I started at 41. I'll probably never be in a competition, but I'm having a blast and I'm proud of what I've achieved. Just have fun. That's the important thing.
She really explains things well for a beginner like me without overdoing the details. Just gives me all the knowledge I need about every type of step in Irish dance so that I can practice on my own!
I tried this for about a year....amazing how hard on the shins Irish dance can be. It was interesting going from a clogging background to learning the origins of the dance!
I don't know your exact location, but Irish dance is quite a world well-hidden from the public. It could very well be that there is a school somewhere near you. Here in Holland I was quite surprised there were at least 4 places where you could join lessons. I started in 2011, don't be fooled, you start on soft-shoes first (but that is also a lot of fun) It takes a lot of work, but once you master the very basics and want to move on, there is a road full of surprises ahead ;)
Haha thanks. I really like the Single Jig so far (I haven't mastered all the steps yet, which hopefully follow after summer-break) Some things are quite hard at age 24 though, but I'm glad I can learn what I want to learn.
Her voice is totally different than I imagined. I know that she is American and wasn't expecting an Irish accent, but for some reason I thought her voice would be higher. I like her rich, deep tone, and I think she is one of the most beautiful people on earth -- especially when she dances. Thanks for posting.
Thats good lol :) Strengthening your quads will really help. Wall sits are no fun, but they help a LOT!! Also try holding you leg as high as you can with it still straight for as long as you can, gradually upping the height and time each time you do it.
Though the very first practice she puts to display is a very good one if you don't have much strength in your feet. This turned out to be a big problem in my first 3 or 4 lessons: my feet just weren't up to the 'abuse' the had to take: this practice sure helps. For the rest it is indeed to advanced for beginners: but let's stay realistic: to me, the words 'Jean Butler' and 'Masterclass' in one sentence already make up that this won't be stuff for a beginner.
i do ballet, and it looks literally like the same technique from what i can see so do you think that would give me an advantage if i was to start irish dancing?
Caitlin Mains In some ways yes, but there are other ways in which being too grounded in ballet technique can be a hindrance. for example, I have a really hard time not letting my heels drop on jumps because I was trained to plant my heels, not to stay up on toes. And of course hard shoe is a totally different story.
Yes and no. turn out is diff in diff positions and in irish dance you are sometimes turned in when in hard shoes cross keys for example ...ballet dancers bend slightly at the knee in landing ...irish dancers strive to land with no knee bend you have to suspend your weight in your upper body hard to explain ..also your feet and ankle have to be able to take it and be built up for landing with straight legs and how to move the muscles...my cousin did irish dance i did ballet ...it took way more of a toll on her body than ballet did on mine imo
maybe I do, but it's the same foundation, because all the "basics" she's doing is definitely what we do in ballet, then it moves on from there....5th position, ballet, pointing, ballet, etc....it's all connected
The movements at 7:39 probably take a lot of stretching.... Now I finally know how those movements are called ;) Saw Bernadette Flynn do it and was curious how that actually works and how the movement is called.
@bombshellblonde544 Never mind. I kept reading and apparently she is American. I didn't expect that since she was in the Eurovision performance for Ireland
@weeardguy Awh well keep at it! I swear, it gets easier :) Make SURE to stretch your calves, too, because they get a huge workout from being on your toes all the time. I'm in pretty good shape but mine are ginormous... I seriously cant find boots that fit me xD About the kicking: I'm not really flexible but my kicks have always been pretty good. I say the key is speed--the faster you kick, the higher you can get (dont get sloppy though lol) :)
@weeardguy Oh lol I was assuming that you had been dancing for a while :) Good luck with the class! I've been Irish dancing competitively for five years and its soooo much fun :D
Jean Butler is the best, the most, the most beautiful, ever. It's not the guy who gets the credit. It is she. She is just so gorgeous to watch her doing her thing. It is like she is made of feathers.
I am definitely not a dancer. I liken learning to dance to the way that you learn music, though. You start by playing the piece really slow. Then, you gradually increase your speed, until you can play it REALLY fast.
Maybe all the exercise and the dancing made her feet more muscular than the average. But (as a male :-) ) I think that Jean has beautiful feet. And, fetishism aside, I find that her feet are - for the lack of a better word - "perfect for teaching". In the close ups I was really able to follow effortlessly the various movements and positions.
I'm a bit of a heavy set person and my reflexes aren't very quick but I'd really love to learn Irish dancing. Is it harder for a heavy set person with slightly slow reflexes to learn Irish dancing? I've never seen any heavy people doing Irish dancing.
Britnee Star I know this is a really old comment but if anyone's reading, absolutely go for it! When I compete it seems like more of the girls (at least in the oldest age group that I'm in) are heavier set rather than stick thin. You see people of all body types doing it!
Nope. To be an Irish dancer, you need a lot of muscle. Muscle=weight. You need to be healthy, not skinny as a twig. The dancer in the video is lean. Not overweight, not bulky, not super skinny.
Start where you are. You can use online videos to get going. Half hour a day to begin with. You are bound to lose weight doing this and increase your strength. Practice the the various individual parts over and over slowly. I used to walk an hour to get to class and I'd be warmed up for the dancing. Don't let anything stop you from doing what you really want.
I do both (ballet and Irish), and ya'll are forgetting that they're very different. A ballet dancer couldn't keep up to Irish dance; while an Irish dancer couldn't hold their positions like a ballerina could. They're too different styles of dance, and each has it own importance to it's culture. To say one is better than the other is being ignorant towards not just the artist--but also towards the culture behind it. ;)
i’ve done ballet and learning irish dancing has a lot of similarities to ballet and vice versa but they’re both beautiful and there’s no need to compare
When the Conquistadors got to the Americas they thought the indigenous culture was barbaric. When the English owned India, they called Eastern cultures barbaric. Sir Walter Scott wrote "Demonology and Witchcraft" to disprove what he believed witches believed by citing the Bible. (The redacted KJV, of course.) What jingoists humans are!
@MissEmcat24 I always start practicing with a nice 10-15 mins of stretching, and when I finish practicing I try, if I still can, to do 60 'up & downs' on my toes... I'm just horrible at kicks at the moment: I think I can only raise to something like 75 degree....
Thank you so much for these classes. I am from India and I am very fascinated by Irish dance. There are no classes here. Thank you for giving me my dream
Don't let your body-weight stand in the way! I know two people that aren't the skinny type you mostly see and both got quite far in dancing. I always watch in awe when they start their hard-shoe dance(s) 'Slightly slow reflexes': Not to be rude, but I laughed at that: When I had my try-out lesson, I thought I had balance, relatively good body-condition and so on: there was nothing left of all that (or me) after I had joined 3 x 5 mins of that try out lesson.
To make a long story short: I was absolutely nothing, though I am as skinny as can be, and more important: I also didn't expect I would still be dancing right now as I would find it to difficult. Now, 9 months later, I'm learning my second dance (soft-shoe only so far) and don't even want to think about quitting.
@MissEmcat24 Haha no: otherwise I would have asked my teacher ;) This was the final nudge towards me searching for a school, I didn't even watch the video completely ;) I'm sure I will appreciate it to: I did enjoy the try-out lesson only watching ;) Those one-and-a-half hours were over before I knew it ;)
