Dancers From Academy Of Performing Arts In Tahlequah Prepare For Irish Dance

Sunday, March 17 is Saint Patrick's Day! To celebrate, we invited Lena Huffman from the Academy of Performing Arts in Tahlequah and four of her Irish dancers to the Coca-Cola Porch.

If you're interested in singing in the academy's production of "The Journey Home," you can email info@dancetahlequah.com

What inspired you to get interested in Irish dancing?

"That is a story that started way back in Russia when everybody was raving about Michael Flatley. And the Lord of the Dance and the River Dance shows that just brought the Irish dance out into the world to people who have never seen this before. VHS tapes, remember those? We used to record those and just watch it on repeat until it would play no more, and then re-record it over and over again. And then when I moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma from Russia in 2007, I Googled Irish dance schools around us and found McCafferty School of Irish Dance at that point, with Miss Judy and Mr. PJ McCafferty. And we they were my teachers," Huffman recalled.

What performance do you have coming up?

"It's such an active month for all of the Irish dancing in the world. But we in Tahlequah keep it really, really busy. They are doing all sorts of community performances, but also are in practices for a show called 'A Journey Home.' It is an Irish dance show that also features other dance styles like flamenco, like tap, like hip hop, ballet. And the kids are working really, really hard every weekend and pretty much any spare second, they get out of school and out of dance classes," Huffman said.

What is some of the history of Irish dancing?

"So you know, Irish dance is popular nowadays. But it wasn't always that way. In fact, there was a period of time in history of Ireland when the Irish weren't allowed to dance. One of the versions of the story, the reason why they don't use their arms, is because on Sundays they would dance but being afraid that there are English spies out there. Since they were forbidden to dance, they wouldn't use their arms. So people from the street would not be able to look in the houses and see that the festivities were going on. So they would only use their legs. Now, whether that is true or not, there was a period of time in Irish dance history when the girls weren't allowed to do hard shoe dances. But it's all even now. And it's fantastic because you can do competitive Irish dance. And it gives you almost like an Olympic style sport in comparison. Or you can do Irish dance for fun and just enjoy the live music and the connection that the music and the dance bring together. It is my favorite part about Irish dancing," Huffman said.