03/18/2006
Oak Haven steps it up for St. Patrick's
By: Jessica Selby

The students at Oak Haven School in Coventry celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a performance by the dancers from Damhsa.
Damhsa is an Irish dance studio based in Warwick. The dancers, ranging in age from 5 to 18, perform traditional Irish dance steps for all types of audiences including wedding guests, school children, Irish pub patrons and first timers.
Yesterday the audience was a cluster of students that had gathered on mats in the lunch room at Oak Haven. The young students sat watching intently, their eyes wide open, as the dancers pranced across the floor in elaborate velvet costumes. Each dancer's outfit had layer upon layer of fabric and color.
"The costumes are traditional Irish dresses that dancers would wear," said Colleen Beirne, the co-director of Damhsa Irish Dance Studio. "Each one has millions of stitches on it."
Throughout the approximately half-hour performance, the dancers changed back and forth from black slipper-like shoes to clog-like shoes with shiny silver buckles. Those wearing the slipper like shoes glided across the floor as though they were dancing on air. Firmly positioned on their toes, the dancers hopped from one toe to the other as their legs swung in front and behind each other.
When wearing the clog-like shoes, the dancers made an elegant noise as they tapped their feet on the tile floor. Each step was executed with poise and grace.
"This type of dance is really hard work," said Brenda Robertson, a fifth grade teacher at Oak Haven School and a former Irish Dance Studio student. "They really have to work at it, three to four days a week to perform like that."
For the past couple of days, Robertson had been working with her own students on their own Irish dance steps. Many had picked it up but admitted it was quite a challenge.
"I loved the dancers," said Brianna Barrette, a fifth grader in Robertson's class at Oak Haven. "I wish I could dance like that, but it's really tricky."
Brandon Botelho, another of Robertson's students said he was amazed at how quickly the dancers moved their feet.
"They are so fast," he said. "I don't know how they do it."
Most Irish dancers, Beirne said, do have very strong calves from all the dancing that they do. It is she said, "a good workout."
"This type of dance really exploded after 'River Dance'," said Kathleen Minor, the principal at Oak Haven, who coordinated the event. Minor's daughter, Lizzi, is a performer with the Damhsa Irish Dance Troupe which is how the St. Patrick's Day performance at Oak Haven came about.