“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”
Friedrich Nietzsche. (stock image)
A huge amount of people did some form of Irish dancing in school or a local class when they were young. Apparently, I was one of them but I only know this because there is a photo of me at some Irish dancing show in the old church hall on the fork of Tritonville Road. (On a side note this was where Boyzone filmed the music video for Key to My Life in 1995. Sadly, the 150-year-old building was demolished in 1999.)
There was also some kind of tin dancing trophy kicking around the house, which in retrospect must have been a genuine ‘participation’ token as I sincerely doubt I won it! So, yes, I did technically do some dancing when I was around four but whatever I learnt in that brief episode in my dancing career was lost a long time ago.
I was recently recruited by a friend to join an adults-only mixed ability Irish dancing class in Ringsend. New Year’s resolutions fresh in my mind, I agreed.
The first night, I was open-minded and looking forward to a bit of a bop around. I wasn’t anticipating a group of women who not only seemed to be experts but were all fitted out with legit soft and hard dance shoes. My dancing equipment amounted to a serious sports bra and a pair of converse!
It was a little daunting at first, and I stood perplexed and mortified in the back of the hall as everyone got into the first reel of the evening. “It’ll come back to you” was not happening for me. My friend, however, was off like a shot, skipping and hopping and grinning madly.
I struggled through my first 1:1 with the teacher, falling over my own feet about as gracefully as a sedated giraffe. But the class is easygoing and friendly, and they have all been there. Half of them had never danced before joining the class and the ones who have are more willing to share some tips and advice.
Three classes in and I am still working on my 1,2,3s, which is about as basic as you can get but I will persevere and in the meantime my leg muscles are certainly getting a run for their money!
http://cookeirishdancing.com/adults-classes.html
Tuesday’s 7.30pm-9.30pm,
Ringsend & Irishtown Community Centre,
Mixed Ability Class for Adults.
By Caoimhe Fox
