In my office, I have a circular photo collage. Each of the photos shows an element of firsts from the studio – when the floor was finished, the first dancers in various programs, first performances, first camp. It reminds me of where things started and shows me how things can grow.
When I started the studio in 2020, it was out of my own uncertainty of how Covid would affect my dancing. It began as a guaranteed place I could dance should Covid prevent us from gathering at the studio where I was teaching at the time. I had one dancer that season. We did a lot of work creating steps together. It was a lot of fun!
Fast forward to summer 2021. I completed certification with Intellidance, excited to introduce music and movement to babies and caregivers. That summer I was also introduced to Kelsey Schuhle who was in the process of doing her PhD in Arts practice at the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick. It was her encouragement that led me to pursue the MA in Irish Dance Studies. That decision changed the trajectory of the studio.
Studio enrollment doubled that fall. Now there were two dancers! And I was thriving in my studies, learning more about the history and practice of Irish dance. I had finally found a way to combine my love of dancing, teaching, history, and research into a singular endeavour! The dancers were patient with me as I learned new repertoire, most of which I taught in my classes. We had our first public performance that year as part of the IRL (Irish Real Life) Festival. I was thriving! My father describes me as always having had “a yearning for learning,” and he’s not wrong. My studies at the IWA introduced me to an almost inexhaustible subject for research and practice. I am convinced that the convergence of my passion in this area has been a huge contributor to the studio’s growth.
In the third year, we offered our first Jig Together classes, our first Reel Kids classes, the first Rhythm ‘n Reels adaptive Irish dance classes, and added ReelRobics to the program and. It was exciting to connect with so many people through Irish music and dance! Enrollment grew by 450%! We started with 11 dancers in the fall, and by the end of the season, we had 23 dancers enrolled. This meant we had to make the space more user friendly.
Leading into year four, we did a full studio renovation. We converted the kitchen space to improve the seating and to gain functional prop storage. The space had cupboards and storage before, but now it felt more like a studio. We improved the technology, integrating the connections and making it more user friendly. We began to offer a mobile Rhythm ‘n Reels program in seniors’ homes. It has been incredible to watch people in their nineties moving their feet and improving their rhythm. My goal has always been to teach people across the lifespan and now I have officially taught three-month old babies and ninety-nine-year-olds! Enrollment increased again and season four saw 37 dancers participate in studio programs. We also got more opportunities for performances and invitations to be involved in a variety of community events. And we hosted our first, year end gathering – Teacht le Chéile. But the most important development of year four was clarifying the vision of the studio. The goal is to bring dance back to community; reinvigorating the folk elements that were at the foundation of dancing in Ireland before Riverdance, before competitions, and before nationalism put their mark on them.
Year five arrived much more quickly that I realized it would when I started. I couldn’t have known all of the turns that the road would make along the way, but each one has helped to translate my ideas into the mission of the studio. This season, I would like to be more diligent in my research. There are steps that I would like to revive from the archive, breathing life into them again. This research will also inform my larger teaching goals. It’s exciting to imagine where the next five years will take the studio and how it will look on the cusp of the tenth season.
For now, I look to take Rumi’s advice, and I encourage you to do the same:
“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”