Fitness Roadtest: Easy Irish Dancing
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I remember as a child watching Riverdance in awe, trying to replicate the impossibly swift movements of the beautiful dancers, with very little success. On Monday, as a fully grown adult standing on the dance floor of the Poseidon Room of Civic’s Hellenic Club, I’m feeling a little self-conscious at the recollection of this memory. I’m filled with a sense of cautious relief as Nora Stewart of Easy Irish Dance explains that the dances we’ll be doing are fun and easy.
There are many wonderful things about Nora’s classes. The first being that they take inspiration from traditionally complex Irish dances and break them down in a way that’s accessible to even the most uncoordinated amongst us (i.e., myself).
The Shine class, for example, is a bit like a blend between line dancing and Irish dancing. Set to upbeat, cheery Irish music, it doesn’t require a huge amount of focus and is a lot of fun. At the end of a long work day I was feeling a bit uptight and cranky, but I was smiling and laughing within minutes of starting the dance.
Second was brush dancing. Nora explains that this dance allegedly originated from door-to-door salesman who would perform a little dance to entice customers to purchase their brooms and brushes. Unlike traditional Irish dancing which is usually performed on the balls of the feet, this dance is quite low, with the majority of your body weight rested on your heels. Nora encourages us to “make friends with the broom” as we circle around it, and then step and jump over it. As the music gains tempo, the simple moves become a little trickier and by the end of the track everyone’s out of breath – half from the workout, and half from laughter.
For Nora, it’s not the dancing that’s her favourite part of Irish dancing, it’s much more.
“The music makes me smile, and the music and dance together gives me a great workout and a good rosy inner-glow,” she says.
“I also met my husband dancing.”
The third of the new classes is called Glide, which is a couples dance similar to ballroom dancing, but set to Irish music.
These classes are absolutely fantastic for families. The two little girls on the dance floor were clearly having the time of their lives with their parents. What a wonderful way to spend some quality time with your kids whilst being active and healthy. It’s also an activity that can be enjoyed by the grandparents, as it’s gentle, fun and healthy – made easy.
Nora is a wonderful teacher, and it was a real pleasure to watch her share her passion for dance with others. She’s patient, joyful and has a great knowledge of Irish dance and culture due to her time spent living in Ireland. Nora and her partner Martin have a popular YouTube channel – Easy Irish Dance – which has some easy to follow instructional videos and a taste of what the classes are all about.
Together, Nora and Martin have been teaching set dancing, steps classes and Irish sean nós workshops at festivals and weekends in NSW and the ACT since 2005 and have organised a performance at the National Museum of Australia Ned Kelly exhibition of Not Just Ned in 2011 in front of a record crowd, performed at The Turning Wave Festival in Gundagai, local festivals in Canberra and participated in performances in Ireland & the UK.
If you’re an avid, hardcore athlete, then this is probably not the one for you. But if you’re after a fun, gentle way to stay active set to delightful Irish music, then I’d highly recommend Easy Irish Dance.
Keen to try but not on your own?
Book in for a class and take a friend for free or if you’re a mum enjoy a class with your daughter (also for free). To take advantage of this offer, book through the following link Easy Irish Dance offer!
The essentials
What: Easy Irish Dance
When: Weekly classes but check the website for details
This is a sponsored post.
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