To Irish Dance Or NOT To Irish Dance

I enrolled P in Irish Dance camp this summer in hopes that she would love it. She seems to have the desire to dance, and when she makes up her own "moves" they always remind me of what I have seen in Irish or Scottish Ceili dances. Well, she didn't like it so much. She said it was too "tappy." Whatever that means. Maybe next year we'll revisit it.

I do have to mention that she went everyday and did not complain. The camp was Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30a - 11:30a. They learned to dance a reel and a light jig for a type of Ceili dancing (Ceili means group dancing) and a bridge dance. She did a craft each day and had a snack which I packed for her. I thought she was enjoying it, but the last day when I mentioned we could register for more classes, she vehemently said "noway."

E and I both got to come into the dance room to watch what the children had learned. Experienced Irish dancers enter the stage flat-footed, but the children wanted their moms, dads, and grandmas to see that they could walk on their tippy toes, and so they did. They walked out and then lined up in a straight line facing us. P was so serious and I could tell she really wanted to show mama and brother what she had learned. She was definitely one of the youngest in the group and some of the children had been taking lessons, so I didn't expect her to dance similarly to the rest of the dancers. She did her counts well and her body posture was terrific. When the music started she got a huge smile across her face and just beamed like the sun. Luckily, I videotaped it because I cried the whole time (I am a boob) and couldn't really watch her. Plus I had a two year old climbing in and out of my lap.

She informed me the stance in that picture was "Heel to toe. Shoulders back."