Irish step dancers visit Lynn English

LYNN-Along with Catholic priests, Irish politicians and bartenders, Irish step dancers may have the busiest St. Patrick’s Day schedules from year to year, serving as purveyors of the unique and historic dance style that has become a symbol of Irish culture.This holds true for students at the Bremer School of Irish Dance in Salem, where March 17 is a full workday. For the hard-working performers there is no school; there are no day jobs, there is only dancing on St. Patrick’s Day – and a lot of it.Ranging in age from seven to 21, a group of step dancing experts from the award-winning school made the rounds through Lynn on Monday, beginning with a performance at English High School as part of the school’s month-long celebration of Irish culture.The group took the stage in the high school auditorium, demonstrating a variety of Irish step dancing styles old and new. Made popular in the late 1990s by Michael Flatley’s “Riverdance,” step dancing began hundreds of years ago in Ireland as a religious art form, performed by both men and women after church. As time went on, the dances evolved to become more technical, the costumes more elaborate and the performances more theatrical, creating the cultural phenomenon that exists today.Students demonstrated both light and heavy dancing, with light dancing representing a newer, more contemporary style of athletic and technical dances, compared to the old style that is more closely related to tap dancing.Both unique in their own right, the two styles share one common thread – dancers remain virtually motionless above the waste throughout the performances.This odd style of dance is to show audiences, and judges in competitions, the quick foot and leg movements executed by the dancers, without distraction from the head and arms. In competitions there are often two or three performers on the stage at once, but they are performing independently from one another and must concentrate on his or her own movements.Step dancing requires superb athletic ability, including quick, strong legs, meaning that participants must also continue to train physically along with practicing the dance moves.”We have dancers that range in age from three to 65, who attend classes six days a week in Salem,” said school owner Sheila Bremer, a teacher at Pickering Middle School. “They usually dance 4-5 days a week, it is a combination of an art form and athleticism. They go through a rigorous pilates dancing program.”Dancers at English were dressed in standard step dancing garb, with men wearing a vest and dress pants, and girls wearing colorful dresses covered in gems and frills, along with traditional curled wigs.Costumes can cost upwards of $3,000 and cannot be washed because of their fragile material.Bremer said the school routinely holds fundraisers to help pay for the costumes and trips around the world, including an upcoming journey to Belfast to compete in the Irish Dance World Championships at the end of the month.Along with local performances, students from the Bremer School compete in competitions all over the world, and have regional and world champions in several different age groups within the school.”This is a week of business. We have about 30 shows at schools, nursing homes, restaurants, dinners etc? and they have to take the day off from school on St. Patrick’s Day. We are also leaving next week to compete overseas in Belfast,” Bremer said. “We actually have quite a few national and international champions, so it is really a pretty successful school.”Library Media Specialist Linda Barefeild, who is continuing the school’s yearlong trip around the world, organized the group’s performance at English as part of her Irish History segment.Last month as part of Black History Month, the school looked at African, Cuban and Latino cultures through a variety of programs.