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Category: Advanced
Step | Sean-nós | Reel | Side Step, Drum and Hips Creations
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In A Day | Irish Sean-nós Jigs
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2024 Sean-nós & Sets | Polkas
intro
week 1
Beginner
- 123’s
- side step
Intermediate
- Double time
- shuff-le backs
- hips
Advanced
- Double time
- shuff-le backs wiht single time
- hips with single time
week 2
Beginner
- Chose any or all steps from last term and dance it to a polka.
- Explore Roisin’s jig steps.
- Abolute begginners class or vocabulary steps and try them to polkas. Search this on the site.
- Beginner Jig course
Intermediate
- Chose any or all steps from last term and dance it to a polka.
- Chose any reel, jig or slide step and dancing it to a polka. Jigs and slides replace the 1234 sound with a reel rhythm or a 123 sound ilke the 123 step from week 1.
Advanced
week 3
week 4
Dancing the Tune!
Biddy Martin’s
Playlist for kid’s class with polka songs and steps
week 5
Improvisation!
There is no right or wrong here today. Improvisation is about play and playing with your steps and the music. Mistakes are not mistakes, keep going and exploring.
- Full variation & creation list document – This is a google document. You can view it and if you want a copy or want to edit it save it to your google drive and you will be able to do anything you like to the document.
- Variations & creation list
- 28 | Tea Time Talk | Improvisation
week 6
Step Creation!
Beginner
- 123’s – insert a movement
Intermediate
- Advance & Retire step – insert a movement
Advanced
- Double time reel step (shit step) – insert a movement
Insert a movement – insert a movement or a pattern into the original step. You might have to remove an equal amount of bars to make the step square or you can choose to leave them in and have a step that goes across the bars of music or something that you square off eventually.
- Insert: the Swung side step
- Insert: one of the reel steps from Spring term.
- Direction: Create something that works for moving in a leadaround pattern.
- Play with another direction.
- Rearrange the Step: Move the parts of the step around to create a new pattern.
- Rearrange the rhythm – rearrange the step to create a different rhythm.
Full variation & creation list document
week 7
Putting it all together!
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Set Dance steps – Mapped, Half Mapped and Unmapped
You can also apply all of what we have learned over the last 6 weeks to your set dancing. Here’s the Cashel set if you would like to apply this to your set dancing.
Cashel Set – You could map what advance & retire step you might use for the Cashel set. There are other polka sets as well that you could do this with.
Mapped out
Here are a few mapped out options for you to explore.
Roisin Steps to Polkas – Mapped out
- Stamp & Stamp
- Heel & Stab
- Cross Step
- Circle Step
- Zig Zag
- Side Step (3)
- Single Side step
- Heel Toe Heel
Polka steps – Mapped out
- 123’s (with or without heel or tap extra beats)
- 1 & 2 & 123 (with or without heel or tap extra beats)
- Side step (with or without heel or tap extra beats)
- Mick’s Advance & Retire Step
- Kick Up step
- Any trick in polka time with 123’s as the timming step
Half Mapped
Alternate between happed and unmapped. Chose one step to keep going back to or map out a routine and leave everyother 8 bars open.
Unmapped
Unmapped. You can take everything you have learned and dance unmapped. Your steps can be unmapped but if you want some guide rails try picking a few improvisational tricks and dance with them in mind. In class we only danced one at a time as an exercise. The skys the limit. Pick as few or as many as you want to play with. Full variation & creation list document
week 8
Putting it all together!
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Continue to work on your routines mapped or unmapped.
tunes
Music page – Membership music page. Here you will find many of the tunes on this site in one place. Each tune has a page with resources and downloads. Some tunes have a breakdown of the tune in a spreadsheet that you can use for writing and mapping out steps. If there is a tune that is not done yet and you would like to use it please let me know and I will create a breakdown for you. Over time my hope is to have a breakdown for each tune on the site to make it easy for you to create routines and choreography.
Here are a few tunes to get you started.
10am Wednesdays | 2024 Spring | Class | Sean-nós Dance | Reels | All levels
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10/2025 | 6:30PM Wed | Sean-nós Dance
intro
Playlist for the Month
week 1
Week 1 – Clare Battering
Clare Elements – Clare Battering Week 1
The morning class is working on Clare Battering steps from Aiden and Mick.
- Review
- Clare Battering #1 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Clare Battering #2 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Alicia Guinn Clare Battering #3 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Mick Banner – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Mick $500 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Aiden Vaughn
- Drill
- Mick Banner – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Mick $500 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Ideas for the future
- Floor Shuffle vs Regular Shuffles with each step
- Right only, Left only, two sided
- Clare Battering #1 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Clare Battering #2 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Alicia Guinn Clare Battering #3 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Mick Banner – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Mick $500 – Floor Shuffle – Regular Shuffles
- Aiden Vaughn
- Variations – Taking any of these steps and shaping them into variations that suit your own feet and style might open up new possibilities. You might choose to simplify, embellish, or add elements from the master list. This kind of play can make the steps feel more comfortable and personal, helping you bring them naturally into your regular repertoire.
- Master List of Improvistation and step creation elements
week 2
Week 2 – Clare Advance & Retire (review battering steps)
week 3
Week 3 –
week 4
Week 4 –
week 5
Week 5 –
10/2025 | 7:30am | M-W-F | Sean-nós & Battering
intro
This tab has everything you need in one spot: the full playlist of videos for this month, the monthly schedule with links and the playlist.
- October Schedule – with links to all the indvidual steps and playlists for each week.
- Entire Month Video Playlist – All the zoom classes as well as practice videos.
- Entire Month Spotify Playlist – All the albums in one place.
September Schedule
playlist
week 1
Week 1 – Clare Battering
Resources
- Step Videos –
- Clare Batter #1
- Clare Batter #2 https://maldonmeehan.com/battering-for-sets-reels-clare-batter-2/
- Clare Batter #3 https://maldonmeehan.com/battering-for-sets-reels-clare-batter-3/
- Mick Banner – https://maldonmeehan.com/battering-for-sets-reels-clare-batter-mick-1/
- Mick $500
- Aidan Vaughan
- https://maldonmeehan.com/irish-set-dancing-clare-battering/
- Music Playlists – Spotify & YouTube
- Spotify
- YouTube
- Previous Courses
Live Zoom Classes
- Woodshed #1 (10/1)– Focused session covering Clare Battering Steps
- Woodshed #2 (10/3) – Focused session covering Clare Advance & Retire Steps
Woodshed: Clare #1,#2,#3, Mick Banner, Mick $500, Aidan
Woodshed: Mick A&R, Maldon A&R, Hare’s Paw A&R, Willie A&R #1,2,3,4
Mick Mulkerrin
Aidan Vaughan
week 2
Week 2 – Clare Battering Transitions
Resources
- Previous Course – See week 1
Live Zoom Classes
- Woodshed (10/6)– Focused session covering Clare Battering and Advance & Retires
- Keep Her Lit (10/8) – Clare Battering drilling & September routines & steps
- Speed & Craic (10/10) – Tulla Céilí Band
Woodshed: Clare Routine & Transitions
Keep Her Lit:
- Clare Battering – Lead / Follow / Two Sided
- Clare Batter #1
- Mick A&R
- Clare Batter #2
- Maldon A&R
- Clare Batter #3
- Hare’s Paw A&R
- Mick Banner
- Willie A&R
- Mick $500
- Willie A&R 2
- Aidan Vaughan
Speed & Craic: Whole Album (Tulla Céilí Band “A Celbration of 50 Years Spotify or Apple) Clare Elements
Clare Elements
- Shuffle on the floor (Clare) single, 2, or more
- Shuffle in the air (regular shuffle)
- Step “catch” drop or 123
- Heel backs & with tips
- ball drop step (ball drop tap)
- Paddy tips & triplets
- hips & trips
- mick banner frist half & second half
- Wille frist quarter 2 sides, frist half
- Will shuffle backs
- Heels options
- Delay – ronan and options
- Mick $500 middle, frist half, second half
- Aiden
week 3
Week 3 – Jigs, Polkas and Slides, The Sunday Set
Recourses
- Step Videos:
- Clare – Jig Advance & Retire
- Jigs –
- Slides –
- Poklkas – Mick’s Polka Step
Woodshed
- Woodsheds: Polkas
Keep Her Lit
Speed & Craic
- Sliabh Notes Gleanntán
- Elements from Polkas, Jigs, Slides
week 4
Week 4 – Jigs, Polkas and Slides, (maybe Hornpipes & Cavan Step)
Woodshed
- 1234 and 12345 elements
- Mick’s step – polka, sldie, jig
- tip down, heel down elements
- Jigs – nice pattern 1 & 2 & 1234 vs Slides nice pattern 1234 1 & 2
week 5
Week 5
Jig Play
- Jigs
Keep Her Lit
- Jigs
Speed & Craic
- Happy Halloween
- Johnn Óg Connolly, Fear Inis Bearachain
09/2025 | Wed 6:30pm | Sean-nós
intro
This tab has everything you need in one spot: the full playlist of videos for this month, the monthly schedule with links and the playlist.
- Entire Month Video Playlist – All the zoom classes as well as practice videos.
September Schedule
- Sept. 3 – Worked on steps from morning class
- Sept. 10 – Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig
- Sept. 17
- Sept 24
Entire Month Video Playlist
week 1
Week 1 –
Make up class for the morning woodshed of The Rookery Set. The power was out and this was the make up class for the September Dance by Ear.
Class: Finish the Rookery
week 2
Week 2 – Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig
Resources
- Step Videos – Individual Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig steps
- Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig A
- Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig B
- Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig C
- Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig D
- Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig E
- Music Playlists – Spotify & YouTube
Zoom Class: Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig
YouTube: Paidhin O’Rafferty’s Jig
Collobrate and add videos here – if you find recordings that like please add them to the playlist or let me know and I can add them.
week 3
week 4
Week 4
- The Sunday Set
Zoom Class
- The Sunday Set – building it up one step at a time at a slow tempo.
09/2025 | M-W-F | 7:30 AM | Sean-nós | Dance by Ear
intro
This tab has everything you need in one spot: the full playlist of videos for this month, the monthly schedule with links and the playlist.
- September Schedule – with links to all the indvidual steps and playlists for each week.
- Entire Month Video Playlist – All the zoom classes as well as practice videos.
- Entire Month Spotify Playlist – All the albums in one place.
September Schedule
| Monday | Wednesday | Friday | |
| 7:30 am (PST) | Woodshed | Keep Her Lit | Speed & Craic |
| Week 1 Caitlin Nic Gabhann | Sept 1 No Class 😩 Power was out! This is what my dad and I did while the power was out | Sept 3 The Rookery Course Woodshed #1 Rookery #1 Rookery #2 Rookery #3 Rookery #4 Woodshed #2 Rookery #5 Rookery #6 Rookery #7 Rookery #8 The Whole Routine! | Sept 5 Caitlín by Caitlin Nic Gabhann Spotify or Apple |
| Week 2 John Carty | Sept 8 G White’s #1 G White’s #2 G White’s #3 G White’s #4 G White’s 1-7 G White’s #5 G White’s #6 G White’s #7 | Sept 10 George White’s 1-7 Hare’s Paw A & B Full August Course Hare’s Paw The Rookery 1-8 | Sept 12 Yeh, That’s All It Is by John Carty Spotify or Apple |
| Week 3 Bobby Gardiner | Sept 15 Stamp & Stamp Madness Paraig Basic Paraig Heel Toe Heel Boffin Meave Mick Advance & Retire Clare Battering Step Tricky Hips Willie Keane | Sept 17 Paraig Ó Haibicín The Sunday Set The Rookery Course Hare’s Paw George White’s Favourite | Sept 19 Melodeon Mad! by Bobby Gardiner Spotify or Apple |
| Week 4 Cran | Sept 22 Accapella Reels 3 Shuffles, 2 Shuffles, 5 Heels Cross Step Run on with a Pause Tip Step with Click Run on with no Pause Tip Step Both Sides Side Step Hop Step Run on in a Circle 3 Tips Step Finishing Step | Sept 24 Accapella Reels Paraig Ó Haibicín The Sunday Set The Rookery Course George White’s Favourite Hare’s Paw | Sept 26 Black Black Black by Cran Spotify or Apple Happy Birthday to Maldon! |
| Week 5 Challenge Yourself! | Sept 29 Monthly Challenge! The Rookery Course, George White’s, Paraig Ó Haibicín & The Sunday Set, Accapella Reels |
Entire Month Video Playlist
Entire Month Spotify Playlist
week 1
Week 1 – The Rookery Steps & Caitlín Nic Gabhann’s Music
Resources
- Step Videos – Individual Rookery steps & all the videos
- Rookery #1 – A – Slide
- Rookery #2 – A – Nancy Blake Heels
- Rookery #3 – B – Slide Hips
- Rookery #4 – B – Slide Hips Drum
- Rookery #5 – A – Nancy Blake Heels & Stabs
- Rookery #6 – A – Toe Tap
- Rookery #7 – B – Slide Hips Double Slide (Kirin’s)
- Rookery #8 – B – Slide Hips Slide Click Drum (Quincy’s)
- All the vides: Rookery All
- Music Playlists – Spotify & YouTube, including Alan Kelly’s version (recommended by Sheila)
- Previous Course – Rookery Steps course
All The Steps: Steps #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8
Live Zoom Classes
- Woodshed #1 (9/3)– Focused session covering Rookery Steps #1–4
- Woodshed #2 (9/3)– Focused session covering Rookery Steps #5-8
- Keep Her Lit (?) – Revisit and dance through all Rookery steps together
- Speed & Craic (9/5) – Dancing to Caitlín by Caitlín Nic Gabhann
Woodshed: Steps #1, #2, #3, #4
Woodshed: Steps #5, #6, #7, #8
Adding each step one at a time | Slow
Keep Her Lit: Steps #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8
Speed & Craic: The Rookery Elements
Speed & Craic: The Whole Album with some of the element
week 2
Week 2 – George White’s Favourite
Resources
- Step Videos – Individual Rookery steps & all the videos
- George White’s Favourite #1 – A – Side Synco Step
- George White’s Favourite #2– B – Devane Heel Ball Flap
- George White’s Favourite #3– B – Step Shuffle extra shuffle/Heels
- George White’s Favourite #4– A – Kick Up
- George White’s Favourite #5 – A – Zombie
- George White’s Favourite #6 – B – Side Step with floor shuffles
- George White’s Favourite #7– B – Tricky
- All the videos: George White’s Favourite
- Music Playlists – Spotify & YouTube
- Previous Course – George White’s Steps course
Live Zoom Classes
- Woodshed (9/8)– Focused session coveringGeroge White’s Favourite Steps #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
- Keep Her Lit (9/10) – Revisit and dance through all George Whites Favourite steps together (1-7)
- Speed & Craic (9/5) – Dancing to Yeh, That’s All It Is by John Carty.
Woodshed: Steps #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
Keep Her Lit: Rookery (Week 1), The Rookery, Hare’s Paw (August), George White’s, plus some speed & craic at the end!
- The Rookery Order list – Printable
- George White’s Order list – Printable
Speed & Craic: Whole Album (Yeh, That’s All It Is by John Carty
Spotify or Apple)
week 3
Week 3 – Paraig O Haibicín & The Sunday Set
Recourses
- Step Videos: Paraig Videos
- Step Videos: The Sunday Set
- Sunday Set | Lesson 1 | Stamp & Stamp
- Sunday Set | Lesson 2 | Madness
- Sunday Set | Lesson 3 | Paraig Basic
- Sunday Set | Lesson 4 | Paraig Heel Toe Heel
- Sunday Set | Lesson 5 | Boffin
- Sunday Set | Lesson 6 | Meave
- Sunday Set | Lesson 7 | Mick Advance & Retire
- Sunday Set | Lesson 8 | Clare Battering Step
- Sunday Set | Lesson 9 | Tricky
- Sunday Set | Lesson 10 | Hips
- Sunday Set | Lesson 11 | Willie Keane
Woodshed
- Woodshed of all the steps from the Sunday set, plus extra beats and variations.
Keep Her Lit
Speed & Craic
- 09.19.2025 Speed & Craic
- Melodeon Mad! by Bobby Gardiner
Spotify or Apple- 1. Reels
- 2. Jigs
- 3. Hornpipe
- 4. Waltz
- 5. Polka
- 6. Horpipe
- 7. Polka/Song
- 8. Reels
- 9. Jigs
- 10. Jig
- 11. Reel
- 12. Jig
- 13. Walz
- 14. Hornpipe
- Elements from The Sunday Set
- Stamp & Stamp (extra beats)
- Connemara (extra beats)
- Shuffle steps
- Shuffle steps triplets
- One sided shuffle & drops
- One sided shuffle & drops (triplets)
- Paraig timing step
- Paraig timing step (triplets)
- Paraig toe toe heel
- Paraig toe toe heel (heel down triplets?)
- Boffin (first half)
- Bofifn (extra beats)
- Boffin ending
- Boffin ending (extra beats)
- Meave
- Meave (extra beat)
- Meave (play)
- Mick (frist half)
- Heel backs
- Clare battering
- Tricky (all varations)
- Hips (two sided)
- Willie heel slap
- Willie heel slap dealy
- Willie heels
- Shuffle backs
- Shuffle backs (triplets)
- Shuffle backs (other beats)
week 4
Week 4 – A Capella Reels
Woodshed
- Accapella Reels
- 3 Shuffles, 2 Shuffles, 5 Heels
- Cross Step
- Run on with a Pause Tip Step with Click
- Run on with no Pause
- Tip Step Both Sides Side Step
- Hop Step
- Run on in a Circle
- 3 Tips Step
- Finishing Step
Keep Her Lit
- Week 4 – Accapella Reels
- Week 3 – Paraig Ó Haibicín & The Sunday Set
- Week 2 – George White’s Favourite
- Week 1 – The Rookery Course
- August – Hare’s Paw
Speed & Craic
week 5
Week 5 – Monthly Challenge (Sept 29)
Thank you for an incredible month of woodshedding, keeping her lit, and speed & craic!
Today we’ll take on the Monthly Challenge: dancing all the material from September—plus the Hare’s Paw from August—at full tempo.
Be Kind to Yourself
This challenge is not about perfection. Even I won’t dance everything perfectly at full tempo without messing up, slipping off time, or letting any old step pop out of my feet. The goal is to push ourselves, see what sticks, and notice how far we’ve come.
How It Works
- We’ll run through every routine at full tempo.
- If the music feels too fast, pick any step you can manage at that speed.
- Challenge yourself to remember the routines as well as to dance them.
Why We Do It
This is our ultimate test: finding which steps you want to light in your repertoire and build toward playing with live music or in a session. Notice:
- Which steps are already there?
- Which ones need a slower starting tempo for practice?
- Which ones spark joy and deserve to stay in your repertoire?
My hope is that something from this month will speak to you—something you’ll carry forward, polish, and dance in community with others.
Full Speed – Monthly Challenge!
- A Capella Reels – A Capella or any set of reels
- The Sunday Set – Any set of reels
- George White’s Favourite
- The Rookery
- The Hare’s Paw
This month we explored the music of Caitlin Nic Gabhann, John Carty, Bobby Gardner and Cran. Did you have a favorite artist or track? Let me know. Also, did you have a favorite step or routine from this month? What would you like to keep lit?
November Triplets
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