On Saturday, May 13, get caught up in the dance: The Shamrock School of Irish Dance will perform a recital of step dancing to Irish music in a free, 1:00 p.m. exhibition at Canton Public Library.

Irish dance, whose modern form dates to the practice of traveling dance masters (instructors) in Ireland around 1750, is well-loved and widely known here, ever since the U.S. tours of Riverdance began in 1996. 

Students of Irish dance learn two steps for the dance style called the reel and two more for the light jig. Both women and men dance the reel to music in 4/4 time. As students advance and learn more complicated steps, the dance takes on lots of kicks and leaps. The light jig, and another soft shoe dance, the single jig, are danced to music in 6/8 time. The graceful slip jig, danced only by girls and women, is in 9/8 time. In the tradition of the dancing masters, each Irish dancing school develops its own steps to be used in each of the dance types.

After students have mastered several soft shoe dances, they move on to learn hard shoe dances such as the hornpipe, treble jig, and traditional set dances.

This is a drop-in event; registration is not required. Arrive early for better seating. The library is located at 40 Dyer Avenue in Canton. If you have questions, please call the library at (860) 693-5800, or email Katie Bunn at [email protected] .