Photo Caption: Math teacher Katie Fitzgerald celebrates St. Patrick’s Day by Irish dancing through the streets of Downtown Denver. photo courtesy of Brenna May.
TJ Spartans Katie Fitzgerald and Brenna May celebrated St. Patrick’s Day through the art of Irish Dance.
St. Patrick’s Day holds many different meanings to those who celebrate it. For some, it is a time to commemorate historical developments in Catholicism. For others, it is a chance to indulge in customary Irish food and drink. For two TJ Spartans, St. Patrick’s Day means dancing the day away. Math teacher Katie Fitzgerald and freshman Brenna May annually embrace Celtic traditions when they perform Irish step-dancing routines with their peers from the Wick School of Irish Dance in restaurants, nursing homes, and even Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. From the ornately embroidered costumes to the intricately choreographed routines, their performances enthrall spectators looking to experience Irish culture during the popular holiday.
Mastering the art of Irish dance is no easy feat. Fitzgerald and May train year-round at the Wick School of Irish Dance, competing at feiseanna (the term for Irish dance competitions) and performing in festivals all while preparing for their major production on St. Patrick’s Day; on the holiday, they join other Denver dance academies to shuffle and skip through the streets of Downtown before bringing their dances to establishments in the area. Rehearsals can last hours, all in the interest of perfecting the demanding discipline. “You have to put in a lot of time and effort,” May acknowledged; “It is a big commitment.” The hardest part of being a dancer for May is getting injured. “It is hard because you love what you are doing but you have to wait a long time to recover.” May and Fitzgerald have already been dancing for over five years, but they do not plan to quit anytime soon. “I hope to dance for as long as I physically can,” claimed Fitzgerald, who was attracted to Irish dancing as a means to get a challenging workout while simultaneously creating art. She joked, “It keeps me from gaining three hundred pounds.”
Fitzgerald and May are not the only Irish dancers in Denver Public Schools. South High School sophomore Madeline Yusas will join the two TJ Spartans downtown in her gillies (the traditional shoes of Irish step-dancing). “I enjoy dancing with all of my friends and getting the opportunity to bond with the other dancers more,” Yusas enthused. Having been an Irish Dancer since she was six, Yusas has found the social aspects of Irish dancing to be like no other. “Being an Irish dancer gives me the opportunity to be a part of my community and learn from others.”
The camaraderie among the students of Wick School of Irish Dance helps the company maintain a large customer base. “The people I dance with are pretty much like my second family,” May confessed. The patrons range from children attending weekly beginner classes to seasoned dancers competing at the elite level. Marisa Joseph of the Wick School recently placed eighth at the World Irish Dance Competition in Glasgow. Whether one is looking for a laid-back evening class to enjoy with friends or a private class to bring their skills to the professional level, the academy will not disappoint. “It is a great place to be,” Fitzgerald insisted.
The dancers’ hard work paid off on March 16th, when they performed among the floats in Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade, which has been running since 1962, celebrates Irish-American culture while honoring the historic city of Denver. Cattle controlled by cowboys in “Old West” garb were interspersed among floats bedazzled in traditional green and gold. The Irish dancers, always a crowd favorite, caught the attention of the crowd with their mesmerizing movements. “I love the joy that dancing brings to people,” Yusas remarked. Though many who observe St. Patrick’s Day have no immediate Irish ancestry, they are able to appreciate Celtic culture when they watch the young women who have devoted years to their métier.
