IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT DANCE
By Blas Blogger
Can you imagine not being allowed to do Irish dance, or if you did you would be punished by a fine or by jail time. No, this isn’t a fiendish An Coimisiun plot to rid the world of adult dancers, but was in fact a day to day reality for the Irish people when the Public Dance Hall Act was passed by the government in 1930. This act, passed in 1930 was rigidly enforced for years. Prior to the passage of this act, the few joys that the impoverished Irish people had were their love of music and their dance. They would gather at the “crossroads” after working the fields for an often absentee landlord, for an evening of music and dance. The government passed the Dance Hall Act which prohibited people from congregating, playing music and yes dancing without a paid permit. Therefore, it was against the law for a typical Irish family to share an evening of music and dance at home with friends. The Catholic Church also saw an opportunity to capitalize on the Irish love of music and dance by erecting large parish halls with the idea of holding organized dances and charging an admission. However, many of these dances featured “big band” era type music and dance. During this period of economic hardship and cultural repression, a large segment of the population chose to immigrate to America. It is inconceivable but true that Irish music and dance was almost completely lost forever during this time period. It was only due to the foresight of organizations such as the Irish folklore society that the traditions of Irish music and dance were preserved. Now they are flourishing but we will never know for sure how much tradition was actually lost during this bleak time.
Week two rapidly was coming to an end. For most of the time I thought I would never want to leave, but closer to the end of the week getting back to a normal routine became very appealing.
It was true that I came to Ireland to dance 8 hours a day and I believe I accomplished just that. I had expert “tuition” (instruction) here at the University of Limerick and made many new friends from all over the world who share a common love of Irish music and dance.
Before the end of the week I was privileged to witness the debut of a new choreography by Dr. Catherine Foley and commissioned by An Coimisium entitled the Sionna Set. Sixteen dancers from the US, Ireland, and Great Britain joined together on the stage of the large concert hall at University of Limerick to perform this new set dance. The music was provided by the legendary musicians of Patrick Street.
On Thursday we had our last formal instruction. Friday was to be the last day of Blas complete with a performance by all the participants of this year’s program. Unfortunately, the only flight I was able to switch to left very early on Friday morning so I would not be able to join in. This may have been for the best because I would have probably stressed so much about not messing up that I would have messed up and spent my whole flight home and the following week kicking myself for messing up.
Therefore my last night there was stress free. Our final night out was at Dolan’s warehouse and a concert by Patrick Street.
The following morning two other Blas students and I shared a taxi to Shannon airport. This is my last entry and I appreciate the opportunity to share with other adult dancers what I came away with from my experience at BLAS. The lessons and tips I received were invaluable, but perhaps even more important was what I learned about the history of the dance that I love to do and how important it is to keep on doing it.
Help Preserve Irish Tradition – Keep on dancing no matter what your age!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
One Happy Camper Goes to Dance Camp - Part 7
BLAS WEEK TWO
By Blas Blogger
Week two dance instructors were Maria O’Conner and Michael Ryan. Maria is a remarkable young woman who has completed a degree in law, a masters at the University of Limerick in the Irish Dance program, teaches Irish dance at the University, and on weekends performs in Lord of the Dance.
Michael Ryan is a not only a phenomenal dancer but also produces such shows as Ragus featuring Gillian Norris. Both instructors had a similar style of teaching. We were challenged by a fast pace of new and increasingly difficult material, yet both teachers were very patient with us.
Michael was especially good about sharing the techniques necessary for executing manyof the steps. This style of teaching seems to work very well with adult students. As Orfhlaith pointed out, adults need to know where their weight is when learning new steps whereas children do not.
The routine was the same as week one with daily lecture classes, 2 technique classes per day, and evenings out. However with the amount of new dance material that we were presented with each day, and the need to have mastered that material by the next day, I began to stay in at nights to review the day’s instruction. I was also less tired the next morning than if I went out at night. Blas’ evening scheduled was friendlier for the musician who would not see the same instructor the next day so mastering the day’s lesson was not as pressing. Also many of the evenings out involved participating in a music session. While many of the dancers did continue to go out evenings, I wanted to be prepared for the next day’s class and I needed the extra time in the evening to do so.
During dance class one afternoon we were joined by Nick Yenson, a recent graduate of the 4 year degree program in Irish dance performance that the University of Limerick offers. Nick is an American originally from the DC area. He is a former student of the O’Neill-James School of Irish Dance. As a championship dancer Nick won the SRO twice and placed in the top five in both the North American Nationals and the Great Britain Nationals.
Nick was in the first class admitted to the University of Limerick’s dance program and was in the first graduating class. The first 2 years of course work included dance and music classes; the history of Irish music and dance as well as the study of the Irish language. During his third year, Nick was required to find a performance internship. He auditioned and was accepted into Riverdance. He toured with Riverdance for 3 months. The 4th year of his course work required that he take on 3 different projects: a research project; a vocational project; and a performance project.
The Irish dance program at the University of Limerick is the only one of its kind in the world. I hope that more dancers will consider this college program especially if they are not ready to completely shift their focus from Irish dance to more conventional college work.
I was very glad that I had stayed on for Week Two of Blas,
Next Blog: The Sionna Set.
By Blas Blogger
Week two dance instructors were Maria O’Conner and Michael Ryan. Maria is a remarkable young woman who has completed a degree in law, a masters at the University of Limerick in the Irish Dance program, teaches Irish dance at the University, and on weekends performs in Lord of the Dance.
Michael Ryan is a not only a phenomenal dancer but also produces such shows as Ragus featuring Gillian Norris. Both instructors had a similar style of teaching. We were challenged by a fast pace of new and increasingly difficult material, yet both teachers were very patient with us.
Michael was especially good about sharing the techniques necessary for executing manyof the steps. This style of teaching seems to work very well with adult students. As Orfhlaith pointed out, adults need to know where their weight is when learning new steps whereas children do not.
The routine was the same as week one with daily lecture classes, 2 technique classes per day, and evenings out. However with the amount of new dance material that we were presented with each day, and the need to have mastered that material by the next day, I began to stay in at nights to review the day’s instruction. I was also less tired the next morning than if I went out at night. Blas’ evening scheduled was friendlier for the musician who would not see the same instructor the next day so mastering the day’s lesson was not as pressing. Also many of the evenings out involved participating in a music session. While many of the dancers did continue to go out evenings, I wanted to be prepared for the next day’s class and I needed the extra time in the evening to do so.
During dance class one afternoon we were joined by Nick Yenson, a recent graduate of the 4 year degree program in Irish dance performance that the University of Limerick offers. Nick is an American originally from the DC area. He is a former student of the O’Neill-James School of Irish Dance. As a championship dancer Nick won the SRO twice and placed in the top five in both the North American Nationals and the Great Britain Nationals.
Nick was in the first class admitted to the University of Limerick’s dance program and was in the first graduating class. The first 2 years of course work included dance and music classes; the history of Irish music and dance as well as the study of the Irish language. During his third year, Nick was required to find a performance internship. He auditioned and was accepted into Riverdance. He toured with Riverdance for 3 months. The 4th year of his course work required that he take on 3 different projects: a research project; a vocational project; and a performance project.
The Irish dance program at the University of Limerick is the only one of its kind in the world. I hope that more dancers will consider this college program especially if they are not ready to completely shift their focus from Irish dance to more conventional college work.
I was very glad that I had stayed on for Week Two of Blas,
Next Blog: The Sionna Set.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
One Happy Camper Goes to Dance Camp - Part 6
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?
By Blas Blogger
Week one of BLAS was quickly coming to a close. It was coming faster than I realized because due to jet lag I was still a day behind. My new group of friends encouraged me to stay on another week, but I responded that I could always come again next year. I had been to Ireland 5 years earlier and had always planned to come back the next year. It had obviously taken me this long to get back and so the chances of my coming back next year were probably slim to none. So without too much arm twisting, I readily agreed to stay on for week two of BLAS.
I emailed my family with the “good” news.
Saturday was designated “On Your Own”. Several of us took the bus to Limerick. We bought beer and snacks for a session on our 4th floor lounge that evening after shopping the music stores for sheet music and CDs as well as many of the bookstores.
On Sunday, we took a day long bus tour of the Burren which is a part of Ireland known to be inhabited by an ancient civilization prior to the arrival of the Celts. Our tour guide was PJ Curtis, who is a professional broadcaster, record producer, author, and music historian. He has worked in Nashville, Memphis and Phoenix but has returned to his native place, the Burren. His most recent book is entitled THE LIGHTNING TREE and is based on his memories as a boy of a remarkable woman with healing powers named Mariah. He has won many awards for radio documentaries and other work, and he is the author of three previous books.
PJ took us a bit off the beaten track to the ruins of many a fort that still exists in the hills of Ireland. We laughed and talked all the way up the hill despite a steep climb, but there was something about reaching the top of the hill and standing in the architectural ruins of a people who had gone before that left us all silent as if we had all entered a church with services ongoing. There was no sound but the sound of the wind.
We next visited the ruins of an ancient church dating from 1644 that appeared to combine symbols of the Celtic and Christian religions. There was a fertility goddess on the outer part of the church. PJ said that local women would come to the church at night to pray for a child to the goddess. This was the part of Ireland that PJ grew up in and where he first met Mariah the subject of his most recent book. He said she was known to be a healer and therefore became a threat to the male-dominated local clergy.
After a full day, our bus took us to Dolan’s pub for dinner and another traditional session. It was a great feeling to know that I had another week left and I planned to make the most of each day.
Coming next: BLAS Week Two.
Editor's Note: Pictures coming soon!
By Blas Blogger
Week one of BLAS was quickly coming to a close. It was coming faster than I realized because due to jet lag I was still a day behind. My new group of friends encouraged me to stay on another week, but I responded that I could always come again next year. I had been to Ireland 5 years earlier and had always planned to come back the next year. It had obviously taken me this long to get back and so the chances of my coming back next year were probably slim to none. So without too much arm twisting, I readily agreed to stay on for week two of BLAS.
I emailed my family with the “good” news.
Saturday was designated “On Your Own”. Several of us took the bus to Limerick. We bought beer and snacks for a session on our 4th floor lounge that evening after shopping the music stores for sheet music and CDs as well as many of the bookstores.
On Sunday, we took a day long bus tour of the Burren which is a part of Ireland known to be inhabited by an ancient civilization prior to the arrival of the Celts. Our tour guide was PJ Curtis, who is a professional broadcaster, record producer, author, and music historian. He has worked in Nashville, Memphis and Phoenix but has returned to his native place, the Burren. His most recent book is entitled THE LIGHTNING TREE and is based on his memories as a boy of a remarkable woman with healing powers named Mariah. He has won many awards for radio documentaries and other work, and he is the author of three previous books.
PJ took us a bit off the beaten track to the ruins of many a fort that still exists in the hills of Ireland. We laughed and talked all the way up the hill despite a steep climb, but there was something about reaching the top of the hill and standing in the architectural ruins of a people who had gone before that left us all silent as if we had all entered a church with services ongoing. There was no sound but the sound of the wind.
We next visited the ruins of an ancient church dating from 1644 that appeared to combine symbols of the Celtic and Christian religions. There was a fertility goddess on the outer part of the church. PJ said that local women would come to the church at night to pray for a child to the goddess. This was the part of Ireland that PJ grew up in and where he first met Mariah the subject of his most recent book. He said she was known to be a healer and therefore became a threat to the male-dominated local clergy.
After a full day, our bus took us to Dolan’s pub for dinner and another traditional session. It was a great feeling to know that I had another week left and I planned to make the most of each day.
Coming next: BLAS Week Two.
Editor's Note: Pictures coming soon!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
One Happy Camper Goes to Dance Camp - Part 5
BLAS BLUR, WEEK ONE
By Blas Blogger
Blas combined with jet lag, a full day of class, and lots of social outings results in what I would like to call Blas Blur, Week One.
Blas is a combination of lecture classes, 2 technique classes a day, noontime concerts by faculty and invited guests and evening events. In other words it’s a pretty full 24 hour day. Coincidentally the days are pretty long in Ireland during the summer months. Twilight would be about 10:00 pm and nightfall around 10:30 pm. This seemed to encourage everyone to pack as much into the day as possible. As could be expected, it got harder to get up the following morning for class which started at 9 am.
The majority of people here at Blas are musicians with 4 students who have concentrated primarily on dance. There are several students who play an instrument as well as dance and they divide their time between the dance class and the music classes. I am not a musician and did not attend any of the music classes, but I know that the music instructors were legendary.
Each day after lunch, the instructors and invited guests would give a concert.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF IRISH DANCE
The first day of lecture was a discussion led by Orfhlaith Ni Bhriann and Niall Kegan regarding the historical aspects of Irish dance and Irish music. Originally, according to our teachers, Irish music was designed to accompany the Irish dancer. From that point, dance has seemed to take one path while Irish music has taken another. If you have ever tried to dance at a traditional session it is usually not a very easy task. The musicians play very fast, they don’t always know the dance songs we dance to, and many find playing for Irish dancers very boring since we are always asking them to slow it down so we can do our fancy steps. From the musician’s point of view, they do not get to add ornamentation or “do their fancy steps” with their music so we have evolved into two separate groups when we originally started out together.
It is not clear exactly how Irish dance evolved, but it was primarily a rural pastime. The dancing master would travel from city to city, teach steps to the residents, and then move to the next town. The Gaelic League was an organization that was formed in the 19th century to primarily promote the Irish language and Irish literature. Music and dance was not on their original agenda. However, with the popularity of Irish dance and music, the Gaelic League soon took on overseeing these two art forms. The Gaelic League wanted to promote a positive persona of the Irish people and so the idea of deportment (or rigid posture) was encouraged. The first Irish dance competition actually had non-dancers as judges because the most prominent person in the town such as a banker or attorney was selected to judge dance to promote it as a middle class or upper middle class activity. The Gaelic League wanted to take much of the “peasantry” out of Irish dance. However, in doing so they may have taken Irish dance further from its original source. This may explain the renewed interest in “sean nos” or “old style” dance.
TECHNIQUE CLASS
The first week of Technique class was taught by Limerick University faculty members, Dr. Catherine Foley, Orfhlaith Ni Bhriann Mats Merlin, as well UL artist in residence Colin Dunne.
Dr. Foley taught a treble jig that had been handed down by a pupil (Phil Cahill now deceased) who had been the student of one of the last Irish dancing masters, Jeremiah Molyneaux. (pronounce Munnix). Later that week, Mats Merlin taught us “sean nos” or old style dancing. This is probably the closest to the form of dance to that was originally performed in the rural houses and at the crossroads of Ireland. It is a free form of dance, spontaneous for the most part, using a few memorized patterns of step. The arms are held loosely and are free to move with the music, and a dancer can easily dance to the music played at most trad sessions. However, like Irish step dance, the rising popularity of sean nos dancing has resulted in the organization of sean nos competitions. At a recent competition, only one of the competitors did not have a pre-rehearsed, choreographed set.
Colin Dunne was our instructor for 4 out of the 7 classes that we had that week. I understand that he is at present doing workshops throughout the US and if anyone is able participate; I would strongly encourage any Irish dance student to take advantage of his Masterclass Workshops. No matter what your level of your dance experience or expertise everyone in the class will walk away with some important information or advice that can improve their dance skills.
EVENINGS
It of course would not be Ireland without trips to the pub, traditional Irish music, and plenty of Guinness. On Tuesday evening, a bus took our group to Killaloe to a pub there owned by Irish stage comedian Brendan Grace. Our group ended up being the session players that night. Brendan Grace also shared a bit of his repertoire as well.
On Wednesday night, Carl Corcoran the course director was afraid that the students needed a night off from evening activities. Despite the night off, our 4th floor lounge became the site for a spontaneous evening traditional session with Irish hardshoe and sean nos dancing.
Thrusday night included a concert at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick by fiddle player Martin Hayes.
The week was quickly coming to a close. I was scheduled to return to the states on Saturday morning just about the time I was well past jet lag, could at last find my way around campus without asking for directions, could now easily locate classrooms and arrive on time, and was no longer playing catch-up. I had just discovered the library and the wealth of books on Irish dance and music. It didn’t seem possible to experience Blas in just one week. I began to think about devising a Plan B.
Next Blog: THE BIG DECISION.
By Blas Blogger
Blas combined with jet lag, a full day of class, and lots of social outings results in what I would like to call Blas Blur, Week One.
Blas is a combination of lecture classes, 2 technique classes a day, noontime concerts by faculty and invited guests and evening events. In other words it’s a pretty full 24 hour day. Coincidentally the days are pretty long in Ireland during the summer months. Twilight would be about 10:00 pm and nightfall around 10:30 pm. This seemed to encourage everyone to pack as much into the day as possible. As could be expected, it got harder to get up the following morning for class which started at 9 am.
The majority of people here at Blas are musicians with 4 students who have concentrated primarily on dance. There are several students who play an instrument as well as dance and they divide their time between the dance class and the music classes. I am not a musician and did not attend any of the music classes, but I know that the music instructors were legendary.
Each day after lunch, the instructors and invited guests would give a concert.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF IRISH DANCE
The first day of lecture was a discussion led by Orfhlaith Ni Bhriann and Niall Kegan regarding the historical aspects of Irish dance and Irish music. Originally, according to our teachers, Irish music was designed to accompany the Irish dancer. From that point, dance has seemed to take one path while Irish music has taken another. If you have ever tried to dance at a traditional session it is usually not a very easy task. The musicians play very fast, they don’t always know the dance songs we dance to, and many find playing for Irish dancers very boring since we are always asking them to slow it down so we can do our fancy steps. From the musician’s point of view, they do not get to add ornamentation or “do their fancy steps” with their music so we have evolved into two separate groups when we originally started out together.
It is not clear exactly how Irish dance evolved, but it was primarily a rural pastime. The dancing master would travel from city to city, teach steps to the residents, and then move to the next town. The Gaelic League was an organization that was formed in the 19th century to primarily promote the Irish language and Irish literature. Music and dance was not on their original agenda. However, with the popularity of Irish dance and music, the Gaelic League soon took on overseeing these two art forms. The Gaelic League wanted to promote a positive persona of the Irish people and so the idea of deportment (or rigid posture) was encouraged. The first Irish dance competition actually had non-dancers as judges because the most prominent person in the town such as a banker or attorney was selected to judge dance to promote it as a middle class or upper middle class activity. The Gaelic League wanted to take much of the “peasantry” out of Irish dance. However, in doing so they may have taken Irish dance further from its original source. This may explain the renewed interest in “sean nos” or “old style” dance.
TECHNIQUE CLASS
The first week of Technique class was taught by Limerick University faculty members, Dr. Catherine Foley, Orfhlaith Ni Bhriann Mats Merlin, as well UL artist in residence Colin Dunne.
Dr. Foley taught a treble jig that had been handed down by a pupil (Phil Cahill now deceased) who had been the student of one of the last Irish dancing masters, Jeremiah Molyneaux. (pronounce Munnix). Later that week, Mats Merlin taught us “sean nos” or old style dancing. This is probably the closest to the form of dance to that was originally performed in the rural houses and at the crossroads of Ireland. It is a free form of dance, spontaneous for the most part, using a few memorized patterns of step. The arms are held loosely and are free to move with the music, and a dancer can easily dance to the music played at most trad sessions. However, like Irish step dance, the rising popularity of sean nos dancing has resulted in the organization of sean nos competitions. At a recent competition, only one of the competitors did not have a pre-rehearsed, choreographed set.
Colin Dunne was our instructor for 4 out of the 7 classes that we had that week. I understand that he is at present doing workshops throughout the US and if anyone is able participate; I would strongly encourage any Irish dance student to take advantage of his Masterclass Workshops. No matter what your level of your dance experience or expertise everyone in the class will walk away with some important information or advice that can improve their dance skills.
EVENINGS
It of course would not be Ireland without trips to the pub, traditional Irish music, and plenty of Guinness. On Tuesday evening, a bus took our group to Killaloe to a pub there owned by Irish stage comedian Brendan Grace. Our group ended up being the session players that night. Brendan Grace also shared a bit of his repertoire as well.
On Wednesday night, Carl Corcoran the course director was afraid that the students needed a night off from evening activities. Despite the night off, our 4th floor lounge became the site for a spontaneous evening traditional session with Irish hardshoe and sean nos dancing.
Thrusday night included a concert at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick by fiddle player Martin Hayes.
The week was quickly coming to a close. I was scheduled to return to the states on Saturday morning just about the time I was well past jet lag, could at last find my way around campus without asking for directions, could now easily locate classrooms and arrive on time, and was no longer playing catch-up. I had just discovered the library and the wealth of books on Irish dance and music. It didn’t seem possible to experience Blas in just one week. I began to think about devising a Plan B.
Next Blog: THE BIG DECISION.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Congratulations!
Congratulations to ALL of the adult ceili teams who competed at the 2007 North American Irish Dance Championships on Friday, July 6. The competition level was remarkable and so many teams did a wonderful job.
Adult Mixed Ceili
1. Young School (High Cauled Cap)
2. O'Rourke School (Morris Reel)
3. Crossroads Irish Dancers (Cross Reel)
Adult Ladies Ceili
1. O'Rourke School (Gates of Derry)
2. Sue Fay Healy School (High Cauled Cap)
3. Culkin School (Cross Reel)
4. Butler Fearon O'Connor School (Trip to the Cottage)
5. Young School (High Cauled Cap)
6. Bremer School (Eight Hand Reel)
7. Niall O'Leary School (Cross Reel)
8. Celtic Academy (St. Patrick's Day)
All teams were awarded places this year at the awards ceremony with the top 5 receiving crystal inukshuk statue awards.
Adult Mixed Ceili
1. Young School (High Cauled Cap)
2. O'Rourke School (Morris Reel)
3. Crossroads Irish Dancers (Cross Reel)
Adult Ladies Ceili
1. O'Rourke School (Gates of Derry)
2. Sue Fay Healy School (High Cauled Cap)
3. Culkin School (Cross Reel)
4. Butler Fearon O'Connor School (Trip to the Cottage)
5. Young School (High Cauled Cap)
6. Bremer School (Eight Hand Reel)
7. Niall O'Leary School (Cross Reel)
8. Celtic Academy (St. Patrick's Day)
All teams were awarded places this year at the awards ceremony with the top 5 receiving crystal inukshuk statue awards.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
One Happy Camper Goes to Dance Camp - Part 4
BLAS DAY ONE
By Blas Blogger
I will not dwell on any more details regarding travel to Ireland, except to say my flight to Ireland was without delay or problem. I will also confess that I am a pretty bad blogger, but better late than never.
I arrived on campus in time to attend my first Master Class taught by Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain, TCRG and Mats Merlin. Both are faculty here at the University of Limerick. Orfhlaith teachers dance classes both at the University and off campus. She is currently working on her PhD here at the University. Mats is a native of Sweden and does Sean Nos dancing which literally means “old style”.
Being jet-lagged and coming right off a plane is not the best preparation for the first Master Class. In fact, I can’t say I actually remember the class at all. So I apologize for not providing more detail. Following dinner, BLAS students attended a ceili held at the Castleroy Park Hotel. The music was provided by the University of Limerick Ceili Band and called by Mats and Orfhlaith.
The rooms we are staying in are very comfortable and are arranged in wings of the building. Each wing has a common area where we have breakfast. We make our own breakfast with groceries delivered magically by unseen housekeepers which include Irish soda bread. My room is on the 4th and topmost floor. My neighbors are from England, Finland, Ireland, and Japan.
The musicians like to gather in these rooms for after class sessions for their own music sessions. There are some amazing musicians present; several of them play and sing professionally. There are young, middle-aged, and older students. I never cease to be amazed at how traditional Irish music is the one music that seems to bridge the generations and how easily people of all ages are able to come together and share their love of Irish music and dance.
This year’s students come from Japan, Finland, Chile, Argentina, Canada, the United States, Ireland, Scotland, and England. Most of the students are here as musicians. A smaller number are attending as dancers.
From the beginning, the program has been well-organized by the staff led by Carl Corcoran. Carl is a well-known Irish musician and recording artist who lived and toured in the United States for 20 years. He returned to Ireland where he became the host of a classical music program presented on RTE radio. He became involved in Blas when he attended here as a graduate student. This is the first year that he has served as the director for Blas, and he has done such a fantastic job, it looks like he won’t be getting off the hook for next year.
I will have more details about the program in my next post. Thank you for your patience.
Editor's Note: To see a larger image of the Happy Camper's photos, please click on the image.
By Blas Blogger
I will not dwell on any more details regarding travel to Ireland, except to say my flight to Ireland was without delay or problem. I will also confess that I am a pretty bad blogger, but better late than never.
I arrived on campus in time to attend my first Master Class taught by Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain, TCRG and Mats Merlin. Both are faculty here at the University of Limerick. Orfhlaith teachers dance classes both at the University and off campus. She is currently working on her PhD here at the University. Mats is a native of Sweden and does Sean Nos dancing which literally means “old style”. Being jet-lagged and coming right off a plane is not the best preparation for the first Master Class. In fact, I can’t say I actually remember the class at all. So I apologize for not providing more detail. Following dinner, BLAS students attended a ceili held at the Castleroy Park Hotel. The music was provided by the University of Limerick Ceili Band and called by Mats and Orfhlaith.
The rooms we are staying in are very comfortable and are arranged in wings of the building. Each wing has a common area where we have breakfast. We make our own breakfast with groceries delivered magically by unseen housekeepers which include Irish soda bread. My room is on the 4th and topmost floor. My neighbors are from England, Finland, Ireland, and Japan. 
The musicians like to gather in these rooms for after class sessions for their own music sessions. There are some amazing musicians present; several of them play and sing professionally. There are young, middle-aged, and older students. I never cease to be amazed at how traditional Irish music is the one music that seems to bridge the generations and how easily people of all ages are able to come together and share their love of Irish music and dance. This year’s students come from Japan, Finland, Chile, Argentina, Canada, the United States, Ireland, Scotland, and England. Most of the students are here as musicians. A smaller number are attending as dancers.
From the beginning, the program has been well-organized by the staff led by Carl Corcoran. Carl is a well-known Irish musician and recording artist who lived and toured in the United States for 20 years. He returned to Ireland where he became the host of a classical music program presented on RTE radio. He became involved in Blas when he attended here as a graduate student. This is the first year that he has served as the director for Blas, and he has done such a fantastic job, it looks like he won’t be getting off the hook for next year.
I will have more details about the program in my next post. Thank you for your patience.Editor's Note: To see a larger image of the Happy Camper's photos, please click on the image.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Safe Travels to Ottawa
Good luck and safe travels to all of the adult dancers heading this week to the North American Irish Dance Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Damhsóir.com will be there with reports on the adult ceili competitions on Friday and observations from the Senior Ladies (and hopefully Mens) competitions on Wednesday. Be sure to check back with us here on the blog for updates, photos and commentary!
Damhsóir.com will be there with reports on the adult ceili competitions on Friday and observations from the Senior Ladies (and hopefully Mens) competitions on Wednesday. Be sure to check back with us here on the blog for updates, photos and commentary!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
