Irish Christmas tours to campus
Featuring traditional Irish music and dancing, An Irish Christmas performed at university on Nov. 12, bringing along their Christmas cheer.
An Irish Christmas tours to the university, performing a variety of traditional Irish music and dances, including the well known River Dance.
Although Thanksgiving is just around the corner, looking outside at the snow leaves the impression that the holidays are right around the corner and that is what An Irish Christmas brought to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Nov. 12.
Sponsored by Kerry Records and Tourism Ireland, An Irish Christmas tours across the United States to kick-start the Christmas spirit. The concert features traditional Irish music, style and dancing.
An Irish Christmas is very different than Christmas in the United States. The Irish culture blends classic Irish traditions, such as The Wren Song, with household carols such as 12 Days Of Christmas. Singing was not the only part of the program; folk dance, storytelling, traditional Irish music and the River Dance were also a part of the show.
With the elaborate costumes and flow of the performances the ensemble was neatly constructed. Slow, soft melodies followed by hands being brought together in rhythmic clapping through upbeat River Dance created a lot of variety in the concert.
Mary Lou Bausch had just come back from a two-week vacation in Ireland and has been following the concert series for 15 years.
“It was a very good performance,” Bausch said. “My favorite part was the River Dancing and the dancing wren.”
Lucy Ann Wills a member of the Kerry Dance Troupe, played the dancing wren and received multiple rounds of applause for her performance of the interpretive dance. The Irish history behind this dance is to bury the wren which symbolizes the burying of the old year and bringing in a new year.
Mark Gray, father of Chloe Gray of the Kerry Dance Troupe, traveled from Milwaukee to watch his daughter perform in the concert. Gray has been supporting her since she was six years old in her drive to study various types of dance techniques such as Irish, ballet, modern and African dance.
“It’s good to be acquainted with the culture and Irish tradition,” Gray said. “[The concert] gets me into the Christmas spirit with the syncopation of the Irish Dance and the music.”
The concert ended in a standing ovation.
