By: Julie Pearson
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
Irish step routines involve intricate footwork and influenced the development of U.S. tap dancing.
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
The dance show will also feature a ballet routine.
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
Members of the Irish step dance routine preparing for this weekend´s show.
Put on your dancing shoes and head over to Rodgers Recreation Center for the Salve Dance Company’s fall show!
Salve’s dancers will take to the stage exhibiting their talents on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. Admission to Friday’s show is a can-good donation, while Saturday’s student tickets will be sold for $5. The performance will include dances in the areas of tap, jazz, ballet, lyric, hip-hop, and new this year, Irish step dancing. Laura Ihlenfeld, ’06, is one of the Company’s step dancers who had noticed in previous shows that there were no Irish dancing numbers. After asking the captains of the company, it was decided that a routine would be added to the performance schedule for this fall. Ihlenfeld has been step dancing since she was seven and was a member of the Nashville Irish Step Dancers, in Nashville, TN. As a teenager, her former teacher, Mary Moran, danced with Michael Flatley in Chicago but back then she remembered him as a plumber’s assistant. The step dancers will be performing a traditional hard shoe dance, which means their shoes have higher heels and toes that are made of fiberglass. These features make the distinctive clacking sound against the performance floor. The dance, choreographed by Devon Markowski, ’05, was originally to feature six girls. “Sadly due to a sprained ankle we now have five [girls dancing],” said Ihlenfeld. The dance had to be modified for the loss but not to any great degree. “Mary Ellen Connell was one of the strongest dancers and is missed,” she said. There is one step dance featured this semester, but Ihlenfeld hopes for more in future shows even combing the technique with other dancers. “Irish dance can be done to mostly any song, even hip hop,” she said. Members of the Company have been working hard to organize and choreograph each dance, blending personal style with unique and popular tunes. “Everyone works really, really hard throughout the semester,” said dancer Erinn Gloster, ’06. “And everyone gets excited to see friends and family, so come cheer us on!”
