What is Step Dancing? Step dancing is a percussive form of dance, danced alone, with footwork close to the floor. It is danced by people of all ages - I know step dancers who are over 80 - dancing keeps you young! Old Style Step dancing is the precursor to competitive Irish dancing and Riverdance. Check my dance/video page to see what it is all about all about. What to wear? Dancers are asked to wear some hard soled shoes, sneakers are not advisable, nor shoes with a wedge heel - clear your dance space of trip hazards, so that you are ready to have fun with dance!
Drop me a line here if you would like information on my next online course, or live classes and workshops. Info on levels Level 1 - complete beginner, together, we will explore an easy routine – taking a little time each week to demonstrate other dance types: eg reel, jig, slip jig, hornpipe etc. Level 2 - for those with some experience, this could be 2 or 3 terms of my beginner class, or other percussive dance forms. Level 3 - for those who have been dancing a while and are ready to start memorising longer and more complicated routines. Level 4 - for those with a good background in Irish step dancing or other forms of percussive dance, where many movements will already be known, or easily picked up and we will work on building repertoire. There are a number of home study courses available in the shop. Teaching online since May 2020 – join me and my growing community of dancers from all around the world. From Julia Bannister of Canada: "Thanks so much. I cannot express how much I appreciate your teaching style. It is organized; excellent pacing; clear; concise; consistent; beautifully responsive to the music. Thank you from across the miles, the top, bottom and middle of my ❤️ - Julia" #stepwithannette #dance #irishdance #tradition #traditional #onlineclass #irishdance #percussivedance #wellbeing
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Aramco Expats Newsletter, published on 2 Feb 2022 If you lived in Dhahran (the eastern province of Saudi Arabia) in the early 2000s, you may have encountered the musical group 'Get Reel' performing a blend of Irish, country and bluegrass music at various venues around Dhahran and neighbouring island of Bahrain. Annette Collins, one of the group's founding members and a native of Ireland now returned to the Emerald Isle, has continued to pursue her love of music and Irish dance. She is currently offering a unique opportunity to learn Irish dance online. If you have an interest in Irish dance and culture, Annette invites you to join her next class beginning February 8th. We asked Annette to share more about her time in Saudi Arabia and with Get Reel. I lived in Dahran from 1998 to 2005 and worked as a secretary, during that time I worked for a year as a PA to the assistant to the CEO and was promoted into a position in succession planning for the last year. I have a degree in music and also studied a post-graduate diploma in Secretarial Studies and Administration - with an aim to pursuing a career in the Arts. While in Dhahran, I played folk music with a mixed bag of musicians and was one of the founding members of a group called 'Get Reel'. We performed regularly on camp, in a few other places around Dhahran, and also in Bahrain from time to time. We even self-produced 2 CDs during that time. I am still in contact with many of the members of the band, and also the people I worked with. Many are retiring back to Ireland at the moment, and we had a little reunion about a month ago, which got me thinking about the Aramco Expat community. The photos are from our recent reunion in Co Clare, Ireland. Two of the group had played with Get Reel, and a few of them danced with Pat Caulfield's Irish Dance troupe, Desert Dance, who used to perform in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The picture at the door would be Pat and me, who both played with Get Reel. Annette & Pat I returned to Ireland and started dancing, and then teaching in the evenings, and eventually gave up my day job. I am now a self-employed teacher of music and dance. Obviously I was teaching in person pre-covid, and most of my classes are still online, they have attracted a lot of people either Irish living abroad or people with an interest in Irish dance/culture and have no access to classes. Join me in dance - good for the mind and body. #aramco #stepwithannette #dance #irish #tradition Aramco reunion 2021 - Co Clare, Ireland
"smiley happy people" Description, Listing of Repertoire, Short Film and further information on Dan: The Dan Furey group, led by Michael Tubridy and Noel Devery, is a group of like-minded souls who meet to preserve the dances of Dan Furey (1910-1994), a keen dancer and teacher – I have included the full listing of dances below. Dan and his close friend James Keane brought the dances to the Willie Clancy Summer School, which takes place in Miltown Malby, Co Clare each year in July. Michael Tubridy notated all the dances and has published them. The dances are taught regularly at workshops and festivals in Ireland and abroad; there are many people around the world now dancing this repertoire, not just in Europe but also Kieran Jordan’s dancers in Boston, dancers on the West Coast, Canada and as far as Comhaltas Japan. The Irish group normally meets in different locations around Ireland 5 or 6 times a year, we meet to catch up, dance, drink tea and eat cake! We dance this repertoire in a circle, and towards the end of the session we might dance a couple of figures of a set, the emphasis of these events is to meet and share. Since Covid, the group has been meeting online, once a month on the 3rd Saturday, a free event and open to all. Drop me a line if you would like an invitation to join. Kieran Jordan also created a short film about the group and is available to view below. Dan Furey Repertoire Book 1 (no longer in print) Priest and His Boots 4 x Hornpipe Steps Single Time Easy Reel Slip Jig Job of Journeywork Double Jig I St Patrick’s Day Blackbird Book 2 (this book also includes the Book 1 repertoire) Easy Jig Gabairín Buí (Little Yellow Goat) Little Dutch Dance (Mazurka) Mont Phoebus’ Hunt Jockey to the Fair Celine’s Hornpipe - 5 Donegal Steps Double Jig II Paddy Bawn / Paidí Bán Book 2 is now available on the ITMA website (Irish Traditional Music Archives) Click here for access. Further background on Dan Dancer and Musician, Dan Furey was born in England in September 1909. His father was from Lackyle, Labasheeda and his mother was English, of Scottish origin. While Dan was still a child the family moved back to the family home in Lackyle, County Clare. Some years later three of Dan’s siblings emigrated to America and the remaining two left for England. Dan remained on the family farm, some two miles from Labasheeda. Dancing was a very popular social pastime in many parts of rural Ireland at that time, especially at times of emigration or for those returning home on holidays. Both of his parents loved dancing and his mother also played the piano. Dances regularly took place in the Furey household where various types of sets were danced, The Plain Set, The Reel Set and sometimes The Paris Set. Step-dancing, Four-hand Reels and Two-hand dances were also enjoyed. Dan learned to play the fiddle and had his own distinctive style of playing. He also played the melodeon and the concertina. Dan’s interest in dancing started from about the age of six or seven. His brother George taught him his first steps and he picked up many others in his own locality, and, of course, he learned a lot from his parents. He gradually built up a selection of Sets, Step-dances and Ceili dances. While visiting his brother in England he attended dance classes in Kilburn under the direction of Maurice O’Connor, a dancing master who was originally from Cork. When he was in his twenties he was asked to give private step-dancing lessons to the daughter of Garda Vesey and thus began his teaching career. Soon he was teaching in several schools in the vicinity, making the journey by bicycle in all kinds of weather and carrying his fiddle as he went. Eventually, as requests for classes from further afield were made, he bought a car and travelled to Doonbeg, Kilkee, Carrigaholt etc. In some areas he taught for over thirty years. In the 1980s Dan travelled outside of Clare to teach and he became a regular visitor to Belfast, Galway and London. He also travelled to Chicago several times. Since the death of his father in 1958 Dan lived alone in Lackyle but a steady stream of people from various countries visited him there. Dan, together with his life-long friend, James Keane, contributed to the book Set Dances of Ireland, written by Larry Lynch. In 1990 Dan and James conducted very successful classes at the Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy. Dan Furey died in August, 1993. He is buried with his parents in Killofin cemetery, approximately one mile from his house. In September 1994 the first “Dan Furey weekend” took place. It was organised by local people as a tribute to Dan, to music, and to dancing. The Festival has been going strong since then in Labasheeda, Co Clare. I hope you enjoy this presentation created for our end of term graduation party on, with students from all four levels - united across the globe - in dance.
I hope you enjoy this presentation created for my anniversary party on 29 May 2021, with all my students from all four levels, 6 blocks of online classes, coming together to celebrate - united across the globe - in dance.
Beautiful news.I am thrilled to announce that my recent application for funding to enhance my “Step with Annette” business has been approved!
Many thanks to both the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities for their support. Did I say I am THRILLED!! Old Style Step Dancing is a percussive type of dance, the steps are danced close to the floor, by people of any age - I know step dancers who are over 80.Old Style Step Dancing is the precursor to competitive Irish dancing and Riverdance. Research has proven that dancing is one of the best forms of activity for keeping the body active and the mind alert. I teach to people with no prior knowledge, sometimes people come to revisit steps from their childhood, some people come to get fit in a fun environment, if you are curious about Old Style step dancing then come along to class, or check the weekend workshop schedule. The steps and dances I offer have been passed down an unbroken line from the Dancing Masters of old. To add my favourite quote from one of my tutors, Michael Tubridy: “wearing comfortable shoes and practising your steps in a relaxed fashion for maybe a half-hour every day, will give you great enjoyment, and do wonders for your general well being, without the risk of damaging your feet”! (I don't insist you practise a half-hour every day, just whatever you are able, or inspired to do.) Further backgroundOld-style Step Dancing is a tradition related to, yet distinct from the improvisational sean-nos dancing. It is believed that old-style step dancing dates back to the middle of the 18th century, with the dances and steps being passed on by travelling Dance Masters. Modern-day masters of old-style step dancing can trace the lineage of their steps directly back to the 18th century dancers. These Dance Masters also choreographed particular steps to particular traditional tunes creating the solo set dances such as the Blackbird, St Patrick's Day, and the Job of Journey Work, which also exist in modern-day Irish step-dancing.
Old-style step dancers dance with arms loosely at their sides, the body held in its natural upright position, with the legs bent slightly at the knees, to give a bounce or spring or easy style to the step. Steps are danced twice, first with the right foot then with the left, and are danced within a limited space. This form of dancing was not really competition orientated, it was (and is) danced informally, described by Michael Tubridy as “a self-satisfying form of art, and can give the performer a great sense of satisfaction at being able to beat out a rhythm on the floor, or get up and “dance a step” at a ceili or party or friend’s wedding, - not to mention its tremendous value as a very fulfilling form of healthy exercise". Get dancing I say! (Taken from various sources) Look after your brainA comparison of two different fitness routines shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain in the elderly, but only dancing gives rise to a measurable difference in behavior. by Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour. Story in briefPhysical exercise has an anti-aging effect on the hippocampus region of the brain – an area that controls memory, learning and balance. A new study, comparing different forms of exercise – dancing and endurance training – undertaken by elderly volunteers for eighteen months, shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain, but only dancing corresponded to a noticeable difference in behavior. This difference is attributed to the extra challenge of learning dancing routines.
As we grow older we suffer a decline in mental and physical fitness, which can be made worse by conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. A new study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, shows that older people who routinely partake in physical exercise can reverse the signs of aging in the brain, and dancing has the most profound effect. “Exercise has the beneficial effect of slowing down or even counteracting age-related decline in mental and physical capacity,” says Dr Kathrin Rehfeld, lead author of the study, based at the German center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany. “In this study, we show that two different types of physical exercise (dancing and endurance training) both increase the area of the brain that declines with age. In comparison, it was only dancing that lead to noticeable behavioral changes in terms of improved balance.” Elderly volunteers, with an average age of 68, were recruited to the study and assigned either an eighteen-month weekly course of learning dance routines, or endurance and flexibility training. Both groups showed an increase in the hippocampus region of the brain. This is important because this area can be prone to age-related decline and is affected by diseases like Alzheimer’s. It also plays a key role in memory and learning, as well as keeping one’s balance. While previous research has shown that physical exercise can combat age-related brain decline, it is not known if one type of exercise can be better than another. To assess this, the exercise routines given to the volunteers differed. The traditional fitness training program conducted mainly repetitive exercises, such as cycling or Nordic walking, but the dance group were challenged with something new each week. Dr Rehfeld explains, ”We tried to provide our seniors in the dance group with constantly changing dance routines of different genres (Jazz, Square, Latin-American and Line Dance). Steps, arm-patterns, formations, speed and rhythms were changed every second week to keep them in a constant learning process. The most challenging aspect for them was to recall the routines under the pressure of time and without any cues from the instructor.” These extra challenges are thought to account for the noticeable difference in balance displayed by those participants in dancing group. Dr Rehfeld and her colleagues are building on this research to trial new fitness programs that have the potential of maximizing anti-aging effects on the brain. “Right now, we are evaluating a new system called “Jymmin” (jamming and gymnastic). This is a sensor-based system which generates sounds (melodies, rhythm) based on physical activity. We know that dementia patients react strongly when listening to music. We want to combine the promising aspects of physical activity and active music making in a feasibility study with dementia patients.” Dr Rehfeld concludes with advice that could get us up out of our seats and dancing to our favorite beat. “I believe that everybody would like to live an independent and healthy life, for as long as possible. Physical activity is one of the lifestyle factors that can contribute to this, counteracting several risk factors and slowing down age-related decline. I think dancing is a powerful tool to set new challenges for body and mind, especially in older age.” This research is part of a Frontiers Research Topic investigating the cognitive and neural effects of physical and cognitive activity across the lifespan. Posted on August 29, 2017 by Frontiers Communications in Neuroscience Original link |
AuthorAnnette is an accomplished dancer and multi-instrumentalist. Blogs to date:
-Joe O'Donovan -Frankie Roddy -Maria Monakova -May Allen Close -Shoes Shoes Shoes! -Margaret Wray -The Dan Furey Group -Xmas party! -Death-Dance-Dogs -Irish News Article -Warning re Dance! -Party time! -Aramco Newsletter -Old Style Step? -Dancing vrs Ageing -Party time 0721 -Old Style Steps Abroad -An Anniversary! -Thanks to my Funders! Archives
June 2024
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