Irish Classes
Experience the Magic
Irish dance originated in Ireland and is characterized by its quick and precise footwork as well as its use of traditional Irish music. Students will learn a variety of techniques including footwork, patterns, leaps, and turns and will perform traditional Irish dances such as the jig and reel.
Elementary Irish
Irish
Advanced Irish
Irish Hard Shoe Classes
Grades 2-12 (Soft-Shoe Required)
Irish dance is believed to have started when the Celts arrived in Ireland over 2,000 years ago. Today, the most common form of Irish dance is the Munster style which has been formalized by An Coiminsium le Rinci Gaelacha – the Irish Dancing Commission. Irish step dancing falls into two broad categories based on the shoes worn: hard shoe and soft shoe. All students start with a minimum of one year of soft shoe training, and when invited, will be able to start hard shoe training along with the continuation of soft shoe classes.
We begin offering Irish training on a combination basis with ballet and tap in a selection of the very young classes. Later, with maturity, if a student would like to study Irish Dance more seriously, they may enroll in a class designated specifically to Irish Dance. Irish Dance is a very popular program at the Dancenter and it has been on our schedule for over twenty years. We maintain a trained staff of professional instructors to bring out the Irish Dancer in your child.
If your student becomes passionate about Irish dance, and would like the opportunity to perform throughout the Ames community and Central Iowa, dancing and promoting Irish Dance, then the Irish Performance Team (IPT) is a great opportunity for him or her. Students in this program will learn several routines to perform at various venues and events including St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, educational programs, and other events. IPT is by audition. The team is very much in demand. We limit the performance schedule so that it is manageable for a school-age person. Auditions are in December; rehearsals start in January. Memories are made in IPT that last a lifetime.
Available Classes
- Irish Beginner
Grades 2-6
- Irish Advanced Beginner Hardshoe
Grades 6-11
- Irish Novice Hardshoe
Irish Soft Shoe Classes
Grades 1-12
Irish Dance traces its rudimentary history as far back as the times of the Druids and the Celts and has evolved ever since. Students have the opportunity to study the graceful soft shoe discipline at the Dancenter. Our instructors’ dance schools in the Midwest. In addition to numerous individual components, steps, combinations, and ceilli (group) dances, dancers will learn how to identify various types of Irish music, including reels, jigs, and more. A variety of music (traditional and contemporary Irish and non-traditional music) is used for learning, executing practice drills, and perfomances. In addition to studio classes, dancers at the Advanced Beginner level and above are invited to audition and perform with the Irish Performance Team. Mastery of rhythm and timing is the goal for beginning students, as well as the advanced. This mastery is built upon with the addition of new and more complicated steps and types of dances as the student progresses. It all comes together in choreographed selections for the annual recital.
Requirements: All students start with Beginner Soft Shoe, either in a scheduled class or in private lessons. In order to be placed in a higher level, dancers will have mastered components taught in their current levels. A minimum of one year of soft shoe is required to be placed in hard shoe. The soft shoe and hard shoe disciplines compliment each other. Therefore, in order to study hard shoe, a dancer needs to enroll in their placed soft shoe level.
Available Classes
- Beginner Softshoe
Grades 2-5
- Advanced Beginner Soft Shoe
Grades 5-10
- Novice Softshoe
Grades 8-12
- Prizewinner/Preliminary Championship Soft Shoe
History Of Irish Dance
Irish Dance traces its rudimentary history as far back as the times of the Druids and the Celts and has evolved ever since. Students have the opportunity to study the graceful soft shoe discipline at the Dancenter. Our instructors’ dance schools in the Midwest. In addition to numerous individual components, steps, combinations, and ceilli (group) dances, dancers will learn how to identify various types of Irish music, including reels, jigs, and more. A variety of music (traditional and contemporary Irish and non-traditional music) is used for learning, executing practice drills, and perfomances. In addition to studio classes, dancers at the Advanced Beginner level and above are invited to audition and perform with the Irish Performance Team. Mastery of rhythm and timing is the goal for beginning students, as well as the advanced. This mastery is built upon with the addition of new and more complicated steps and types of dances as the student progresses. It all comes together in choreographed selections for the annual recital.
Requirements: All students start with Beginner Soft Shoe, either in a scheduled class or in private lessons. In order to be placed in a higher level, dancers will have mastered components taught in their current levels. A minimum of one year of soft shoe is required to be placed in hard shoe. The soft shoe and hard shoe disciplines compliment each other. Therefore, in order to study hard shoe, a dancer needs to enroll in their placed soft shoe level.
Irish Dance traces its rudimentary history as far back as the times of the Druids and the Celts and has evolved ever since. Students have the opportunity to study the graceful soft shoe discipline at the Dancenter. Our instructors’ dance schools in the Midwest. In addition to numerous individual components, steps, combinations, and ceilli (group) dances, dancers will learn how to identify various types of Irish music, including reels, jigs, and more. A variety of music (traditional and contemporary Irish and non-traditional music) is used for learning, executing practice drills, and perfomances. In addition to studio classes, dancers at the Advanced Beginner level and above are invited to audition and perform with the Irish Performance Team. Mastery of rhythm and timing is the goal for beginning students, as well as the advanced. This mastery is built upon with the addition of new and more complicated steps and types of dances as the student progresses. It all comes together in choreographed selections for the annual recital.
Requirements: All students start with Beginner Soft Shoe, either in a scheduled class or in private lessons. In order to be placed in a higher level, dancers will have mastered components taught in their current levels. A minimum of one year of soft shoe is required to be placed in hard shoe. The soft shoe and hard shoe disciplines compliment each other. Therefore, in order to study hard shoe, a dancer needs to enroll in their placed soft shoe level.
Irish Dance traces its rudimentary history as far back as the times of the Druids and the Celts and has evolved ever since. Students have the opportunity to study the graceful soft shoe discipline at the Dancenter. Our instructors’ dance schools in the Midwest. In addition to numerous individual components, steps, combinations, and ceilli (group) dances, dancers will learn how to identify various types of Irish music, including reels, jigs, and more. A variety of music (traditional and contemporary Irish and non-traditional music) is used for learning, executing practice drills, and perfomances. In addition to studio classes, dancers at the Advanced Beginner level and above are invited to audition and perform with the Irish Performance Team. Mastery of rhythm and timing is the goal for beginning students, as well as the advanced. This mastery is built upon with the addition of new and more complicated steps and types of dances as the student progresses. It all comes together in choreographed selections for the annual recital.
Requirements: All students start with Beginner Soft Shoe, either in a scheduled class or in private lessons. In order to be placed in a higher level, dancers will have mastered components taught in their current levels. A minimum of one year of soft shoe is required to be placed in hard shoe. The soft shoe and hard shoe disciplines compliment each other. Therefore, in order to study hard shoe, a dancer needs to enroll in their placed soft shoe level.
