Team taking steps ‘to just get it perfect’
Sacred Heart University’s Irish dancers seek international stage
FAIRFIELD — It’s common for U.S. colleges to have dance teams; it’s far less common for them to have Irish dance teams though.
In fact, Sacred Heart University is one of only 31 university teams in the country, according to the Collegiate Irish Dance Association. More than that, SHU’s team has set itself up as one to be recognized on the national and international stage.
Last year, Sacred Heart University Claddagh dancer Maeve Cahill placed third at the 2022 North American Irish Dance Championships in Montreal.
In a phone interview from Sacred Heart’s Dingle, Ireland, campus, where the team was taking master classes and performing Irish dance over spring break, SHU’s Claddagh dancers said precision is key when it comes to the tradition.
“There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way,” said Grace Keliher, the team’s cocaptain. “As a black-andwhite person, I just love that about it. But it’s also an art form.”
Keliher said she started doing Irish dance 18 years ago when she was 4, but there are always new goals she can set for herself.
“I’ve been competing regionally, nationally and on the world stage since then,” she said.
Allison O’Riordan, SHU’s Irish dance ensemble instructor, said she got into Irish dance because it was an after school program she joined.
“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It was the only thing that got my energy out as a kid. I kind of just fell in love
In photos above and at top, members of the Sacred Heart University Irish dance team practice routines. The Claddagh dance team is working on winning a place on the national and international stage. Sacred Heart University/Contributed photo
with it. My family has some Irish connections so that got me intrigued.”
Abigail Lupinacci, another senior on SHU’s team, said she got involved in Irish Dance because her cousin and sister were doing it, noting she switched from ballet and has been doing it for 16 years.
“I like the complexity and the difficulty of the training,” she said. “There’s always something to work for, even if you’ve mastered a specific part of the dance. There’s always room to grow. You never hit a point where you can’t keep learning things.”
Keliher said her family also has Irish heritage, and she enjoys the music and the culture of the dance form, adding it is a great way to keep in touch with those roots.
“You meet a lot of people who are like you through it, and have similar cultural backgrounds,” she said. “Every friend I have made from Irish dancing has been a good one. It’s been great.”
O’Riordan said the community is a big component of what she enjoys about it as well. More than that, she said, the music is awesome, and you make beats with your feet.
“It’s fast and it’s hard and it’s really athletic,” she said. “So there’s also those challenging components about it.”
Keliher said Irish step dancing is a lot more rigid than other types of dance, and there are only about four dances performed in it.
“Everyone does pretty much the same dance,” she said. “That creative piece more so comes in the choreography, but everybody dances to the same music. Everyone gets the same amount of time on stage, so the playing field is pretty even in that way.”
Lupinacci said the fundamentals stay the same throughout Irish dancers’ careers, but as far as competition goes it fluctuates in how rigorous it is, getting very competitive for teenagers.
“Then, once you continue into adulthood, the competition loosens up as well,” she said. “It’s interesting, when you’re competing and taking all those fundamentals you’re being scored on, and sort of matching it to the competitiveness of the competition.”
The dance style also ranges in formality, Keliher said, noting it can be high level competition where dancers travel to events or it can be doing a step at the pub.
“It’s still Irish dance all the same,” she said. “It’s really nice that you can be involved in as much or as little as you want. You can always stay with it even if you’re not competition anymore.”
O’Riordan said most people who do Irish dance only do that type.
“Usually, other dancers will have training in ballet, tap, jazz or lyrical and they’ll do all of those forms,” she said. “Usually in Irish they’ll just stick with it, because they have the hard shoe and they have the soft shoe. Both are pretty different range of movements. Often, dancers have to only focus on Irish if they want to be successful in it.”
Keliher said Irish dancers need to have a high level of focus the more they delve into big competitions.
“You kind of have to choose Irish if that’s what you want to do,” she said. “The practices are super repetitive. It’s straight drilling over and over to just get it perfect.”
O’Riordan said SHU’s Irish step team is a lot more casual, adding they compete but it is more about the performance. She noted being on the team is a credited course at the school, although dancers have to audition.
Lupinacci said she loves dancing for the university. She said it allows her to stay in touch with that community and compete with them, but with less pressure.
“It’s more team-based,” she said. “We get to work on building our team camaraderie. We work together to create dances alongside our teacher, which is definitely cool to see.”
Keliher said she is finishing up school in a couple of months, so it might be the end of her competitive career. She said Sacred Heart’s program is unique because it gives people a chance to keep dancing after they retire from formal competitions.
“After this, I’m working on getting my teaching certification, so I might teach,” she said. “Some of our dancers are interested in touring with shows. For most of us, once you graduate, it’s kind of the end of the line.”
Lupinacci said she’ll always do Irish step dancing, whether she gets more serious and competes again or it becomes something she whips out for St. Patrick’s Day.
“It’s just been such a big part of my life and I enjoy it so much,” she said.