How is dance taught? Can it be learned?
Folk dance is essentially a dance with a traditional repertoire. It is generally of Celtic origin and is influenced by dancing styles such as Irish bhalsa, Welsh jig and Irish croon. Social dance is generally of a cultural nature and in its essence is much more difficult to incorporate into a dance routine because it demands a greater repertoire. Social dances are often used to create more realistic environments through repetition and dynamic movements.
How is dance taught? How long does training take?
Each class usually consists of 5 to 8 dance lessons and an hour to 1 hour of classroom instruction. A typical teacher will teach two to seven dance lessons per lesson. In the initial two to three years of training, lessons may be taught to children in the 4th grade through adult levels. In older students, dancers may practice dance as part of their studies. When lessons are complete, students may be given an assessment by a qualified dance department or school to determine their progress. Classes can be taken away to a local dance studio for on-going classes, or dance instructors may teach at a dance department.
Students who wish to pursue a more advanced level of dancing must take a dance course at a professional school of dance, which generally requires that they take a minimum of four hours to complete.
How many styles are there? Are there specific styles that need to be learned the first time?
The dance styles of the Irish bhla (colloquially “thrilly”) and the jig (which was known at the time as “stag”), Welsh jig and Irish croon can be fairly diverse. The bhla and jig are typically danced in a single movement. The celtic jig is generally danced in a series of moves over a number of bars. Many other dances that have been classified as “fusion” (i.e. dance of Irish, Welsh and Scandinavian origins) were actually traditional styles which were modified over time for dance performances. Most of them were later modified or eliminated.
Can a dancing school teach a “fusion” style?
There is a very fine line between fusion and traditional, and the differences are quite subtle, as seen by the dancing experts and the dancers who were involved with these styles. However, these differences do not make dance styles any less flexible or challenging to master, since most of the dances are the same. Many of the popular fusion dances today incorporate the elements of Irish
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