It was a beautiful day at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival in St. Leonard, MD on Saturday! I presented a solo showcase of festival style Irish dance, the latest step in my mission to celebrate and share this gorgeous style. I presented four soft shoe pieces and three hard shoe pieces, with little bits of history and stories mixed in. I did two versions of the King of the Fairies—one that I learned from Michael Ryan of Tipperary in 2008 and one in the festival style taught to me by Lauren Smyth last year—to more clearly demonstrate the difference between the “feis” style from Munster and the festival style from Northern Ireland.
Thanks to Kaitlyn Likas and the other organizers for inviting me to perform this year! And big thanks to my teacher Lauren Smyth for sharing her knowledge in the festival style.
Festival style slip jig choreographed by Ruth Long with recording by Francis Ward.
Festival style slip jig choreographed by Lauren Smyth with recording by Anthony Davis.
My own festival style choreography with the track “Marga’s” by Brian Finnegan (The Ravishing Genius of Bones, 2010).
Festival style version of King of the Fairies choreographed by Lauren Smyth with recording by Francis Ward.
Video credit: Pablo Regis de Oliveira.