Irish Dance and Culture Saturday at South County Library

Kick up your heels and join in the fun. At 11 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 4), the South County Library in Deale is hosting an “Explore Irish Dance” program for children and adults. The program is free and in an introduction to both Irish Dance and a local company offering dance instruction in Galesville.

Irish step dancers practice at the Galesville Memorial Hall. Photo courtesy of the O’Grady Quinlan Academy.

Dancers from the O’Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance will be on-hand to demonstrate Irish reels, jigs, slip jigs and hornpipes while enlightening guests about the history of Irish step dancing, music, costumes, and the intricate footwork of this exciting form of dance. Guests will also get the chance to learn a jig step or two.

The O’Grady Quinlan Academy offers Irish Dance classes for dancers from beginner through championship level on Thursdays at the Galesville Memorial Hall on Main Street in Galesville. Dancers as young as age four can take beginner lessons. The academy also offers continuing lessons for more experience dancers.

The dance academy is under the direction of Joanie Feeney Ohrt, TCRG, a dancer from the age of six. Through out her career, Feeney performed at venues including: Carnegie Hall, On tour with Trinity Irish Dance Company, Kennedy Center and White House among others.