Aside from green beer and shamrock decorations, St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated by many in the East Lansing area through the classic tradition of Irish dancing.

McCartney Irish Dance is an Irish dance school that was established in East Lansing in January of 2016. The academy opened July 2015 and subleased from different locations before finding its permanent home in January.

The school offers a multitude of classes including drop-in classes, beginner classes, intermediate classes, drill classes and Ceili dancing.

There are classes starting for students who are three years old and spanning to adult-age dancers.

Meghan Scott, formerly McCartney, a well-distinguished Irish dancer herself, is the owner of the Irish dance studio.

Opening The Studio

At a young age, Scott realized the area of East Lansing would benefit from an Irish dance studio. As a child growing up in the Lansing area, Scott had to drive hours to find proper Irish dance instruction.

“There has been a need in this area for a long time for an Irish dance school,” Scott said. “It became obvious that I needed to start this school, so I just went for it.”

After finishing college and teaching Irish dance for more than 15 years, Scott moved back to her hometown of Lansing to open McCartney Irish Dance. In the two months it has been open, her intuition has proved to be very successful.

“When I started the classes, I had no idea how many people I would actually get, but I’ve been open for two months and we have 60 dancers already,” Scott said. “It’s a very underground world, but there are a lot of people that do Irish dancing.”

Scott currently teaches all of the classes at the studio, but is looking to hire more instructors because the studio has become busier than she initially expected it to be.

Scott is currently working on the certification so her students can perform Irish dancing at a competitive level, but she is also focused on the art side of the dance.

“I love to be able to mix music and dance together and I feel like that is the way to go with Irish dance,” Scott said. “Irish dance really does tell a story, and that is very important to me as well.”

Scott in Irish Dancing

As a child, Scott was mentored by an MSU student who started teaching Irish dancing lessons at IM Sports-Circle.

“It was right on MSU’s campus that I started learning Irish dancing,” Scott said.

In 1998, John Heinzman, owner of the renowned Ardán Academy of Irish Dance, started coming weekly to the Lansing area to teach children the art of Irish dancing.

Scott found herself being more and more involved in Irish dancing, especially the competitive side of the dancing. She started training with Heinzman individually and trained with him throughout college.

Scott was very successful and found a passion for Irish dance that eventually brought her to the World Irish Dancing Championships.

“It was a great experience for sure, pretty amazing,” Scott said. “Thousands of dancers make it to the world championships, but (that’s) only a small percentage. And even that small percentage is coming from all over the world.”

Scott has since retired from competitive Irish dancing.

Irish Dance History

Scott emphasized that Irish dance is different from other forms because it begins suddenly and with energy.

“There’s a lot of energy exerted when you are Irish dancing,” Scott said. “You are doing big jumps right off the bat.”

A custom of Irish dancing is also to keep one’s arms at their sides during the entirety of the dance. There are several forms of customs that are important to Irish dance, such as the different moves incorporated into the dancing.

“Some of the moves have been around for hundreds of years, but what is really cool about Irish dance is that it is not strictly traditional,” Scott said. “While we appreciate the tradition and we carry that on, we are also constantly innovating the style.”

There are new moves that are constantly being introduced into Irish dance even while the original and more traditional moves are also being used.

Irish dancing incorporates two types of shoes — hard shoe and soft shoe.

Soft shoes are similar to a ballet type of movement, where females showcase more lyrical movements while males perform with exciting jumps and athletic moves.

Hard shoe Irish dancing is more rhythmic in nature. This type of dancing illustrates the unique rhythms and sounds with the dancer’s feet.

“It’s almost more like an instrument than a style of dance,” Scott said. “It’s combined the two things.”

One specialty type of Irish dancing is called Ceili dancing.

Ceili is a traditional style of Irish group dancing. Ceili dances are passed down from generation to generation and are a social form of dancing.

“While so many aspects of Irish dance changes over time, Ceili dances are super traditional,” Scott said.

Spotlight on the Dancers

Dancer Ashley Salyers has been studying Irish dance for five years, and finds that dancing at McCartney Irish Dance helps her to connect with her heritage.

“I’m Irish and it’s my culture,” Salyers said. “It feels like I am being a part of Ireland, so it is really awesome for me.”

Ashley Salyers’ mother is very happy to see her daughter celebrating Ireland through her dancing as well.

“It’s a very proud feeling for me,” Renee Salyers said. “Irish dancing serves as a great connection for Ashley. She’s connecting to our family’s roots and it’s inspired her to learn more about our culture.”

Scott said she believes there is so much for her students to gain from Irish dancing, including a great form of exercise, lasting friendships, teamwork skills and the ability to overcome challenges.

“Meghan is one of the most gifted teachers,” dancer parent Katherine Mattson said. “She really captures how to correct a student without tearing them down, and isolate the problem and give them the knowledge on how to fix it. She is a great teacher, very gentle and encouraging.”

Student Catherine Russell has been dancing for only nine months, but said she feels heavily inspired by her dance teacher, Scott.

“Meghan is an outstanding teacher,” Russell said. “She gives constructive criticism and is never overly harsh with us. It’s more like a gentle nudge towards being better.”

The big show

McCartney Irish Dance will be producing a spring show May 7 at the Hannah Community Center auditorium in East Lansing.

The show will begin at 7 p.m. and will last approximately one hour including a brief intermission.

“This show will be a culmination of all of our work over the year,” Scott said.

“Some of these dances that we’ve been working on are really telling a story, and it’s more to me than just a recital. It’s a production.”

Pre-sale tickets will go on sale March 28 for $12 and prices will be raised to $15 April 23.

For more information on McCartney Irish Dance, visit their website or Facebook page.