|
  Students from SJPD's Irish Dance class, with Aileen Laughlin, Instructor, learning the basic steps for Irish reels and jigs during the Saturday Spring classes. Students of all ages are welcome. June 21st marked the last class of the Spring series. Classes will be starting again in the Fall. For info call 208-255-9829 or 425-466-9751.
New Irish Dance Lesson Schedule
Private dance lessons are available during the Summer
Dance lessons will begin again in the Fall
For info call 208-255-9829 or 425-466-9751.
Just in time for The Feast O’ St. Pat, Sandpoint will soon be home to the latest in what seems to be a move towards discovering and innervating the Celtic Roots in our community—Irish dance.
Danceworks and St. Joseph’s Pipe and Drum Corps have teamed up to bring to the forefront, Aileen Laughlin, World Class Irish Dance Instructor, who comes to Sandpoint from Spokane’s An Daire Dance Academy, starting March 1st.
Aileen’s energy and enthusiasm was first seen on the Panida stage, along with 2 of An Daire’s other dance students, Emily and Lindsey Ryan, during the SJPD’s stage production of Winter in the Highlands, this December past.
21 year-old Laughlin is a competitive Irish dancer from Spokane who recently qualified for the World Championships in Belfast Northern Ireland, and will be going to competitions this month.
Like other world-class athletes, Laughlin trains nearly every day, does weight lifting, cardio training, and works untill every muscle aches. Her instructor, Portland-based Jim Mueller, talks about her consistency, her incredible talent, and her impeccable work ethic. He says she’s wonderfully focused, and an incredibly hard worker.
She has worked long and hard for her place at the Worlds, and it was a momentous and climactic occasion. “It was one of my favorite moments of all time.”
Out of 4000 dancers from 15 different countries competing at Worlds, she will be only 1 of 13 in the western region to represent this country, competing in the over-20 division at the Open level, the highest level of competition; local dancer Allie Lewis will also join her in the under 18 division.
For the first round, the dancers will perform one hard-shoe routine and one soft-shoe routine alongside one other competitor to the same pre-determined piece of music—different choreography.
Then, of course, the small number of dancers are called back for the second and third rounds, before the final placements are announced, making for a nail-biting and stomach wrenching experience—but Aileen is up to the task. She has a goal to be recalled at Worlds and landing in the top 5 for next season.
In the meantime, she’s focusing on gracing Sandpoint with her expertise, acknowledging that competitive Irish Dancing is highly athletic and precise. Her training with An Daire gives her a base of knowledge and skill that will help students to learn, to perfect and to surpass their peers, if they so desire.
From An Daire’s Five ways to get the most out of music lessons:
“…there are some excellent materials developed by professional music educators that are made for students in a variety of situations. In addition, there are standard learning syllabi for the instruction of both classical and traditional Irish music curricula. These materials have been researched and are continually upgraded and improved to make learning easier and ensure that no important part of learning ….can inadvertently be left out. If you ever move to a different part of the country qualified teachers and institutions will easily recognize the materials and smoothly continue your instruction..”
For registration or more info,
Call 263-5220, 265-8091 or 255-9829.
|
.jpg)
