Irish Dance Extravaganza

One of our first introductions to Irish music came from watching the original Riverdance show. Each time we watched the video, the girls would dance around the house in their most "tappy" shoes and dream of being Irish dancers. Back then we thought the instrumental parts were boring, but obviously they made an impression in years to come! These days we appreciate the wonderful compositions by Bill Whelan and enjoy the talent exhibited by the Riverdance musicians and wholeheartedly make it known we love Irish music.

A dream came true three years ago when we discovered Irish dancing in our area. Irish ceili dancing is social, non-competitive line dancing that all ages can enjoy. The same music, rythmns, knotwork, and footwork that makes Riverdance so special is present in Irish ceili dancing. We love it because it because all the movements are very entwined with the music. Portland is fortunate to have one of the best ceili dance teachers in the Northwest, Sam Keator. We feel blessed to know him and learn from him. Do you want to do something special next month? Check out Sam's weekly classes and monthly ceili's. You might even see us there! http://mysite.verizon.net/res0i3uk/samkeator/

Back to Riverdance: last weekend we got to enjoy the extravaganza of Irish dance live here in Portland. It was breathtaking! It was one of our musical dreams come true! But this time, we can not only be spectators, we can enjoy Irish music and dance ourselves. And we can do our part to share Irish culture with the world. How blessed we are!