Beginner Irish Set Dancing Classes at Harrington's

Try something new this summer with an Irish set dancing class at Harrington's Pub in Wakefield (MA).  Here's the updated summer class schedule. Every Monday night at 7:30, Frank & Eileen teach a new set. See details here.

This is a perfect opportunity for beginners to learn the basic steps and most common sets danced year-round upstairs at Harrington's every Wednesday at 7:30 and indeed in the Greater Boston area where you can find a set dance or lesson just about every day of the week.

See the write-up in the Wakefield Patch.

Patrick O'Dea in Boston at Harrington's

Patrick O'Dea, one of Ireland's foremost Irish dance masters, will make a stop on his brief US tour at Harrington's in Wakefield this Wednesday, June 21st. O'Dea will teach a few set dances at a workshop in the function room upstairs at Harrington's, starting at 7:30. The charge for the workshop and light refreshments is $12.

Patrick O'Dea teaching his "old style" Irish step dancing
at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton July 2008

Patrick  was born in County Clare, Ireland, grew up outside of London, and now lives in Roscommon, Ireland. He's recognized as a modern-day Irish dancing master because of his encyclopedic knowledge of traditional steps and his unbroken lineage to the dance masters of the 1700s.

Venue: Harrington's Food & Spirits, 17 Water Street, Wakefield, MA
Website: http://www.harringtonspub.com

The Plain Clare Set

Tonight we are teaching The Plain Clare Set to Beginners at Harrington's

Plain Clare Set Study Notes:
also known as The Plain Set, The Plain Clare Set, or simply, The Clare Set
Plain Clare Study Notes [Set Dancing News]
The Plain Set Study Notes [San Francisci's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE]
The Plain Set [Brooks Academy on setdance.com]


The Figures for The Plain Clare Set (brief descriptions):
[6 figures: all reels except jig fifth figure]
Figure 1 - Pass Through, Ladies Chain, Half Lead Around - Turn Under (reel)
Figure 2 - Ladies Turn While Crossing Over (reel)
Figure 3 - Chase the Ladies  - turn once right hands & twice with left hands (reel)
Figure 4 - Wheelbarrow - Hold Hands & Turn the Ladies Out & Under (reel)
Figure 5 - The Gallop - Alternating - (Gallop-Chain-Swing) Top Ladies Start Gallop & Chain (jig)
Figure 6 - Ladies In  (Shake Your Skirts) / Ladies Move On (reel)


Plain Clare Set Videos:
First Figure Plain Clare by clarebannerman - excellent set dancing led by Aiden Vaughan
First Figure Plain Clare  at Miltown Malbay 2008 by  martialmailet
First Figure Plain Clare "Tulla Céili Band & Clare Set Dancers ♪♫" posted by clarebannerman

Second Figure Plain Clare Private Spring Ceili in Southern Maryland by lesliemac56

Third Figure Plain Clare Private Spring Ceili in Southern Maryland by lesliemac56

Fourth Figure Plain Clare  danced in the Square at Kilrush (Co Clare, Ireland) in August 2004 by lazyhound

Fifth Figure Plain Clare  danced by the Copenhagen Set Dancers 2007 by lenemads
Fifth & Sixth Figures Plain Clare  danced in the Square at Kilrush (Co Clare, Ireland) in 2004 by lazyhound

Sixth Figure Plain Clare (see 5th & 6th above) 

Update: I added links to the "study notes" and short descriptions of the figures above to the links to YouTube videos originally on this post. I welcome your comments or additional links about this set. 

Irish Dancing in Florida

It's August and I'm still dancing. Summer is a less rigorously scheduled time when most dance classes take a break and here in Boston, at least, the regular Sunday set dances to live Irish music run from September to May, roughly. But Irish festivals, special Irish dance cruises, workshops, and a few year round set dancing groups keep the music going and the feet battering.

I was happy to read about the Irish dancing activities in Gainesville, Florida. The Inisheer Irish Dance Company sponsored "The Long Hot Summer Irish Ceili Dance and Workshops" in July - read the article in the Gainesville Sun - consisting of an Irish step-dance workshop and a subsequent ceili and set dance workshop, followed by an evening ceili dance accompanied by excellent area musicians, with guest instructor Liam Eagan of West Palm Beach leading the social dances and Piper Call leading a workshop on Sean nos ("old style") Irish step dance. [The article, by the way, does a great job of defining the various types of Irish dancing: step dancing, sean-nos dancing, set dancing and ceili dancing.]

 

Harrington's Beginner Class - Nora Helps Out (Reading Advocate photo)

It has long been a wish of mine to some day be a "snow-bird" but the one thing I would miss if I headed south in winter would be the Irish dancing - in season, September to May, you could dance every night of the week around Boston and several groups remain active all summer - so I'm glad to know that there are pockets of it alive and "kicking" in Florida. It's funny, though; as part of a plan to ensure that I would be able to dance no matter where in the world I go, I have started to teach set dancing to beginners so I can bring the Irish dancing with me.