The fiery rhythms of Irish dances have won millions of fans around the world. There are many dance studios that teach this art, however, learning Irish dancing on your own is quite a feasible task.
Where to begin
Even if you are planning to dance Irish group dances such as kaley and set dances that require partners, you can start learning the basic steps and jumping at home. Preliminary preparation will allow you to immediately get into an advanced group, saving money and time. Clothes for training should not hinder movement, let it be elastic shorts or a short skirt.
Shoes for performing Irish dances are of two types: hard with heels and toes, and soft slippers for jumping. For initial workouts, light shoes, gym shoes or soft moccasins are required.
Essential elements
A distinctive feature of Irish dances is side steps and jumps performed at a fast pace. Before starting the lesson, you need to do a little warm-up and stretching to warm up your muscles and avoid annoying injuries.
The upper body during dancing is practically motionless, the arms are tightly pressed to the body, but this does not mean at all that the muscles of the shoulder girdle are not working. Throughout the entire lesson, it is necessary to maintain a perfectly flat posture and a toned stomach.
Step your right foot wide diagonally to the left and transfer your body weight to it, the left leg is placed behind the right on the toe. Repeat the movement in the other direction, watch your posture. Perform 10-12 movements in each direction. When the technique is worked out to automaticity, you can add a jump.
Side Step Steps: Standing up, on your toes, take three steps to the right, bringing your left foot to your right, then three steps to the left with your right foot. Performing the exercise, move in different directions, counting the rhythm.
One of the basic movements of Irish dances exactly repeats the element from the Russian dance "apple", bending your knee, take a step back, putting your leg behind as close to the supporting one as possible. If the physical form allows the exercise to be performed with a jump. Repeat 10-12 times.
Learning to fly or jumping up
Irish dance is characterized by high jumps, the artist seems to shoot his body up. The first time you should not try to jump as high as possible, you must first learn to push correctly and keep the body straight with hands pressed, eyes look straight ahead.
Put your feet in the third position, squatting slightly, strongly push off with both legs and jump. In a jump, you need to swap straight, extended legs in places. Land on "soft" knees to cushion the impact and immediately stand back on straight, tense legs. Repeat the exercise 16-18 times. Professionals perform jumps on half fingers, this creates the effect of flight, but at first you should not risk so much.
Perseverance and work
Having mastered the basic movements of Irish dance and increasing physical endurance training, you can go to look for a studio with professional teachers or continue to practice on your own by downloading video tutorials. Smooth dances can happen by themselves, and a special step rhythm like in Irish dances can only be developed with regular training and constant practice.
