In New Cabell Hall Thursday evenings, the sharp clatter of shoes on tile and the gentle brush of cloth on cloth carry through the empty halls. The source of these rhythms: Celtic dancers.
The Celtic Dance Society is a newly contracted independent organization at the University devoted to the traditional dance of Ireland and Scotland.
“Most people are beginners, just looking for something new,” said Celtic Dance Society President Katie Thompson, a second-year College student. “They decide to branch out and take a chance.”
Because the club is new and small, there is not yet a fixed location for members to meet this semester, Thompson said. Members generally assemble in a classroom in New Cabell Hall, where they move desks to create space. The meetings begin with a video, often from YouTube, illustrating the steps the club will learn that day.
Thompson then teaches the dance steps to the members in greater detail. The Irish tradition of Celtic dance consists of keeping arms tight by one’s side and moving one’s legs, while dancers of the Scottish tradition allow their arms to be more flexible. Thompson said she teaches at a pace that she feels everyone can pick up easily. After the club members learn and practice the dance, they move on to a different dance.
Irish dancing is often associated with bouncing, curly wigs and bright, sequined costumes with short skirts. The club has not adopted this costume, however, opting to don white blouses, kilts and green sashes in performances. Thompson said this costume copies the style of traditional Irish peasant dress from the early 1800s, while the sequins and curly wigs are a relatively recent — not to mention expensive — fixture.
Thompson originally learned about Celtic dancing in her Texas hometown. The professors at a nearby college had formed a group for Celtic dancing and invited anyone to join. Although the group consisted mainly of professors and college students, Thompson decided to join and immediately fell in love with the dance.
“Some people paint, some people write, and I dance,” Thompson said. “It’s a way to express myself. So I decided to create this club in order to help me to express my feelings and to just have fun dancing. I felt that in forming this club, I could help others to express themselves.”
Third-year College student Katie Henderson is an Irish exchange student who comes from a family of Irish dancers. The Celtic Dance Society gives her a pleasant reminder of home, she said.
“It feels like I’m a little bit more tied to home, which is great,” Henderson said.
Henderson’s mother traveled from Ireland to the University in October, and Henderson decided to bring her mother along for a club meeting. Her mother used to Irish dance when she was a young girl, but she had not danced for 40 years. At the club meeting, they all danced together.
“She was giving me a hard time because dancing can be pretty vigorous, so she was teasing me,” Thompson said.
Learning the steps to Celtic dances can prove challenging and can provide students with a good workout, Henderson said, adding that it takes a little more out of them than one would expect.
Second-year College student Nishina Nambiar is a member of the Celtic Dance Society who does not have a previous background with Irish and Scottish dancing. Nambiar said she loved dancing but knew nearly nothing about Irish and Scottish dancing. Though excited to learn the dance moves, she found it challenging at first.
“My first perception of Celtic dancing was that it was quite difficult,” Nambiar said. “I knew it was going to be a little hard because it’s something that’s new to me. It was a lot of fun, but hard ... That was kind of how it was like the first time I tried to dance.”
Despite the difficulty of learning a new dance, members agree it is well worth the effort.
“It’s something that a lot of people seem interested in learning,” Henderson said. “Katie [Thompson] went to Ireland for [January Term]. Her professors and her whole group asked her to teach them some Irish dancing. She did and they loved it. We got the same flight from Dublin to America, and they told me how much they enjoyed Katie teaching them steps.”
Another benefit of the club is simply meeting new people and bonding. Nearly everyone in the club ran the Fourth-Year 5k together, Thompson said. She appreciates that club members are interacting outside of dancing, she said, because she feels this strengthens the relationships among club members.
Thompson’s expectations for the club include increasing membership and further publicizing the club. She added that she would like to participate with other clubs and occasionally participate in cultural events.
“I would eventually like to get the club to a size where we can start having mini festivals once a semester,” Thompson said. “We could encourage the rest of the campus to join in and celebrate their roots, if they have Irish or Scottish roots. If they don’t have Irish-Scottish roots, they can learn more about the culture if they’re interested.”
It seems that the informal atmosphere of the club contributes to its success.
“It’s not like a class where there is that boundary that you can’t cross between teacher and student,” Thompson said. “It’s not a structured dance class. It’s a social atmosphere. Sometimes, we sit around, talk, goof off and dance. It’s a lot of fun.”
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