Irish dance blends grace, athleticism
With a name like Shannon, it's easy to guess the ethnic descent of this 12-year-old girl from Cranberry Township.
But Shannon Hammel and her sisters Kaitlyn, 16, and Brianna, 10, also perform hornpipes, reels and jigs in the percussive tradition of Irish dance.
"I'm all Irish," said her mother Judy, describing how her daughters first became interested in Irish step dance.
After seeing dancers in a St. Patrick's Day parade, Judy and her husband, Jim, attended a local performance when the chance arose.
"We were at the municipal center and there were some Irish dancers there, and (our daughters) said 'How do we do that?'"
Seven years later, the question is answered.
All three compete in the complex dance form that includes rapid foot and leg movements with the upper body somewhat stationary, which can be challenging to master.
"It takes a strong work ethic," said Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Bell School of Irish Dance in Ross Township, where the Hammel sisters take classes.
"It's a dichotomy of grace and athleticism. You can't just bend down to jump. It all has to come from your core strength and your legs."
According to Bell, dancers perform and compete in soft or hard shoes, depending on music and level of skill.Soft shoe dances, done in footwear similar to a ballet slipper, include reels, jigs and slip jigs.Hard shoes, which feature hard plastic heels and fiberglass toes, are used for the more advanced hornpipes, treble jigs and treble reels."The technical aspect of it is based on the timing of the music," Bell said, noting what distinguishes a hard-shoe from a soft-shoe dance is often not evident to spectators.Although Irish step dance might seem like conventional tap, Bell likens the traditional dance to a blend of gymnastics and figure skating, since strength is required to achieve many of the movements and judges consider grace as well as accuracy and conformation."Judging is based upon maintaining the proper position of your body, hips, knees and ankles. You can't use your arms to throw yourself up off the ground like a high jumper might do in track and field," Bell said."It's different from most other sports," agreed Kaitlyn Hammel, who also plays lacrosse. "Personally, my leg muscles have grown nonstop since I started dancing.""Until you see it, you don't think about it," agreed Judy Hammel."They sell T-shirts at the competitions that say 'If Irish dancing were easy, they'd call it hockey.' It's hard."Hammel said part of building the calf muscles occurs while dancing on toes, much like in ballet."They're up on their toes and they have blisters all the time and they have calluses," she said."They would never be foot models. Kaitlyn goes through two pairs each (of soft shoes and hard shoes) a year."But Hammel says shoes are the minimal expense. School dresses, usually embellished with the organization's insignia, cost about $500. Competition dresses go for more.Custom made by specialty dressmakers in various parts of the world, the one-of-a-kind costumes range between $1,500 and $3,000."I tell them all the time, 'Girls, my wedding dress didn't cost this much,'" said Hammel, noting the dresses take special handling because the delicate costume fabrics cannot be dry-cleaned or washed."The dresses are very heavy and hot," she noted.With all three of her daughters competing, Hammel's goal is to take good care of the costumes with a goal of recycling them. In addition to passing the dresses to younger siblings when sizes allow, used costumes are typically offered for sale at competition events."Kaitlyn had one dress that we bought for $800 and sold for $700. We got a good deal up front, and she took good care of it," Hammel said, adding the dresses are worn only briefly during performances.Special dress shields can be purchased to keep the fabric clean, with dryer sheets often substituted due to pliability and comfort."If my kids did ballet and tap, you'd be in costumes that (cost several hundred dollars) that they never wear again,": she said."Whereas ours: If you outgrow it, you can sell it to somebody. ... That's what I tell myself, anyhow."
During competition Bell said photography is typically prohibited to prevent competitors from replicating choreography or the unique garment designs.During competitions and performances, female dancers also wear curly wigs — a practice that emerged in recent years to replicate a curly-haired look without the need for excessive hair styling.Once wearing the colorful dresses — which consist of long-sleeved bodices with short, flared skirts embellished with shimmery appliqués — dancers compete at different levels in various types of events.Male dancers wear less elaborate clothing, which consists of colored shirts with pants and vests.To compete, dancers start at the beginner level and move up to advanced beginner and novice, wearing the less expensive school attire at those events.Dancers who have advanced to the designations of prize winner, preliminary championship and open championship wear the competition dresses.To advance from level to level, dancers can compete at a local competition called a feis (pronounced "fesh")."In this day and age, if you go onto the Web site, you can find one almost any weekend of the year," said Bell.At those competitions, the six categories are subdivided according to age groups, so young beginners can avoid competing against teens of the same ranking, for instance.Depending on the results a dancer achieves at a feis, he or she can move up the ladder of designations.In addition to the local events, regional, national and world competitions also are held annually. Those events don't alter a dancer's designated level, however dancer rankings at regionals determine who competes at nationals, the event that determines who competes at worlds.Kaitlyn, a championship-level dancer, will compete at nationals July 4 in Nashville. The world competition is held over Easter each year, usually in Ireland or Northern Ireland."I would love to dance in Ireland one day," Kaitlyn said."But only the top 10 out of about 120 kids get to go to worlds. My last ranking (at a regional competition) was 33 out of 150," she added, explaining her attention is equally focused on academic work at Vincentian Academy-Duquesne University, where she attends high school.Shannon, who was born on St. Patrick's Day, is currently ranked a preliminary championship dancer, with Brianna a prize winner.Kaitlyn and Shannon have been dancing close to seven years, with Brianna dancing for five.In addition to attending class several times a week, the Hammels compete at feis events about 15 times a year in cities within a five-hour radius. They also attend regionals over Thanksgiving."We keep at it because they all three love it," Hammel said.
With about 400 students at the Bell School of Dance, only some participate in competition."At our school, I would say easily half of them just go to class to have fun and never want to compete," Hammel said.Growth at the school indicates the pastime's lasting appeal.Although Bell said his daughter, Julia, hoped for 50 students when she opened the business in 1999, 120 youths enrolled.He attributes part of that interest to "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance," Irish step dance shows performed in the mid-1990s.Although most of Bell's students initially were prompted by their Irish descent, that trend changed as enrollment grew."Now it's anybody," he explained, listing various ethnic groups as well as increased participation by boys.With the interest extending to all-purpose dance studios, Kathy Bazzano of Butler Dance and Gym offers Irish step tap classes at her studios in Sarver and Center Township."When she first started (the program), there was only one class," said Amber Nunes-Buser, who has been teaching Irish step tap there for more than five years. "Now, there are so many classes."For someone whose training began with traditional tap dance steps, Nunes-Buser said the transition to Irish dance is tricky."It's on a different beat," she said, describing footwork that requires a pattern that's opposite her previous training."And since the movements are so precise, it takes (traditional tap students) longer."Although the sound of both dance forms equates to lively clacking on the floor, Hammel speculates Irish dancers probably exude more force, since instead of metal taps on their shoes they use only plastic heels.Despite those differences, most students cite the same motivation.Jessica Vitous, 15, of Portersville, a student in the advanced Irish step group at Bazzano's Center Township studio, was inspired by seeing a performance."I saw 'Lord of the Dance' on TV. It looked fun and interesting," she said.Julianne Sisinni, 15, of Slippery Rock began taking classes at Butler Dance and Gym six years ago, with a similar inspiration."I watched 'Lord of the Dance.' I was really inspired by (well-known dancer) Michael Flatley. ... I really, really enjoy it," she said."It's a lot of work but it's fun in the end.""Before I started I thought it looked easy because everyone made it look easy," agreed Tara Rae, 14, of Cranberry Township, a student at Bell's for about four years."It can be difficult in the beginning. ... But it's fun once you get good at it."Shannon Hammel, known for flashing a wide smile during performances, also agrees."People say that I'm the most smiling of the whole dance school — because it's just so much fun," she said."It's easy for us now because we've done it for so long. It's just natural for us to have fun while doing it."
