Irish music: Thank-you for the Irish music

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Session in the front garden

One of the wonderful things about dancing at home is that you get to choose the music. Don’t get me wrong. When I’m at a céilí or workshop, I’m happy to accept the music that has been chosen by others. Most of the time.

But when I’m at home, I go through phases of being absolutely in love with different tunes, different musicians and combinations of music and far beyond the usual recorded music specifically for set dances. Don’t you find that, too?

Some of the talented folk that really lift me are:

  • Andrew MacNamara Dawn 
  • Arcady  After The Ball and Many Happy Returns

    Martin dancing and Mark playing

    Martin dancing and Mark playing

  • Border Collies Unleashed!
  • Dennis Liddy & Elvie Miller Tradaree
  • Feenish Rabharta
  • Four Men and a Dog Barking Mad – should be called Four Mad Men and a Mad Dog!
  • Jack Talty and Cormac Begley  Na Fir Bolg
  • Mary Macnamara  Blackberry Blossom and Traditional Music of East Clare
  • Máirtín O’Connor & Friends  Crossroads
  • Micheál O’Raghallaigh The Nervous Man and Inside Out
  • Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon
  • Sliabh Notes Along Blackwater’s Banks
  • 10 Years of Ceili House with Kieran Hanrahan (RTE) – Liz Doherty & Fiddlesticks medley: gives orchestral music a whole new meaning!

But a real treat is to have people play for you, in your own home! We are lucky enough to have talented and generous friends Mark (flute photo above), David (fiddle) and Ann (accordion) and Denis (banjo photo below) from Canada who occasionally are available to play for us
And look, it doesn’t matter whether you are a plumber, an electrician or a rocket scientist, come as you are, throw a few shapes and enjoy yourself!

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David Game and Denis Lyons playing a tune

27 August 2014
Nora Stewart
Irish Bliss
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Best foot forward!

Home in the snow

Our home in winter here in Australia

Woke early this chilly winter morning in the bush, the sky is that very pale and deep blue on the horizon with snow threatening, forecast confirmed by the knowing birdsong of magpies.
Can’t dance today because I am recovering from a very badly scalded right foot- result of dropping a kettle of boiling water nearly 2 weeks ago and the healing has been slow. However, it’s coming good with the help of a regular covering of honey – Martin’s honey- and I am confident it will be good as new.

Then I can get on with practicing “The Priest & His Boots”, a gorgeous little old-style jig that I tried to learn from Celine Tubridy all those years ago in Ireland but without success.  Frustrating because I couldn’t follow what she was doing but also I didn’t have the skills developed for the basic moves that would have helped make it easier, like doing the shuffles.

But now with the help of YouTube and technology to slow it down, I’ve been watching her husband Michael dance it  beautifully with Maureen Culleton, really inspired to see such gentle, elegant dancing from people of an age where many are not advancing, but retiring.
I’ve been using the Amazing Slowdowner software to slow down a jig by Mary Macnamara to about 80% of it’s speed, and broken the dance into five parts. I don’t have each move exactly right yet but that will come with practice, when my foot gets better – I hope!
See you soon – dancing at home.

21 July 2013
Nora Stewart
Irish Bliss
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