Tag: Sean-nós Dance

Absolute Beginners, Advanced, Advanced Beginners, Beginners, Classes, Intermediate, Irish Sean-nós Dance, Keep Her Lit, Past Classes

10/2025 | 6:30PM Wed | Sean-nós Dance

maldonm

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 –

Advanced, Classes, Intermediate, Irish Sean-nós Dance, Keep Her Lit, Past Classes

10/2025 | 7:30am | M-W-F | Sean-nós & Battering

maldonm

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

MondayWednesdayFriday
7:30 am (PST)WoodshedKeep Her LitSpeed & Craic
Week 1
Oct 1
(Woodshed)
Traveling Clare Steps
Clare Batter #1
Clare Batter #2
Clare Batter #3
Mick Banner
Mick $500
Aidan Vaughan		Oct 3
(Woodshed)
Mick A&R
Maldon A&R
Hare’s Paw A&R
Willie A&R
Lead / Follow / Two Sided
Week 2Oct 6
Clare Battering
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
Willie A&R
Lead / Follow / Two Sided		Oct 8
Clare Battering
Accapella Reels
Paraig Ó Haibicín
The Sunday Set
The Rookery Course
George White’s Favourite
Hare’s Paw		Oct 10
Tulla Céilí Band
Clare Elements
Week 3Oct 13
Clare – Jig Advance & Retire
Jigs
Slides
Poklkas

Oct 15
Jig Advance & Retire
Clare Battering
Accapella Reels
Paraig Ó Haibicín
The Sunday Set
The Rookery Course
George White’s Favourite
Hare’s Paw		Oct 17
Sliabh Luachra dive
Sliabh Notes
Gleanntán
Week 4Oct 20
Hornpipes
Cavan
Oct 22
Accapella Reels
Paraig Ó Haibicín
The Sunday Set
The Rookery Course
George White’s Favourite
Hare’s Paw		Oct 24
Joe Burke
Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part
Week 5Oct 27
Jigs
Oct 29
Playing with Jigs		Oct 31
Johnn Óg Connolly
Fear Inis Bearachain

playlist

Entire Month Video Playlist

Entire Month Spotify Playlist

week 1

Week 1 – Clare Battering

Resources

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:

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

Advanced, Classes, Intermediate, Irish Sean-nós Dance, Keep Her Lit, Past Classes

09/2025 | Wed 6:30pm | Sean-nós

maldonm

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 3 King of the Pipers

Zoom Class

week 4

Week 4

  • The Sunday Set

Zoom Class

  • The Sunday Set – building it up one step at a time at a slow tempo.
Advanced, Classes, Intermediate, Irish Sean-nós Dance, Keep Her Lit, Past Classes

09/2025 | M-W-F | 7:30 AM | Sean-nós | Dance by Ear

maldonm

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

MondayWednesdayFriday
7:30 am (PST)WoodshedKeep Her LitSpeed & 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

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

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!

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

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

Speed & Craic

  • Happy Birthday to Maldon!
  • Black Black Black by Cran Spotify or Apple
    • 1. Reel
    • 2. Song
    • 3. Air
    • 4. Reels
    • 5. Song
    • 6. Jig
    • 7. Air
    • 8. song
    • 9. March/Jig
    • 10. Song
    • 11. Jig

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?

Classes, Past Classes

08/2025 Dance by Ear

maldonm

intro

Intro

MondayWednesdayFriday
7:30amWoodshedKeep Her LitSpeed & Craic
Week 1 – The Hare’s PawNo ClassAug 13Aug 15
Week 2 – The Hare’s PawAug 18Aug 20Aug 22
Week 3 –
Aug 25Aug 27Aug 29

week 1

Tune

Steps & Vocabulary

  • A Part of the tune
    • Hips / Heel Backs
    • Paddy Bon / Heel Backs with a tip

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

  • B Part of the Tune
    • Step tip steps and heel drops

Speed & Craic

Playlist – The Hare’s Paw – Find the version that you like best.

week 2

Tune

Woodshed

Keep Her Lit

Speed & Craic

week 3

Hare’s Paw | A & R varations

Classes, Past Classes

08 2025 – Wed | 6:30-8pm PST | Sean-nós Dancing the Tune

maldonm

intro

Intro

  • Class 1 – July 9 – Bobby Gardiner – Triplets
  • Class 2 – July 16 – Kitty Lie Over
  • Class 3 – July 23 – Steps by sounds
  • Class 4 – Aug 13 – Hip Drums
  • Class 5 – Aug 20 – Review & Routine Creation
  • Class 6 – Aug 27 – Fine Tune the Routine

routine

Step
AHips & 1 drum (two sided)8
BStep heel hold 2 Shuffles8
A2 Drums (two sided) – Maldon8
BKieran’s Step8
A3 drums (Patti)8
BSide step (Kieran’s ball change)8
ALots of Drums (Katrina)8
BSide Step (Floor shuffle)8

Kitty’s Lie Over Step as a Reel step

Classes, Past Classes

M/W/F | 7:30am PST | Dance by Ear | 2025 July

maldonm

intro

Intro

The month of July we will continue to explore dancing by ear and learning tunes in our feet. I will also be including practice drills that are aimed to build skill and exapnd your dancing by ear abilities.

MondayWednesdayFriday
7:30amWoodshedKeep Her LitSpeed & Craic
Week 1 – Reels
The Cavan Reel / Sporting Nell / Rattigan’s (reels) by Mary MacNamara		July 7July 9July 11
Week 2 – Polkas
John Walsh’s / Upperchurch / Muirisin Durkan
Bobby Gardiner		July 14July 16July 18
Week 3 –
July 21July 23July 25
Week 4 –
July 28July 30 – NO CLASSAug. 1 – NO CLASS

week 1

Tune

  • The Cavan Reel / Sporting Nell / Rattigan’s (reels) by Mary MacNamara

Steps & Vocabulary

  • Shuff-le backs – 3 of them
  • Stuff-les – singles
  • Hips
  • Starting the step by shifting where you start with each movement of the step.

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Keep Her Lit

Speed & Craic

Play and improve with material and dance at various tempos.

Bobby Gardiner – County Clare

week 2

Tune

Woodshed

Polka founcatinoal steps.

  • 123’s (ornimation – heel brush, toe tap)
  • 1 2 123’s (ornimation – heel brush, toe tap)
  • Slide 123 (ornimation – heel brush, toe tap)
  • Nellies Polka – Preston
  • Nellies Polka – Keep Her Lit

Keep Her Lit

Speed & Craic

week 3

Tune

Bohola – YouTube Clip
Bohola is one of my favorite bands, and I completely fell in love with this album. It’s a bit hard to find—I’ve looked on their website, and it’s not currently for sale—but I’ll keep searching in case any of you want to purchase a copy.

This album also inspired a step that Ronan and I recorded on our DVD, which we ended up calling “The Bohola Step.”

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

Tune

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tune and steps

Classes, Past Classes

June 2025 | Dance By Ear

maldonm

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 2
An Spailpín Fánach/Step it out Joe		June 9June 11June 13
Week 3
Polly Put the Kettle on		June 16June 18June 19
Week 4
New Mown Meadow		June 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

Tune

Woodshed

Learn and woodshed the tunes and steps

Keep Her Lit

Review tune of the week and dance past tunes

Speed & Craic

Play and improv with material and dance at various tempos.

week 3

Tune

Polly Put the Kettle OnDownload

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

New Mown Meadow

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

maldonm

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.