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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Stepping Lively: (From left to right) Chelsea Jackson, Angelica Noble, Meg Gray and Bridget Blackwell surround Laura Larson and Maureen Babiarz (in center) in a traditional Irish step dance.
Local Irish dancers step up to celebrate St. Patty's Day
Willow Glen instructor says dance form has caught fire in the U.S.
By Chantal Lamers
To the lively beat of accordions, fiddles and violins, young dancers kick up their feet, stomp and shuffle to the music of an art form that's fast catching on in America. These Irish step dancers perform plenty of gigs, but their favorite is the jig they'll perform on St. Patrick's Day.
Year-round, about 200 dancers of the Golden Greene School of Irish Dancing practice and compete throughout California. On St. Patrick's Day, the students break into three groups and scour the Bay Area, giving those who celebrate the saint's life a little something extra to cheer about.
Willow Glen resident, Sondra Greene, co-owner of the Golden Greene School of Irish Dancing, says March is, unsurprisingly, her busiest time of year. "Sometimes we're booked eight months in advance; lately my phone has been ringing off the hook."
Throughout the year, the dancers perform at many annual festivals like Octoberfest and the Gold Rush Festival at Happy Hollow Park. Dressed in traditional Gaelic dresses for St. Patrick's Day, the dancers will entertain students at area schools, including Bellarmine College Prep, Oakridge, Moreland Discovery and Latimer Elementary School.
Some dancers will spend the afternoon entertaining patients in the pediatrics ward at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Others will rekindle St. Patrick's Day memories for seniors at a local convalescent home. In the evening, they'll kick up their feet at pubs like Brittania Arms in San Jose and Fibbar McGee's in Sunnyvale. But, after St. Patrick's Day, it's back to work.
Glenite Kathleen Dazzi, 12, has been taking Irish dance lessons for six years. She spends three days a week dancing in her Irish step shoes and a few days a week in cleats on the soccer field. Like Greene's other dancers, the busy Kathleen has grown to love the thrill of competing. "You have fun doing it and you have the chance to win trophies," she says.
Most of Greene's students compete, not because the instructor requires it, but because they love to. Once her students begin competing, Greene says, "It gets in their blood." Step dancing, she says, has "its own little culture, its own little world."
Her students compete in both solo and group dancing, and rarely leave without a medal or trophy. "Every competition, our dancers come home with awards," she says.
Golden Greene School of Irish Dancing is a fairly young school compared to others that thrive in San Francisco. Many have been passed down the branches of an Irish family tree, from generation to generation. Greene grew up learning the dance of the Irish. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland and enrolled young Sondra in dance classes when she was 4 years old, following in the footsteps of her mother. Greene's feet took her to competitions throughout the Golden State. After graduating from San Jose State University and receiving her degree in law from Santa Clara University, Greene went back to teach Irish dancing.
But, not just anyone can teach the popular Irish art. In order for students to compete, they must have an instructor who has been accredited and received a diploma in Irish dancing. Irish dancing is governed by a commission in Dublin, Ireland. Each year, three judges from Dublin travel to the U.S. to accredit hopeful instructors. Greene likens the three-day dance test to the bar exam in terms of stress.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Footloose: Kesley Vischer (on left) and Bridget Blackwell show off their true colors.
Throughout college, Greene kept in touch with Maureen Golden, a dance mate she grew up with. In 1993, the two decided to go into business together.
"It started with eight students in my garage," Greene says. She has since moved the business out of her Willow Glen garage and into a community center in Campbell. Her partner, Golden, teaches on the Peninsula, where she lives.
Greene's students come not just from Willow Glen and Campbell, but from Los Gatos, Saratoga, Redwood City and Foster City. Some parents even drive their children here from Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Greene says many of her students were drawn to Irish dancing after seeing performances like Riverdance.
"There's really a high demand for Irish dancing," Greene says. She's watched her business grow mostly through word-of-mouth. "I have been so fortunate," she says. "I rarely advertise."
The business has grown so much that Green's sister, DeeDee Greene Dineson, has started teaching, too. Now, the Irish dancing instructors are searching for a place of their own.
Glenite Laura Galvin began taking lessons from Greene almost seven years ago, when Greene was still teaching out of her garage. The 18-year-old West Valley College student says once you get a passion for Irish dancing, it's hard to let go. Galvin says the Irish dancing atmosphere is a great one to grow up in and she sticks with it despite also cramming college courses and a part-time job into her busy schedule.
Galvin looks forward to dancing for the crowds on St. Patrick's Day. "That's like the best part of the year," she says. "Everywhere we go people are really excited to see us."
Kelsey Vischer, 9, and her mother, Lisa, saw an Irish dance performance when Kelsey was 6 years old. Afterward, Kelsey started tapping away on her parent's hardwood floor. "She decided she wanted to Irish dance," Vischer.
But, Vischer told Kelsey that Irish dancing wasn't a possibility, simply because she didn't think there was anything like it the area. Then a friend told them about Golden Greene, and Kelsey has been tapping away ever since.
Kelsey plans on sticking with the school of Irish dancing as long as she can. The young dancer loves competing and boasts several medals and two trophies. Kelsey says her good luck charm is an accordion player she often sees at dancing competitions. "Every time he plays the accordion I do really well."
But Kelsey's favorite part of learning Irish dancing are the women who inspire her. "The thing I like best is [that] me and my teacher are really good friends."
Adults 21 and over can attend Irish dance performances on March 17 at 7 p.m. at Fibbar Magee's, 156 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale, and at Brittania Arms, 5027 Almaden Expwy. in San Jose. For more information on Golden Greene School of Irish Dancing, call 408.264.1157.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
