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Irish dancers step off at Poland Library
POLAND
The Irish love their traditions.
Whether it’s food, music or dance, it’s dear to them — and Jack Kravitz, whose deli has been in the Poland Library for five years, hasn’t let a St. Patrick’s Day go by without some sort of gathering that celebrates the traditions of the homeland.
Previously, he invited kids in for “Lunch with a Leprachaun,” which this year evolved into “Leprechaun Lollapalooza,” he said Saturday.
The daylong celebration was now including breakfast, a parade of leprechauns in which kids dressed as the fabled lucky creatures, storytimes, a scavenger hunt, Irish music with Colleen McNally Harris and guitarist and even a pickle-eating contest.
No matter what else the days included though, Kravitz said, the Burke School of Irish Dance from Cornersburg has been there.
In the large community room next to the deli, a crowd was gathering. The dancers, a group of three from the school who were touring Saturday, were getting ready to perform.
Lisa Lumsden and her daughter Annie, 9, of Columbiana were on their way in to get ready also.
Annie, said Lisa, has been dancing since she was 4.
“Annie’s cousin Irish-danced, and she wanted to follow in her footsteps,” Lumsden said.
Lumsden said the cousin has been to the world championships “a couple of times” — these girls and a few boys who join the school at early ages often continue on until they leave for college, she said.
Annie hurried to join the group of girls, all dressed in black long-sleeved shirts and flouncy black skirts featuring the traditional Burke logo.
They are the troupe’s “booking costumes,” said booking coordinator Jenny Beil, who explained that in competition, the girls would wear traditional step-dance event dresses, called solo dresses because no two are alike.
The girls took the center of the room, and the music started.
Irish dancing is an energetic style in which only the feet and legs are used, with the upper body, arms and hands remaining still.
The discipline is evident in the half-hour show as the girls step and kick their way through traditional dances that are hundreds of years old.
They practice, said Rachel Beil, 14, of Canfield and Kristen Eckman, 14, of Poland, just about every day for two to three hours.
Rachel and Kristen have gone to regional competitions, and they also enjoy teaching the younger dancers now — such as Maddie Devlin, 7, of Youngstown.
Her favorite part about the dancing so far?
“I like hanging out with my friends and doing all the fun things,” she said. “I just made friends, and the older girls helped.”