Library provides place for irish dancers to kick Up their heels

March 12, 2017 at 12:07a.m.

POLAND

Irish Dancers at the Poland Library

The week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day got started with a kick – actually lots of kicks – at the Poland Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

Dancers from the Burke School of Irish Dance’s Youngstown chapter put on a lively demonstration of traditional Irish dances Saturday before a room full of spectators in the library’s meeting room.

It was the capper to the Library Leprechaun Lollapalooza at the Poland branch. Similar events also took place at the library’s Canfield Branch.

Lisa Devlin, president of the BSID’s booster association, said about 30 students, ranging in age from 3 to 19, are enrolled at the school, which is located on Canfield Road in Cornersburg. Only about half of them performed Saturday at Poland library.

Irish dancing originated in Ireland hundreds of years ago, and is rich in Irish heritage and ethnicity, Devlin said. It is a unique form of dancing in that dancers’ upper bodies – shoulders, arms, hands – must remain still as the dancers perform jumps and intricate movements with their feet.

Devlin said Irish dance was popularized some 20 years ago when the theatrical show “Riverdance” hit stages all over the world.

“It has just continued to grow in popularity ever since then,” said Devlin, whose 9-year-old daughter, Madeleine, is a member of the local dance troupe.

The dancers perform in competitions locally and regionally, and some have even travelled to Ireland to compete, she noted.

“I like to watch my daughter making friends from around the world. That’s so cool,” Devlin said. “My daughter has friends all over the world that she keeps in touch with on-line, and she’s met them through Irish dance.”

Emily Schneider of Warren, who’s been a BSID student for seven years, said traveling is what she likes best about being involved in Irish dance. She went to Ireland last year to participate in the All-Ireland dance competition, and even though she didn’t place among the winners, the experience was one she’ll never forget.

Schneider, 18, who attends Harding HIgh School, said she got interested in Irish dance after seeing a performance of “Riverdance” with her grandmother.

“I just knew I had to learn how to do that,” she said.

Cameron Sweeney, 13, of Canfield, has been a BSID student for eight years, and said most of his family on his mom’s side were Irish dancers before him. They encouraged him to take it up, but he continued his pursuit because he enjoys the competition and the hard work involved.

“It takes a lot of stamina – more than you’d think,” Schneider said.

Kristen Eckman, 16, of Poland, also an eight-year BSID student, agreed.

“Sometimes your feet are moving so fast that it’s hard to keep up,” Eckman said. She got interested in Irish dance after seeing videos on YouTube and deciding she wanted to try it herself.

Rachel Beil, 16, of Canfield, said her older cousin is an Irish dancer, and that’s how she got interested. She enjoys the frequent competitions in which the dancers participate.

“It’s not only really competitive, but the competition is always changing,” Beil said. “Everyone keeps getting better and the competition gets stronger all the time.”

Schneider, Sweeney, Eckman and Beil said dancers perform solo at competitive events, but represent their school.

Other events at the Poland and Canfield library branches Saturday included a magic show, stories about St. Patrick’s Day, and a leprechaun parade, during which participants dressed in their most festive St. Patrick’s Day getups and paraded through the libraries. There also was a scavenger hunt and a special book sale.