A wonderful NY Times story for me (and maybe you)

[silvercamaro]

How the primarily African-American and Hispanic students at a Bronx elementary school formed into an Irish dance troupe:

http://tinyurl.com/2rfk2l

"I didn't even know there was a place called Ireland."


I hope the link works properly. Watch the video, if you can.

[Ritterskoop]

I love anything that appeals to peoples' desire to learn. That was nice.

[themanintheseersuckersuit]

How the primarily African-American and Hispanic students at a Bronx elementary school formed into an Irish dance troupe:

http://tinyurl.com/2rfk2l

"I didn't even know there was a place called Ireland."


I hope the link works properly. Watch the video, if you can.

LOL, Is this not the complete mirror image of The Commitments?

[peacock2121]

I was struck by these two quotes from the kids:

shyness is not an option in Irish dancing,” Alice said, her long braids pulled back in a ponytail. “You have to be confident in everything you do.”

“As I get older I’ll even show my kids, so that way they, like, can spread it around,” Jesely said. “Cause I think like the whole world should know about it.”

What really got my heart racing and melting at the same time was imagining what she (meaning the teacher) has to press through, had to keep on going in the face of obstacle after obstacle, to get her kids the passports for the trip. Can you imagine tracking down missing fathers and having whatever conversations one needs to have to get them to sign whatever papers they need to sign so that his kid, who they had long since abandoned, can have the oppotunity to go to Ireland. Blows my mind and makes it clear that there are people who act outside themselves and who are interested and committed to a world that works.

This teacher is amazing.

She didn't do it for the money. There wasn't enough money the school system could have paid her to get her to do what she did.

Makes me cry.

good crying

[peacock2121]

oh

I didn't watch the video - I wasn't interested in the dancing. I was interested in all of the things that happened so the dancing could happen.

Isn't that interesting?

[Appa23]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. This was so cool! I am amazed at how good the kids are. The choreograpahy blending street dancing and Irish dancing was tight. I wonder if the teacher did it, or if she was able to bring in some professional help after she got the program off of the ground. (No shortage of great dancers/choreographers in New York.)

I have come to the conclusion that nearly all public dancing requires and instills great confidence in children. Not that my oldest ever seemed to lack confidence, but it has grown even more with her dancing with girls 2-10 years older than her. She loves the spotlight.

It is a trait that I wish was shard by her brother. He is much more self-conscious and reserved, until he gets to know people. (Sadly, he gets that from me.) Maybe one day he will return from his "retirement" from the stage. (Much like Jerry Seinfeld's "I choose not to run.")

[Estonut]

The choreograpahy blending street dancing and Irish dancing was tight. I wonder if the teacher did it, or if she was able to bring in some professional help after she got the program off of the ground. (No shortage of great dancers/choreographers in New York.)

Why wonder? Just read the article.

Sixty growing feet laced into clunky black shoes spun, kicked and hop-1,2,3’d their way across the stage, in routines that Ms. Duggan, now 29, had choreographed, infusing the traditional Irish dancing she was reared on with elements of hip-hop, salsa and African dance.

[Appa23]

The choreograpahy blending street dancing and Irish dancing was tight. I wonder if the teacher did it, or if she was able to bring in some professional help after she got the program off of the ground. (No shortage of great dancers/choreographers in New York.)

Why wonder? Just read the article.

Sixty growing feet laced into clunky black shoes spun, kicked and hop-1,2,3’d their way across the stage, in routines that Ms. Duggan, now 29, had choreographed, infusing the traditional Irish dancing she was reared on with elements of hip-hop, salsa and African dance.

Well, that was the dance that they were doing that day.

I was wondering about when they toured Ireland and their other big show performances. If it was Duggan for those routines as well, then . . . Wow!

[Estonut]

The choreograpahy blending street dancing and Irish dancing was tight. I wonder if the teacher did it, or if she was able to bring in some professional help after she got the program off of the ground. (No shortage of great dancers/choreographers in New York.)

Why wonder? Just read the article.

Sixty growing feet laced into clunky black shoes spun, kicked and hop-1,2,3’d their way across the stage, in routines that Ms. Duggan, now 29, had choreographed, infusing the traditional Irish dancing she was reared on with elements of hip-hop, salsa and African dance.

Well, that was the dance that they were doing that day.

I was wondering about when they toured Ireland and their other big show performances. If it was Duggan for those routines as well, then . . . Wow!

The previous paragraph was:

On a recent afternoon, as cars blaring hip-hop music rolled past P.S. 59, on Bathgate Avenue near 181st Street, and neighbors called to one another in Spanglish, the school auditorium swelled with the soaring sounds of drums, fiddles and uilleann pipes.

I couldn't see them getting professional-quality choreography for a recent (last year) trip and then reverting back to amateur routines when a reporter and videographer were coming around to research an article. I made an assumption (or inference), but admit that it is not clear based on this article.

[silvercamaro]

Well, that was the dance that they were doing that day.

I was wondering about when they toured Ireland and their other big show performances. If it was Duggan for those routines as well, then . . . Wow!

I never doubted that Ms. Duggan was the choreographer. She is, according to the story, a trained Irish dancer since childhood (and, in Ireland, the training starts for toddlers.) Furthermore, there is something about Irish dance -- the exhuberant beat of the music or the infinite variations on basic steps -- that seems to encourage participants to make up their own dances. I've seen this in children as young as 5 or 6, and once one child shows off his or her jig or reel, the others immediately want to show off their own, in a sort of informal "top this" contest. Now, I'm not saying that other young dancers don't also make up their own variations, but I have not seen this phenomenon flow so easily from other dance genres, where more often only the "best" dancers will show off their moves. This is just my opinion, of course, but it is based on something like 40 years of dance training, including decades of ballet, jazz, tap, some ballroom, and a brush with flamenco. Oh, yes, I also have worn out several pairs of Irish shoes. In fact, it is only since I took up Irish dance that I've also discovered I had the confidence to do some choreography for public performances that had nothing to do with Irish dance. Perhaps that's a coincidence. Perhaps that's the freedom that flows from joy.

[Appa23]

Why wonder? Just read the article.

Well, that was the dance that they were doing that day.

I was wondering about when they toured Ireland and their other big show performances. If it was Duggan for those routines as well, then . . . Wow!

The previous paragraph was:

On a recent afternoon, as cars blaring hip-hop music rolled past P.S. 59, on Bathgate Avenue near 181st Street, and neighbors called to one another in Spanglish, the school auditorium swelled with the soaring sounds of drums, fiddles and uilleann pipes.

I couldn't see them getting professional-quality choreography for a recent (last year) trip and then reverting back to amateur routines when a reporter and videographer were coming around to research an article. I made an assumption (or inference), but admit that it is not clear based on this article.

I guess that I could see such an action being taken, based on my (limited) dance experience.

My daughter's dance studio has hired a professional choreographer (albeit a good friend of the studio owners) to do large dances and production numbers, while teachers handle the solos, duets/trios, and most of the group numbers. They had a rockin' version of "Seussical" two years back.