REBECCA MCGOWAN
SEAN NÓS
Level: All levels. Some percussive dance experience recommended.
*In-person | Friday, Oct. 25 | 5:30pm - 7pm
Considered the oldest form of Irish dance, sean-nós step is a close-to-the-floor, deeply percussive and highly musical style, characterized by a relaxed body and free-flowing movement. Often improvised, sean-nós step is truly a conversation between dancer and musician. Once on the verge of extinction, this old style of stepping is being rediscovered by a new generation of percussive dancers worldwide. in this workshop, you'll have the opportunity to build new repertoire and hone your improvisation chops.
OLD-STYLE STEP
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
*In-person | Saturday, Oct. 26 | 2pm - 3:30pm
Traditional Irish step dance (also known as "Trad Step" or "Old-Style Step") is the original style from which today's modern Irish step dance evolved. Characterized by lower footwork (think no high kicks) and a more relaxed upper body, trad step is the product of the itinerant dance masters who travelled throughout the country in the 18th and 19th centuries, teaching their steps and styles. Anyone wishing to explore the roots of Irish dance will discover a delightful and accessible dance form in "trad step." Rebecca will be teaching "The Silver Slipper," a hop jig she co-chorepgraphed with Jackie O'Reilly. The Silver Slipper is featured on their 2019 "visual album" entitled From the Floor. https://www.fromthefloordance.com/fromtheflooralbum
Rebecca McGowan is a dancer and teacher of traditional Irish dance in the Boston area. Drawing on the musicality of older-style step dance and sean-nós dance, the grace of soft shoe, and the joy of social dance traditions, Rebecca is interested in exploring step dance as music and making Irish dance lyrical and approachable. She often performs with duet partner Jackie O’Riley; together they released visual album From the Floor (2019) and audio album Eight Feet Tall (2023). They were recognized by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as Choreography Fellows (2022). Other projects have included directing contemporary step dance company Rising Step; reconstructing dances from the internet archive and exploring stylistic change over time; and developing Sound Shadows (2019) with Veronica Barron and Julia Friend, weaving shadow puppetry, dance, and song. Rebecca has been on the faculty of the Catskills Irish Arts Week, Acadia Trad Festival, Pinewoods, O’Flaherty Retreat, CCE MAD Week, and others. As a child Rebecca began dancing with Clare Sullivan, and later with Kieran Jordan and the Culkin School, and she continues studying with master teachers and dancing socially at local sessions. She teaches non-competitive step dancing for adults in the Boston area.