10 July 2009, 7-11pm, $10Ceili dancing with live music by Hanz Araki. Maldon Meehan teaches the basics in the first hour and calls all the dances. Contact Susan Spencer.
Future dates: 14 August, 11 September, 9 October, 13 November, 11 December 2009
12 July 2009, 4.30-8.30pmThey dance at the back of the pub to live music provided by J Patrick's All-Stars led by Billy McComiskey. The sets are called by Marilyn Moore. After the ceili live music continues until midnight. Contact J Patrick's.
Future dates please confirm: 9 August, 13 September, 11 October, 8 November, 13 December 2009
12-18 July 2009, $375Irish Arts Week brings the Irish summer school experience to the Catskills Mountains of upstate New York. A mixture of Irish and American teachers offer music classes in traditional instruments and dance classes cover set, sean nós and modern step dancing. You can also learn crafts and there's even a workshop to keep children busy while parents attend their classes.
The summer school is based in the Michael J Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Center situated near the village of East Durham, about 135 miles north of New York City. The 108-acre grounds have sports fields, historic Irish cottages and American houses, a huge map of Ireland paved in brick and a pavilion. Events are also held in various establishments in the surrounding area.
Classes run from Monday to Friday, 13-17 July, morning and afternoon. Set dancing is taught by Tony Ryan each morning from 10am to 12.30pm, and John Shields from Philadelphia teaches afternoons from 1.30 to 3pm. Kieran Jordan from Boston teaches beginners' sean nós steps in the morning and improvers in the afternoon.
For evening entertainment, there are plenty of sessions organised in the pubs and nightly two-hour concerts. Ceilis operate Monday to Saturday, 9pm to 12am, in some of the local inns with music by many of the week's teachers. The week finishes with the Andy McCann Irish Traditional Music Festival on Saturday, 18 July, where the dancing is held in the center's pavilion during the day.
The Catskills is a beautiful area of mountains and forests which has long been a popular wilderness vacation destination. East Durham is adjacent to Catskills Park, a vast state park covering parts of four counties, with 98 mountains over 3,000 feet high.
The registration price shown above is for a full week of morning and afternoon classes. A week of either morning or afternoon classes is $275. Registration can be done via the summer school web site, www.east-durham.org, or by contacting the Michael J Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Center. A list of local accommodation is available on the website. For more information contact Paul Keating.
17 July 2009, 7.30-11.30pm, $10The ceili begins with a lesson, followed by live music with Dave Cory, Landon Kuhn and Kellam Throgmorton. Contact Sam Keator.
Also on: 30 October 2009
19 July 2009, 2-5pm, freeA ceili with mostly live music and ceili dancing. Contact Margaret Cupples and Catherine Sherer Bishop.
19-24 July 2009, $440The Augusta Heritage Centre promotes traditional music, dance and other skills at week-long summer schools and other festivals throughout the year. The specialised summer schools include weeks dedicated to Cajun, blues, bluegrass and of course Irish; this is the 28th annual Irish Week. Activities are based on a college campus in the small town of Elkins, which is in a scenic area beside the Appalachian Mountains and the Monongahela National Forest.
The summer school includes tuition in a range of instruments, plus set dancing with Tony Ryan. Classes run from Monday to Friday in morning and afternoon sessions, 10am-12pm and 2.30-4.30pm. The workshops occupy a roofed pavilion which is otherwise open to the fresh air of the wooded setting. Over the lunch break there are performances and demonstrations and for more dancing there are nightly ceilis.
The price shown above is for the week of set dancing classes; accommodation and full board is available on campus for $347 (last year's price). To learn more contact the Augusta Heritage Center or see www.augustaheritage.com.
24 July 2009, 7pm, $12The monthly fourth Friday ceili begins with a workshop in the first hour then from 8pm there's live music by either John Brennan or Kevin McGillian plus friends. Contact John Shields, Cass Tinney and Tom O'Malley.
Also on: 28 August, 25 September, 23 October, 27 November 2009
24-26 July 2009Visiting this festival to play for ceilis are the dynamic duo, Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh.
24-26 July 2009, $10 dailyAn annual showcase of Irish culture held in the park-like setting on the Society's own grounds. There's music for all tastes including three ceili bands for set dancing—Music in the Glen Ceili Band with John Whelan on Friday, Pete Kelly on Saturday and Green Gates Ceili Band (former USA champions) on Sunday. There's no calling, just flat-out set dancing for more than twelve hours in total. Opening hours are 6pm-12am on Friday, 3pm-12am on Saturday and 1-6pm on Sunday. Contact John Droney.
25 July 2009 The HiBs 24 October 2009 Barra 23 January 2009 Two Tap Trio Loma Mór Irish Dance Club ceilis, 7.30pm. Contact Karen Cieminski.
Also on: 23 April 2010
25 July 2009, 8pm-12am, freeCeili. Contact Noel Reid.
More on: 7 August, 19 September 2009
25 July 2009 The set of the month is taught from 7 to 8pm, which is followed by dancing to live music till 11pm, $8. Contact Pat McElroy-Komppa.
27 June 2009, 7pm, $20Ceol na gCroí Ceili Band play for these monthly ceilis. There's a review of a set in the first hour with live music from 8pm. Contact Maureen Donachie.
5 July 2009, 3-6pm, $7A live music session with dancing led by Michael and Susan Harrison.
More dates: 2 August, 6 September, 4 October, 1 November, 6 December 2009
31 July-2 August 2009The home of this popular festival is a town outside Columbus named after the Irish capital. Among the several stages on the grounds is the Ceili Dance Tent which offers set dancing on Saturday and Sunday. Dance master Jim Keenan teaches workshops from 1 to 2.15pm and 3.30to 4.45pm on Saturday. The Cape May Ceili Band featuring John Whelan plays for ceilis on Saturday night from 8 to 11.30pm, and Sunday freom 1.30 to 3.15pm. Jim begins the ceilis with a workshop and provides calling.
The Dublin Festival Academy is an evening summer school on Wednesday and Thursday, 29-31 July. Jim teaches sets from 6.30 to 8.30pm both evenings in the Dublin Community Recreation Center.
Contact Dublin Irish Festival.
Future dates: 6-8 August 2010
31 July-8 August 2009This long running summer camp offers an international selection of music and dance classes and sessions held in the Mendocino Woodlands, a redwood forest park. Set dancing workshops are included for an hour a day taught by Janis Reynolds. At night there are two set dancing ceilis. Advance registration is necessary as the camp sells out early. More details are on the internet at www.larkcamp.com or contact the Mickie and Beth Zeckley.
7-9 August 2009, freeMinnesota's Irish Fair takes place in a park beside the Mississippi River with the skyscrapers of St Paul in the background beyond. The site is full of entertainment in the open air and under tents. One of the tents is devoted to Irish social dance - sets, ceili and sean nós. Workshops with Gerard Butler and other teachers are held throughout the day with live music ceilis in the evening. Contact Karen Cieminski and the Irish Fair of Minnesota.
9-16 August 2009There are dozens of Irish festivals across America each summer, but the one which offers the best dancing opportunities also happens to be the largest one in the country, Irish Fest. It's based in the city of Milwaukee on the shore of Lake Michigan about ninety miles north of Chicago. Over 100,000 visitors attend the four-day festival to see a wide variety of entertainment, shop in Irish markets, visit exhibitions and just eat, drink and be merry. The Fest site is a dedicated fairground park adjacent to the city centre along a half mile of the lake shore. A modest daily entry fee gives full access to all entertainment, from pure trad to hard rock and anything in between, on up to a dozen different stages at once. Some are outdoors in the open air and seat thousands for the top bands; other stages are under cover for more intimate entertainment.
If you're looking for dancing, there's plenty of it to be found here, nearly non-stop during the whole of the Fest opening hours. On Thursday from 5 to 10pm the grounds are only partially open, and dancing is at the Tipperary Stage on an asphalt surface. But for all of the rest of the Fest - 4pm-12am on Friday, 12pm-12am on Saturday and 11am-10pm on Sunday - ceilis are at a dedicated dance pavilion. This has a raised plywood floor for dancing, a roof overhead to keep you dry in a thunderstorm and otherwise little to prevent the lake breezes from cooling you down. A succession of bands play throughout the day for no more than two hours each, alternating between set and ceili dancing, with a few half-hour workshops mixed in as well. You can dance sets for about five hours a day, and if you like ceili dancing you can double that, though in practice there's little overlap between the two. When ceili dancing begins, the set dancers drift away to see the rest of the festival, and vice versa. Local Milwaukee bands RíRá, Ceol Cairde and Athás play during the day, and at night the Kilfenora Ceili Band plays a double-header, ceili dancing and finishing with sets.
There's another highly recommended stage with good music and occasional dancing. The Gaeltacht stage is an intimate little tent dedicated to performances by musicians including Johnny Connolly, singers and dancers from Irish-speaking parts of Ireland. It's a genuine slice of home with superb music, song, stories and steps conducted in both Irish and English. There's a tiny wooden platform only big enough for a set whenever the musicians and set dancers are suitably inspired. It's a perfect place to visit during the ceili dancing interludes at the dance pavilion. The only other opportunity to dance takes place in an outdoor basketball court where introductory set and ceili dancing lessons are offered to the public.
All the day's dancing is covered by the general festival admission charge - $5 on the first day, Thursday 13 August, free between 4 and 5pm on Friday and $15 daily after that. Of course admission includes all the other stages and performances on offer throughout the day, so it's superb value. There are no additional charges for entertainment, though you're never more than a few paces away from opportunities to eat, drink and spend money. You'll find dog shows, tug of war, curragh races, marching bands, theatre, a cable car, market stalls and much more. At the close on Sunday night the dancing finishes in time for a fireworks display on the lake, and then everyone gathers at one of the big stages for a final blast of music and a sentimental singalong.
Here's the schedule of bands in the dance pavilion—
Thursday 13 August 5.30pm Ceol Cairde set 7pm Kilfenora Ceili Band ceili 8.30pm Kilfenora Ceili Band set Friday 14 August 4.45pm Áthas ceili 7pm Cream City Ceili Band set 8.45pm Kilfenora Ceili Band ceili 10.15pm Kilfenora Ceili Band set Saturday 15 August 3.15pm Johnny Connolly and Meaití Joe Shéamuis Ó Fátharta set 5pm Wise Maids ceili 7.15pm Two Tap Trio set 9pm Kilfenora Ceili Band ceili 10.30pm Kilfenora Ceili Band set Sunday 16 August 11.30am Ceol Cairde ceili 1.15pm RíRá set 3pm Last Gaspé ceili 4.45pm Áthas set 6.15pm Two Tap Trio ceili 7.45pm Kilfenora Ceili Band set Before most of the afternoon ceilis there's also a half-hour introductory lesson.
There's one additional set dancing event during the Fest which is not to be missed, though it's not part of the Fest. The local set dancing club holds a late night ceili on Friday 14 August at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Centre, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue. It begins around midnight, which leaves enough time to travel here across town after the last set of the night at the Fest, and finishes up in the wee hours of the morning. The musicians are sometimes top names peforming at Irish Fest, and the good music, dancers, floor, food and atmosphere make it special.
As if all of that wasn't enough, the Fest also offers a four-day summer school from Monday to Thursday, 10 to 13 August, with classes in dance, music and other aspects of Irish culture. These are based at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, 1085 North Broadway, located in the city centre about a mile away from the festival site. Set dancing classes are offered in the afternoon and evening. Gail McElroy also gives a class introducing set, ceili and country dancing, and Maldon Meehan teaches sean nós dancing. An opening reception on Sunday evening, 9 August, introduces all the teachers to all the students, and it's followed by a session with dancing. After the evening set dancing classes, everyone usually meets in a restaurant for a session with dancing.
Advance summer school registration is encouraged though you can do it at the opening reception. On campus student housing is available for a full week, covering both the summer school and Fest. If you prefer a hotel be sure to book it early. For more information, visit the Irish Fest web site at www.irishfest.com or contact Jane Anderson regarding the Fest and Jane Walrath for questions about the summer school.
Future festivals: 19-22 August 2010, 18-21 August 2011
15 August 2009, 8pmThe ceili for an Irish language summer school. Contact Julie Bowes.
11 September 2009, 8pm-12am, $10A ceili usually with house band Turn the Corner. Contact Kelly Jones and Anna Costanzo.
More ceilis: 9 October, 13 November, 11 December 2009
18 September 2009 8pm-12.30am please confirm 16 October 2009 8pm-12.30am Felim Egan and friends 20 November 2009 8pm-12.30am Peter Yeats and friends Dancing begins with a lesson in the first hour followed by live music, $10. Contact Maldon Meehan.
20 September 2009, 3-8pm, $12Comhaltas ceilis on the third Sunday feature music by Eileen Clune Goodman, John and Gerry Kennedy, Mike Rafferty and guests. There's a dancing lesson in the first hour. Contact Bridie and John DalPizzol.
Future ceilis: 18 October, 15 November, 20 December 2009
27 September 2009, 2-6pm, $13Monthly dances with ceili dancing and two or three sets danced to music by Pancho, Kevin and Jimmy McGillian. Contact Bud Burke.
Also on: 15 November, 20 December 2009
2 October 2009, 7.30-11pm, $10Dancing begins with a lesson in the first half hour followed by live music. Contact Sam Keator.
Future dates: 6 November, 4 December 2009, 1 January, 5 February, 5 March, 2 April, 7 May 2010
18 October 2009, 2-6pm, $10Pocono Mountain set and ceili dancing with music by Pancho Pantoni and Kevin and Jimmy McGillian. Contact Jean Cunningham.
30 October-1 November 2009, $165This annual weekend commemorating Connie Ryan's contribution to set dancing is again in Rehoboth Beach, the top resort along the short Atlantic coast of Delaware. It is based in a pleasant hotel on the boardwalk facing the beach and ocean. Pádraig and Róisín McEneany are visiting from Ireland to lead workshops on Saturday and Sunday and call sets at ceilis on Friday and Saturday nights. New York area musicians Brendan Dolan, Felix Dolan, Dylan Foley, Jimmy Kelly and John Whelan make the music. Shoppers take note - the town boasts three outlet malls and Delaware has no state sales tax. Contact Linda Fitzpatrick.
6-13 February 2010, $1327-2834An Irish cruise of the Caribbean featuring Matt Cunningham and his band among the performers. The ship makes stops in Key West, Grand Cayman, Isla Roatan and Cuzumel. Contact Mary Rowley.
2-5 April 2010Contact Elizabeth MacDonald.
21-24 May 2010A celebration of Irish culture on Canada's smallest province.
23-30 May 2010, $1597-3197This popular cruise of the Caribbean offers entertainment by a host of Irish performers, including Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh and the Pete Kelly Ceili Band. Gerard Butler is coming along to teach dance workshops. The itinerary starts and finishes from the pier at 55th Street on the west side of Manhattan, making several stops in Bermuda and another in Charleston, South Carolina. Per-person price shown varies with room type and includes shared accommodation, meals, entertainment, port charges and taxes. Contact Gertrude Byrne.
| Bill Lynch |
Set Dancing News, Kilfenora, Co Clare, Ireland 065 707 1363 Republic of Ireland 087 939 3357 mobile +1 410 504 6000 North America +353 65 707 1363 elsewhere +353 87 939 3357 BillLynch@eircom.net |