Tag: Sean-nós Dance

Classes, Current Classes

June 2025 | Dance By Ear

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intro

Intro

The month of June we will continue to explore dancing by ear and learning tunes in our feet.

Youtube playlist – I made a youtube playlist as not everyone has spotify or Apple Music. Please add tunes to this list. If you have a tune or a version of one of the tunes we have been working on that you like, please add it to the whole list here and we can all use the track.

MondayWednesdayFriday
7:30amWoodshedKeep Her LitSpeed & Craic
Week 1
The Green Groves of Erin / Burnes		June 2June 4June 6
Week 3June 9June 11June 13
Week 3June 16June 18June 19
Week 4June 23June 25June 27
NO CLASSJune 29-NO CLASS

week 1

Tune

Steps & Vocabulary

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

Speed & Craic

Play and improve with material and dance at various tempos.

week 2

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

Review tune of the week and dance past tunes

Speed & Craic

Play and improve with material and dance at various tempos.

week 3

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

Review tune of the week and dance past tunes

Speed & Craic

Play and improve with material and dance at various tempos.

week 4

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

Review tune of the week and dance past tunes

Speed & Craic

Play and improve with material and dance at various tempos.

Blog

Discover the dance trick that will blow your mind

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Learn a fascinating dance trick that will transform your reel steps into lively jig steps! During a memorable trip to RosMuc, Connemara, I discovered this technique while waiting for a bus with the talented Kieran Jordan. She taught me Roisin’s jig steps, whic turned out to be the same as her reel steps but in jig time. This got me thinking – could I do the same thing with other reel steps? And the answer is a resounding yes!

By simply eliminating one beat in a reel step, it seamlessly becomes a jig step. Some steps will amaze you and become beloved additions to your dance repertoire, while others may not be as interesting or easy to convert into jig steps. 

To illustrate this concept, I have prepared a FREE lesson showcasing the transformation of the shuffle back step. You will find this lesson at the end of this article.

But it doesn’t end there. After discussing this technique with the talented dancer Ben Power, we discovered that you can amplify the effect by adding two beats instead of eliminating one. The step becomes a rhythmic sequence of 123456. It took some practice, but once it clicked, the results were truly incredible. 

In this lesson, I also demonstrate how you can take a reel step and adjust the movements to fit the 6/8 time signature, resulting in a captivating fusion of styles. You will find this lesson at the end of this article. Members this concept is taught in the March 2024 Jig course.

I invite you to share your own experiences and steps applying this concept. Remember, this trick can be applied to any step and time signature – reel steps into polka steps, slide steps into hornpipes, and beyond. It’s a valuable technique that I personally use when creating new steps and honing my improvisation skills. As you explore this exciting path, you’ll be able to effortlessly incorporate it into your dancing. Get ready for a super fun and thrilling journey! 

I look forward to hearing from you and witnessing the innovative steps you create using this technique.

Blog

Nov. 11 | 7:30pm-11pm | Ceílí of the Valley

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set list

CVS November Ceili

  1. Connemara Set | Reels 160, Reels 192, Reels 184, Maggie in the Woods 96
  2. Haymakers Jig | Jigs 400
  3. Merchant Set | Reel 128, Reel 192, Reel 128, Hornpipe 144
  4. Siege of Carrick | Jig 32 bars (will dance several times)
  5. Antrim Square | Reel 144, Jig 136, Slide 152
  6. Waltz

BREAK

  1. Bonfire | Reel
  2. Ballyvourney Jig Set | 4 Slides (32bar tunes) 4x each
  3. Duke Reel | Reel 240
  4. Clare Lancers | Reels 160, Reels 192, Reels 144, Reels 192, Reels 192
  5. Glencar Reel | Reels 56 (will dance 3 or 4 times)
  6. Waltz

video playlist

Youtube Playlist

music playlist

Spotify Playlist

In this playlist they didn’t have a recording for the Merchant Set on Spotify so I used the Mabula site to find another recording of the same length. I great tool for teachers and callers. Here is a link to their site. It’s a database of set dancing recording. All you have to do is enter in the number of bars and tune type and all the recording of that length will come up. I love this site as often I can find a recoding that is the right length even if I don’t have the recording in my library for that particular set. In the olden days we used to call these “scrap sets”.

Classes, Past Classes

2022 Fall | 9am Fridays | Sean-nos Dance | Intermediate

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Fridays

9:00am-10:00am

[ONLINE]

Weekly intermediate class focused on Clare inspired steps. This class will cover the basics and can be taken in combination with the beginner class. Both classes will cover the basic material and the intermediates will be working on variations. If you want extra accountability or practice considering taking both classes.

week 1

WEEK 1 | Class notes

Warm up & Technique

  • Dynamic Warm up
  • Weekly Vocabulary

week 2

WEEK 2 | Class notes

week 3

WEEK 3 | Class notes

week 4

WEEK 4 | Class notes

week 5

WEEK 5 | Class notes

week 6

WEEK 6 | Class notes

resources

Classes, Past Classes

2022 Fall | 9am Thursdays | Sean-nós Dance | Beginners

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intro

Thursdays

9:00am-10:00am

[ONLINE]

Weekly Beginners class focused on Clare inspired steps. This class will cover the basics and can be taken in combination with the intermediate class. Both classes will cover the basic material and the intermediates will be working on variations. If you want extra accountability or practice considering taking both classes.

week 1

WEEK 1 | Class notes

Warm up & Technique

  • Dynamic Warm up
  • Sean-nos posture
  • Weekly Vocabulary

Steps

week 2

WEEK 2 | Class notes

week 3

WEEK 3 | Class notes

week 4

WEEK 4 | Class notes

week 5

WEEK 5 | Class notes

week 6

WEEK 6 | Class notes

resources

Dance Styles, Dances, Irish Set Dancing, Resources

Resource | Set Dancing

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Welcome Set Dancers, 

This is your set dancing hub for reference material and links to resource on the web.

dance instructions

Dance Pages

These are pages dedicated to each set with notes and video references.

  • Irish Set Dance Notes – I love the way this site describes the instructions and how the instructions are laid out. If a set is on this site I usually use it first as my reference.
  • Dance Minder – my friend Michael Harrison runs this site. It is a great recourse for dancing notes and music references.

courses, classes, video

Courses

Resources on this page dedicated to set dancing and battering for sets. Including entire courses, classes, practice videos and breakdown videos.

books

Books

  • Pat Murphy, 1995, Toss the Feathers: Irish Set Dancing, Mercier Press: Dublin.
  • Pat Murphy, 2000, The Flowing Tide: More Irish Set Dancing, Mercier Press: Dublin.
  • Pat Murphy, 2009, Apples in Winter: Irish Set and Social Dancing, self published,  Ireland.

music

Music Resources

  • Spotify Music Playlist – please save this playlist in your Spotify account. When ever possible I will add the music for each set on this playlist. A great resource for practicing or teaching the dances to your friends and family.
  • Youtube Set dance playlist – please save this playlist in your YouTube channel. I will work on adding each dance we learn to this playlist. Having them all in one place will make it easy for you to learn and remember the material we cover.

  • .

Classes, Dance Styles, Irish Set Dancing, Past Classes

IN-PERSON | 2022 Fall | Saturday 4pm Irish Set Dancing Class

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intro

Saturdays

4:00pm-6pm

[IN-PERSON]

Combining Sean-nós steps, Clare battering and smooth dancing form to learn to dance in Ireland, or throughout the world wherever Irish music is played. 

4pm-6pm every Saturday with a Live music céilí from 4pm-7pm on the last Saturday of the Month. 

Waverly UCC, 3300 SE Woodward St., Portland, OR. $5-$10 Sliding scale lesson, $10 for the Céilí.      

Welcome Set Dancers, 

This is a companion course for our in-person class in Portland, Oregon. You can still follow along if you are in-person or learning online. I will offer tips and tricks for practicing at home by yourself.

You will discover creative ways to study set dancing even as a solo person. Many of you are at home on your own without a partner. It can be a challenge. But not as hard as you might think! I learned many of my set dancing and steps solo. In the process you can really hone your skills before having to work with a partner. I will also provide tips on how to practice without attending a ceili. Not to mention, some bonus tips and tricks for memorizing sets in isolation. 

Kevin Burke once told me a story of a show where the dancers were two short of a set, so one of the musicians joined the group with a chair and danced the set with a chair as his partner. It’s a great story and I can’t do it justice. So, I must invite him as a guest to tell us the story himself. In the meanwhile, don’t be afraid to develop a temporary relationship with a nice looking piece of furniture.  

Get your set dancing ready for the dance floor. 

9/17

WEEK 1 | Class notes

Saturday, September 17, 2022

THE CLARE PLAIN SET

Our first week we had 12 people ranging from 6 months old to 79 years old. Here’s to keeping set dancing going for years to come! Lovely to see you all out and dancing. We covered footwork for traveling, advancing, dancing at home and housing. You will find a few video references for these movements. We also danced the Clare Plain Set. This dance is from County Clare. The while you will see dancers battering the foundation is the smooth gliding step we covered in class. These steps will be the foundation for all of the Clare dances.

Warm up & Technique

  • Traveling: Smooth 3’s
  • Advance & Retire
  • Frame
  • Home
  • House

Traveling: Smooth 3’s

Video coming soon

Ladies – Advance & Retire

Gents – Advance & Retire

Frame

Video coming soon

Home

Video coming soon

House

Video coming soon

The Clare Plain Set

9/24

WEEK 2 | Class notes

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Our second week we will learn the Clare Lancers. We will also review and cover set dancing technique and form. Our second class was a blast. Michael and Margret visited from California. Michael played flute for some of the figures.

The Clare Lancers

10/1

WEEK 3 | Class notes

Saturday, October 1, 2022

This week we will learn the Connemara set and Jim Loewenherz will play for our class. It’s such a blessing to have live music while learning. One of the great things is that we can dance at the pace that we are learning and right away be in sink with the music and each other. Starting out we will dance this set smooth and eventually when you are ready you can add the battering step to the set. You will find the instructions as well as the video reference for the set. Also on this page is the Connemara step broken down and a practice video.

Here is the battering step for the Connemara Set. It is not necessary to have this step in the set, but if you want to work on it on your own I will have a session down the line where we include it in the set and we will work on traveling with the step. If you like the battering footwork keep working on this step on your own and focus on moving with the step. This will give you a leg up when we bring it into the whole set in later weeks.

Some dancers find the stamp and stamp step easer to travel with when first starting out. You can cover a greater distance on each stamp and stamp.

10/8

WEEK 4 | Class notes

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Merchant Set | Reel 128, Reel 192, Reel 128, Hornpipe 144

Videos for the Merchant Set can be found here.

Click and go to YouTube to see these videos.

10/15

WEEK 5 | Class notes

Saturday, October 15, 2022

Antrim Square | Reel 144, Jig 136, Slides 152

Youtube Playlist Link

10/22

WEEK 6 | Class notes

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Ballyvourney Jig Set | 4 Slides (32bar tunes) 4x each

10/29

WEEK 7 | CCE Quarterly Event

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Rambling House Ceili – a page of all the dances we will dance as well as a YouTube playlist and a Spotify playlist. I have tried to include most of the dances that we have covered in class in the ceili. There will be a few new ceili dances that you might not have learned yet and we are missing the Clare Plain Set at the ceili (we will be sure to dance it next time at the Butterball in November 😊).

  1. Connemara Set | Reels 160, Reels 192, Reels 184, Maggie in the Woods 96
  2. Haymakers Jig | Jigs 400
  3. Merchant Set | Reel 128, Reel 192, Reel 128, Hornpipe 144
  4. Siege of Ennis  | Jig
  5. Clare Lancers | Reels 160, Reels 192, Reels 144, Reels 192, Reels 192
  6. Ballyvourney Jig Set | 4 Slides (32bar tunes) 4x each
  7. Fairy Reel | Reels
  8. Antrim Square | Reel 144, Jig 136, Slides 152
  9. Waltz

resources

  • Set Dancing Resource Page | An all in one resource page for set dancers. More resources added regularly.
  • Spotify Music Playlist – please save this playlist in your Spotify account. When ever possible I will add the music for each set on this playlist. A great resource for practicing or teaching the dances to your friends and family.
  • Youtube Set dance playlist – please save this playlist in your YouTube channel. I will work on adding each dance we learn to this playlist. Having them all in one place will make it easy for you to learn and remember the material we cover.
  • Irish Set Dance Notes – I love the way this site describes the instructions and how the instructions are laid out. If a set is on this site I usually use it first as my reference.
  • Dance Minder – my friend Michael Harrison runs this site. It is a great recourse for dancing notes and music references.