Two Irish dance studios share a spring of culture during St. Patrick’s Day
Dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove. The group was on
Laila Nelson, 18, left, Aubree Shelley, center, watch other members of the Harp Irish Dance Company perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Members of the Harp Irish Dance Company perform a dance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Rhianna Shelley, 12, left, and other members of the Harp Irish Dance Company take the stage during a performance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
A member of the Harp Irish Dance Company warms up behind the curtain before a performance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Aubree Shelley, the director at the Harp Irish Dance Company, gives instructions to the dancers before their performance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Adelia Roberts, 17, center, warms up with other dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Avonlea Shelley, 10, closes the curtain after looking out into the audience of students from Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Adelia Roberts, 17, center, warms up before the Harp Irish Dance Company performance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Stacey Brimhall peers out from the curtains before the Harp Irish Dance Company perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Avonlea Shelley, 10, smiles towards the other dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company during their performance at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Laila Nelson, 18, left, Andrea Teasdale, 15, center, and Erin Wilford, 15, right perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove. The three dancers are members of the Harp Irish Dance Company.
Dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company wait to perform at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Laila Nelson, 18, performs with other dancers from the Harp Irish Dance Company at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Thomas Murdoch, 18, left, performs with other members from the Harp Irish Dance Company at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Members of the Harp Irish Dance Company performs at Manila Elementary School on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Pleasant Grove.
Almost every day in the month of March, Irish dance performers travel across Utah County to dance at elementary schools, nursing homes, corporate events, competitions and festivals.
St. Patrick’s Day is especially the perfect time to showcase the traditional Irish art form, said company director Tina Shelley.
“This month is the craziest time of year for us,” she explained. “It’s such a joyful art form a lot of kids gravitate toward it.”
But it wasn’t always like this. When she first arrived in Utah in 1994, Shelley said there were no Irish dance instructors in Utah County holding weekly dance classes.
“I didn’t realize it was going to become so popular,” she said. “It wasn’t even my life plan to do this but I went along with it.”
Her class of 30 students swelled to include more than 200, and the Shelley Irish Dance School in Cedar Hills expanded to two additional locations in Orem and Saratoga Springs.
Next year will mark 20 years since Shelley started teaching as an instructor certified with the Irish Dancing Commission of Dublin, Ireland.
“It’s really for everyone. Anyone can do it,” Shelley said.
Carina Felsch, 24, of Provo, is the longest performing student at the Harp Irish Dance Company. She started dancing 14 years ago and fell in love with the movements and music.
“One of the best things about Irish dance is that it’s so diverse,” she said. “You have dances individually and dances with groups and it’s just a nice, overall balance of different things.”
Her two younger sisters also perform Irish dance and helped support her during regional and national competitions. She now helps teach other dancers at the Harp Irish Dance Company.
“I loved competing, I loved learning something new every time I danced,” Felsch said. “Watching other kids have that same success and ‘aha’ moment is my favorite thing.”
The students also performed as part of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Salt Lake City.
“Irish dancing is meant to be shared,” said Harp Irish director Aubree Shelley. “The audience loves it.”
She started teaching in 2002 after noticing a need for Irish dance instructors in Utah County. The walls of her office studio are painted in bright green, with shiny shamrock streamers hanging from the ceiling and Celtic knot patterns lining the walls.
Of the 55 current dancers, several transferred to her company after becoming bored with ballet classes.
Students at both Irish dance companies in Utah County are often searching for a dance form without skimpy outfits or suggestive music or provocative movements.
“The contemporary dance world is moving away from lots of values that Utah people have,” Aubree Shelley said. “There are people who want something wholesome and something traditional and something family friendly for their kids to participate in.”
Tina Shelley agreed, adding that the families of the students also appreciate the cultural aspect of the dance form.
Although the two women are not related, she and Aubree Shelley both studied Irish dance at universities in California before joining the International Folk Dance Ensemble with Brigham Young University Performing Arts.
Both instructors also have Irish heritage: Aubree Shelley has ancestors from Limerick, Ireland, while Tina Shelley has close family from Cork.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Irish dance is that it is some kind of pageant. But the dance form requires more athleticism and strength than many people know, Aubree Shelley said.
Dancers can choose to practice soft-shoe, with involves quick and intricate steps, or hard-shoe routines with hard stomps and clicks.
At competitions, students wear flashy, glittery dresses that denote the level and rank of the dancer, Tina Shelley explained. Beginner dancers wear simpler dresses that cost less, while competitive dancers have personalized solo dresses with bright colors and Celtic symbolism.
Dancers also curl their hair or wear curly wigs, a tradition that evolved from Irish curling their hair to attend church and dancing at activities later the same day.
“I think the whole idea of having curly hair while you jump and bounce makes it look even bouncier and curlier,” Tina Shelley said.
The movements of Irish dance remind Harp Irish instructor Stacey Brimhall of a cantering horse. To help her preschool age students learn the steps, she will sometimes encourage them to dance like unicorns.
“The movements in Irish dance are unnatural. You’re teaching something that doesn’t just happen when you’re dancing with your friends,” she said. “Teaching little kids is so much fun because they bring so much joy and energy into it and that’s how Irish dance is supposed to be. “
She will often incorporate lessons on the culture and history of Ireland as well as teaching dance routines.
“My favorite part about teaching is finding out what students are good at and helping them strengthen their weak points,” she said.
Before Thomas Murdoch, 18, of American Fork, joined the Harp Irish Dance Company, he wanted to become a drummer. His sister introduced him to the company about seven years ago and he enjoyed the rhythm and competition of the dance.
“It’s a lot of fun, Murdoch said. “It’s a great way of working out and still having a really fun time.”
Due to an editing error, the original version of this story inadvertently omitted the first name of Tina Shelley, director of the Shelley Irish Dance School.
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