Local Irish Dancers Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

For a group of 26 girls at Maple Grove’s Escalate Dance and Theater Studio, St. Patrick’s Day feels more like Christmas morning. That’s because they are part of an Irish dance team called Rince Nua, which means "new dance" in Irish. And with the Irish holiday fast approaching, the girls will spend the entire weekend performing at different venues throughout the community.

“St. Patrick’s Day is one of the best days of the year for the girls,” said Erin Cooney, Irish dance instructor at Escalate Dance and Theater Studio. “It’s the biggest recital of their lives.”

Today, Cooney teaches softshoe and hardshoe Irish dance to roughly 80 students at the studio—a far cry from the five students she started with just a few years ago. Like so many other Irish dancers, it was Cooney’s Irish heritage, and the draw to the fast-paced skips, hops and taps that drew her into the dance form.

Growing up in Le Center, MN, Cooney first learned how to jig when an Irish dance instructor started offering lessons in her small town. Cooney continued performing through college while attending the College of St. Benedict, dancing with an Irish band and teaching classes on the side. When she graduated in 2002, Cooney decided it was time to get serious about Irish dance.

After five years of traditional dance training and two trips to Ireland, Cooney became certified to teach Irish dance through Cumann Rince Naisiunta (CRN), an official Irish dance organization in Ireland.

“Irish dancing isn't just a fun thing to do, although that is usually why people get started,” Cooney said. “At the end of the day, organizations like CRN and teachers like myself take pride in our dedication to pass the tradition on properly.”

With the CRN certification under her belt, local Irish dancers started flocking to Cooney, including 14-year-old Alyssah O’Neill, a member of the Rince Nua dance team.

“My mom brought home Irish dance DVDs and I started learning how to dance,” O’Neill said. “Then we found Erin.”

After years of practicing 14 to 17 hours a week, this June, Alyssah will make her first trip to Ireland to compete in the world competition. While competing on the world Irish stage is a dream come true, Alyssah’s lofty goals don’t end there. “I hope to open a dance studio with my teacher, Erin, someday,” O'Neill said.