Irish Dance - KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities -

Irish Dance

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Bringing history to life. Irish History. That's exactly what members of the Mayer School of Irish Dance are doing. Dancing is such an important part of Irish Culture. It goes back hundreds of years.

Classes are held twice a month at the Annie Wittenmyer Complex in Davenport. Twenty students enjoy recreational dancing and they perform throughout the year.

Whether it be the clicking produced from the hard shoes, called jigs, or wearing ghillies to produce a soft sound, the young dancers are graceful and disciplined.

Irish dance requires quite a bot of determination and endurance. Dancers are not allowed to use their arms to get momentum for bigger kicks and high jumps. The colorful dresses, wigs, fancy footwork, and smiles are all part of the charm.

Dancer Justine Doyle says Irish dance is always upbeat and fun. Parent Julie Abbott thinks it is a beautiful art form. She says some of the dances that the Irish have done for centuries are done exactly the same way today.

The dancers will perform this weekend in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade, and also at some other festivities. The girls dance in competitions throughout the year.