I just got back from the ceili dance; it was amazing! I can't believe how easy it was to get going!
I'll start from the beginning, though - I showed up a little bit early and asked Jennifer some questions. It turns out that she is a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia... just like me! She moved from Pheonix, Arizona, a couple of years ago. She had tap-danced and square-danced before, but she said she had never ceili danced before coming to Central Missouri. Of all places, this is where she got started! She was looking for new ways to get involved in the community and meet new people, and she found the Central Missouri Celtic Arts Association online. She took fiddle lessons and learned a little bit of the Irish language, so she thought she'd try ceili.
Now Jennifer hosts ceili dancing every Tuesday night. She was so friendly! All the dancers were - they didn't act superior to me at all, though it was obvious that they were much better than I was. There were eight of us all together (Jennifer, Katheryn, Joanne, Marie, Hank, Michael, Dan, and me). I felt really comfortable - it was like I was just with a group of random people working together to form a sort of synchronized movement... and, as I said, it was a lot easier than it looked.
The basic three-step even looks complicated - Jennifer, Katheryn, and Joanne showed me how to do it, and I just remember thinking, "no way... I couldn't do that." I think it's just that I don't really think I have any rhythm. I remember when my mother taught me to play "Heart N Soul" on the piano... I always liked doing the higher-pitched part because then she didn't have to count on me to keep the same rhythm over and over. My boyfriend in high school tried to teach me the drums... but then again, I had trouble repeating a same rhythm, keeping time. The three step requires one to keep rhythm with the music... and it looked harder than a simple clap or stomp. And the Rise and Grind? Forget it...
But Katheryn took my hand and told me that there was no reason to be intimidated. Before I knew it... I was a part of the ceili dance, I was moving like everyone else! And they were so encouraging, too... it was really great.
Jennifer has ceili every Tuesday... I would love to go on some sort of regular basis. I wonder if any of my friends would like to try it, too.
I'll start from the beginning, though - I showed up a little bit early and asked Jennifer some questions. It turns out that she is a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia... just like me! She moved from Pheonix, Arizona, a couple of years ago. She had tap-danced and square-danced before, but she said she had never ceili danced before coming to Central Missouri. Of all places, this is where she got started! She was looking for new ways to get involved in the community and meet new people, and she found the Central Missouri Celtic Arts Association online. She took fiddle lessons and learned a little bit of the Irish language, so she thought she'd try ceili.
Now Jennifer hosts ceili dancing every Tuesday night. She was so friendly! All the dancers were - they didn't act superior to me at all, though it was obvious that they were much better than I was. There were eight of us all together (Jennifer, Katheryn, Joanne, Marie, Hank, Michael, Dan, and me). I felt really comfortable - it was like I was just with a group of random people working together to form a sort of synchronized movement... and, as I said, it was a lot easier than it looked.
The basic three-step even looks complicated - Jennifer, Katheryn, and Joanne showed me how to do it, and I just remember thinking, "no way... I couldn't do that." I think it's just that I don't really think I have any rhythm. I remember when my mother taught me to play "Heart N Soul" on the piano... I always liked doing the higher-pitched part because then she didn't have to count on me to keep the same rhythm over and over. My boyfriend in high school tried to teach me the drums... but then again, I had trouble repeating a same rhythm, keeping time. The three step requires one to keep rhythm with the music... and it looked harder than a simple clap or stomp. And the Rise and Grind? Forget it...
But Katheryn took my hand and told me that there was no reason to be intimidated. Before I knew it... I was a part of the ceili dance, I was moving like everyone else! And they were so encouraging, too... it was really great.
Jennifer has ceili every Tuesday... I would love to go on some sort of regular basis. I wonder if any of my friends would like to try it, too.
posted by moohappy at
9:02 PM
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