Jackie O'Riley Traditional and Old-Style Irish Dance

About Jackie O'Riley Traditional and Old-Style Irish Dance

Jackie O'Riley is making a difference in the lives of young dancers with her unique program. For twelve years, O'Riley Irish Dance has been teaching kids and teens the joy of dancing. The classes focus on the social aspect of dancing rather than the competitive aspect. As well as learning the rhythm, timing and technique, students learn to understand the connection between music and dance. At O'Riley Irish Dance, the advanced classes collaborate with live musicians, and the students learn a range of Irish dances including traditional step dancing, sean-nós dance, set dancing, soft shoe and ceili dancing. Jackie is not only teaching the steps, but also the joy and vitality of carrying on this living tradition.

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O'riley Irish Dance

Jackie founded, directs, and teaches O'Riley Irish Dance, a one-of-a-kind non-competitive Irish dance program for kids and teens, now in it's 12th year. The classes emphasize dancing as a joyful, social activity rather than a competitive one. Although each class addresses developing rhythm, timing, and technique, first and foremost the emphasis is on musicality: understanding the connection between music and dance, developing a listening ear, and trying to keep the music in the dancing. In the advanced level, students collaborate with live musicians. Students learn a mix of traditional step dancing, sean-nós dance, and set dancing, as well as some soft shoe and ceili dancing. Most importantly, Jackie is trying to pass onto her dancers not just the steps themselves, but the joy and vitality of carrying on this living tradition.

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Adult Irish Dance

An introduction to sean-nós dance, we'll start each week with a gentle warmup, and then work through a beginner repertoire of sean-nós steps. ​ Registered students will receive the Zoom link via email. Zoom classes are recorded and shared via Youtube for the duration of the session. Short practice videos of the material covered in each class are also put on Youtube and are available indefinitely.

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Workshops

Featuring live music, learn original hop jig steps, co-taught by Jackie O'Riley & Rebecca McGowan. Each workshop adds steps to the dance - you can take one or all. Solo steps and group dances in hop jig time have almost entirely died out, though in records from the 18th and 19th centuries, there are many references to dancing in this meter. With the strong emphasis on the first beat in the measure, hop jigs have a distinct punch, making them a delight to dance to. We composed these steps to match the melody of the tune, and in a nod to the older practice of including a social “refrain” or “around the house” in step dances, we did this on the B parts.

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