{"id":2356,"date":"2008-03-13T21:59:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-13T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/03\/riverdance-from-the-bronx.html"},"modified":"2008-03-13T21:59:00","modified_gmt":"2008-03-13T21:59:00","slug":"riverdance-from-the-bronx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/03\/riverdance-from-the-bronx.html","title":{"rendered":"“Riverdance” from the Bronx?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>This remarkable story<\/a> from the New York Times shows, beautifully, just what a melting pot New York City has become: <\/p>\n

Taja Garnett\u2019s parents are from Belize, but her nickname is \u201cIrish girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since Taja, 10, joined the Keltic Dreams, the Irish dance troupe that is the unlikely pride of her Bronx elementary school, she has been so consumed by high kicks, heel clicks and treble hop backs that she practices \u201con the street, at the bus stop, sometimes at the train station, in the living room, on the bus when I\u2019m standing up and there\u2019s no seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and also in class. In class? That\u2019s right, with her fingers, she explained, demonstrating the way her index finger acts as the left foot and her middle finger as the right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at the teacher,\u201d Taja chirped, her eyes gleaming mischievously behind wire-rimmed glasses, \u201cand do it at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a student body that is 71 percent Hispanic and 27 percent black, Public School 59 does not seem an obvious home for a thriving Irish dance troupe. And when Caroline Duggan first arrived from Dublin at age 23 to try her hand as a New York City public school music teacher, it wasn\u2019t. Many of her students had never heard of Ireland. Why, they wanted to know, did she talk funny?<\/p>\n

Then, to stave off homesickness, Ms. Duggan hung a \u201cRiverdance\u201d poster in her fifth-floor classroom, and one thing led to another. The children pointed to a long-haired dancer on the poster and asked if it was her. No, she laughed, but I could show you a few steps. The impromptu lesson grew into a wildly popular after-school program and, for the first time last year, a trip to Ireland that still inspires dreamy looks among those lucky enough to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grass wasn\u2019t like ordinary grass,\u201d recalled Nyiasha Newby, 10. \u201cIt was like sparkling and stuff, because the water was on it. It was, like, fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent afternoon, as cars blaring hip-hop music rolled past P.S. 59, on Bathgate Avenue near 181st Street, and neighbors called to one another in Spanglish, the school auditorium swelled with the soaring sounds of drums, fiddles and uilleann pipes.<\/p>\n

Sixty growing feet laced into clunky black shoes spun, kicked and hop-1,2,3\u2019d their way across the stage, in routines that Ms. Duggan, now 29, had choreographed, infusing the traditional Irish dancing she was reared on with elements of hip-hop, salsa and African dance. Toothy smiles mingled with the bitten lips of deep concentration. The Keltic Dreams were at it again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of took on a life of its own,\u201d marveled the principal, Christine McHugh.<\/p>\n

There was Anna Perez, 10, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, who wants to be a professional Irish dancer when she grows up. There was Alice Olom, 11, rehearsing alongside third-graders even after having moved on to middle school herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some people in here that are very, very shy, so I\u2019m here to let them know that shyness is not an option in Irish dancing,\u201d Alice said, her long braids pulled back in a ponytail. \u201cYou have to be confident in everything you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, Ana Sotomayor, 47, had tried to teach her son, Angel Perez, 11, the salsa moves she had learned growing up in Puerto Rico. For years, she recalled, he had shrugged her off, saying he didn\u2019t like it and couldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

But there Angel was, center stage, hands on his hips and baggy jeans flapping as he began a routine with a short solo.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I see him in a show I cry, because I\u2019m very proud of him,\u201d Ms. Sotomayor said. \u201cHe\u2019s very shy, but then when I see him dance I see another Angel, very secure in what he\u2019s doing. He\u2019s very different.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read much more at the link. <\/p>\n

And you can watch a wonderful video of the dancing right here<\/a>. It’s guaranteed to lift your spirits.<\/p>\n

Photo: Andrea Mohin\/The New York Times<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This remarkable story from the New York Times shows, beautifully, just what a melting pot New York City has become: Taja Garnett\u2019s parents are from Belize, but her nickname is \u201cIrish girl.\u201d Ever since Taja, 10, joined the Keltic Dreams, the Irish dance troupe that is the unlikely pride of her Bronx elementary school, she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-this-and-that"],"yoast_head":"\n"Riverdance" from the Bronx? - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/03\/riverdance-from-the-bronx.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Riverdance" from the Bronx? 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