Sean-nós & Set Dance with Maldon
Specializing in easy to follow step by step instruction for all levels
Step Dancing
10/07 Irish Step Dance
Curious about Irish step dance? How are Old-style step dance, sean-nos dance and Irish step dance different? How are they the same?
Christina White joins our tea time talk to talk about Irish step dance and the Oregon Irish Dance Academy a Non-Competitive Irish Dancing school based in Portland, Oregon.
Guest: Christina White of Oregon Irish Dance Academy
Creating a Home Studio
06 Tea Time Talks | Creating a Home Studio 9/30/2020
We built an amazing sprung dance floor at the Stomptown Collective Dance Studio. I could dance for eight hours on that floor and not feel any discomfort. Other floors could cause problems in the first hour. I will go into detail about how we built the floor. Has anyone else experienced building a dance floor? Do you want to build a home or garage studio? We will address all your questions.
Costuming for Performance
05 Tea Time Talks | Costuming for Performance 09.23.2020
Looking for costumes for performing? Costuming ideas for the solo dancer and dance groups. We examine custom made costumes, store bought costumes and creative fixes. Historical costuming, traditional costumes and modern costumes. Do you have any costume ideas to share?
Special Guest: Amber Milmore from the Freckled Lass
Music for Sean-nós Dance
Looking for albums to purchase for your sean-nós dance practice? We examine some of my favorite albums for dance, tricks for practicing, the amazing slower downer, dancing to live music and favorite instruments. What are your favorite albums, instruments and musicians to dance to?
I made a youtube playlist of the artists mentioned in our tea time talk. When ever possible I used a youtube track from one of their albums, if they didn’t have an album on youtube I used a video clip. The playlist is in order of when the artist was mentioned the tea time talk.
Notes & Links to accompany the talk:
We ended the zoom with a poem from my dad.
Group Therapy, by Phil Meehan
Yawi, (Aztecan) to go, to travel through space
YAWI, young, attractive, white, intelligent. Acronym used to describe clients in a successful psychiatric practice.
I can say of self to be much traveled, list the myriad ways I’ve capsized
And came up roses. That is the work of the gods.
I am older than I look, one day beggar, next day lord, my tricks can dupe
A multitude. I am Greek unless I am not.
That too is god’s work: a Caucasian Christ, my countryman. My self-love
Walks on an ice pond, if it cracks you hand me a bathrobe,
Call me saint. I love the gods that made me you, we all could be chosen.
I am called wily, one trick pony, the wooden horse,
How I can love and leave and get back all I have lost, except for crew:
Those casualties of a lower caste, the king’s ransom that I be king.
I am Odysseus, a prince among men, wherever I go, I come home again.
Dance Shoes & Wooden Taps
03 Tea Time Talks | Dance Shoes & Wooden Taps 09.09.2020
Shoes, shoes, shoes! You’ve been asking and here is your answer! This video will provide information on the various types of shoes used for traditional Irish dance, as well as what materials they are made from. This could have been an all day zoom, but alas we only have an hour. We talk about dance shoes. Which shoes do you use for set dancing, sean-nós, old-style step dance and more? What about the best materials: metal taps, wooden taps, neolite, leather, plastic? Who is making wooden taps?
Personal Training for the Dancer
02 Tea Time Talk | Personal Training for the Dancer 09.02.2020
Join us as a local guest personal trainer/boxing coach talks about the importance to strength training for the dancer and injury prevention. He will also explore the boxing and dancing connection. Have you used strength training to improve your dancing? Are you curious?
Special Guest: Jermy Posadas
Tea Time Talk #1 — Dance Floors (Originally aired August 26, 2020)
Where do you dance when you can’t get to the hall? In this Tea Time Talk, we dig into the art (and practicality!) of creating your own dance floor — from portable panels to home studio setups.
This lively conversation grew out of a question that comes up again and again among dancers: what’s the best kind of floor for Irish dance practice? You’ll hear creative ideas from dancers who’ve built their own floors, along with my own experiments — the successes, the flops, and the surprising discoveries along the way.
Whether you’re working in a spare room, garage, or backyard, this talk offers inspiration and practical tips for crafting a floor that feels good under your feet and keeps your dancing alive at home.
