete (although some also choose not to). A feis is “a great life experience,” says Claire Gorman. “You typically compete on your own, but there is this wonderful camaraderie among the girls. Everyone is cheering for you. You build a dance family, without question. It’s great to have that support.”
Not just for girls
Irish dance is a great option for boys looking for an activity.
“Irish dance has an athleticism that other types of dance doesn’t necessarily have,” explains Oxx. “If you watch a dance-off between two male dancers, you realize that it’s not something that just girls do. (Male dancers) have an ease about them — they make it look effortless and they make it look easy, and I know it’s not.”
Knaub notes, “It’s a very strong dance. It’s a very masculine dance. It provides that foot motion, that agility, that quickness that is essential for any sport. I would pit an Irish dancer against any athlete.”
Besides, she adds, “Girls like men who can dance. It’s good for the soul.”
Lifelong friendships
Traditions and heritage aside, why are kids and parents in Southwest Florida turning Irish dance? A common thread is friendship, and the strong bonds that develop among dancers, as well as the dancers’ families.
“There is a sense of community amongst the parents, and a sense of something valuable being built through time. It means something when I see the older girls doing their dances, and how great they are. There’s continuity and a path to something great, and you can see it every time you are there. There’s a sense of family, caring, and community, and everyone is contributing to something worthwhile,” says Lupu.
“Irish dancing creates this bond that continues to hold through adulthood,” says Oxx. “I still have friends from Irish dancing that I grew up with. I thought it was an experience unique to me. But it’s not.” She notes that Tir Na Nog dancers who have gone off to college make a point of getting together when in Naples on breaks, and also often come back to visit rehearsals, or even perform with the group.
Photos by Rachel Durik/Savor Photography
