You may not believe it, but Tim and I aren’t exactly the world’s greatest dancers. We were always the type who would hang around the perimeter of the dance floor back in high school, thankful that we weren’t out there making fools of ourselves.
But that was then, and this is now.
We’ve been seeing listings in our calendar lately for Irish dance classes at Bow Mills United Methodist Church, and thought it was about time we finally went and checked it out.
The dance lessons, put on by In The Field Irish Dancers and taught by Jean Ver Hoeven, take place at the church every Wednesday evening, and there are three separate sessions. I stopped by at 5:30 for the teens/adults (new and veteran) class – and even then, I was pretty sure I was going to be out of my league.
To my pleasant surprise, I wasn’t the only newbie there – there were a few other gentlemen who were just starting out, too, but most of the 11 other attendees were experienced.
That said, it was a very welcoming, friendly atmosphere, and I never felt truly intimidated or nervous. My biggest fear was just looking like a fool in front of people who actually know what they’re doing, but in the end, what’s the big deal?
Ver Hoeven, the instructor, let the class know that I, a member of the powerful Concord news media, would be participating for the sake of this story and that I was a true beginner, so that helped me relax a bit more, too. If you’re going to be terrible at something, it’s always best that everyone there is prepared for that, so they’re not surprised when you do, in fact, fail.
The first order of business was lining up against a wall while Ver Hoeven stood in front of us showing us how to stand – heels together making a V shape, head up, arms by the sides and pushed back just an inch or two, shoulders relaxed.
She then explained that Irish dancing has two basic counts to keep track of – threes and sevens. Given my background in music, I thought it was odd (get it?) to work on threes and sevens, rather than, say, fours and eights, but hey, what did I know?
The seven count refers to how many steps you take side to side, crossing one leg behind the other. The threes were about stepping forward or back, and these threes all involved a sort of rocking motion, in which you land on your front foot, then go back to your back one, then back to the front for a total of three steps.
After a few tries of some of these steps alone, we paired up for some other moves. My partner was Moira Milligan, a girl many years my junior but light-years ahead of me in the field (get it?) of Irish dancing.
I kept breaking all kinds of rules – looking down at my feet, putting my arms behind my back instead of at my sides – but Moira was a great tutor, telling me I was doing fine and helping me find my way from time to time. After a few more tries, I actually started to get the hang of it (though Moira reminded me what to do on many occasions) and was dancing away by the end of the night.
If you’ve ever thought about learning how to dance in the old Irish tradition, give this a try. For more info, go to inthefieldirishdancers.jimdo.com or call (856) 304-5830.
