Irish Play "The Banshee of Crokey Hill"

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Acclaimed Irish Play The Banshee of Crokey Hill comes to the Regent Theatre in Arlington MA June 26th to 28th.

This exceptional piece of Irish drama – set in rural Ireland in the 1970’s - has received rave reviews in Ireland, England and the United States and has been hailed as one of the most powerful pieces of drama to come from the Emerald Isle for some time. Although the play is steeped in Irish comedy and hilarious Irish one-liners it also has a serious undertone as the soured relationship between a father and son manifests itself in most unusual circumstances. Audiences will be fascinated by the incredible plot that unfolds throughout the show.

The plot evolves around the return home of Mickey McMahon (Tommy Marren) to visit his aging parents Jack McMahon (John Duggan) and his wife Kathleen (Eileen Slevin) after 13-years living in Manchester. The purpose of his visit is to tell them he is about to get married in Manchester but sadly a black secret kept from him by his parents unfolds. [MidWest Radio 5/5/09]

There is an exceptional ‘hooley’ scene that includes a breath-taking display of brush-dancing (an old Irish dance done with a sweeping brush!) by Brian Cunningham from Connemara in County Galway and traditional musician that will warm the hearts of the audience!

Show times are Friday June 26^th and Saturday June 27^th at 8.00 pm and Sunday June 28^th at 3.00 pm. Tickets are available on line at The Regent Theatre [more info on the play, too!] or phone 781- 646 4849. Tickets are expected to sell fast so don't wait if you want to see this.

Next Stop Galway - Boston Celebrates Restart of Race

The Irish Waterfront Festival at the Fan Pier on Boston's waterfront is the final celebration of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race's only American stop on this round-the-world race - the weekend kicks of at 5PM Friday - the Race Village closes at 6pm on Saturday May 16th 2009 after the boats leave for Galway, the next stop!

Find the latest event details with photos and running commentary.  Read about Ireland's Green Dragon crew.

Directions: The Race Village is located on Fan Pier. Fan Pier is located directly on Boston’s waterfront between the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) and the Moakley Courthouse at 28 Northern Avenue.
By T – From South Station take Silver Line to Courthouse Station (1 stop). Detailed directions from any direction are on the official website. Don't miss this up close and in your face amazing video on the home page of what it's all about.

Next stop: Galway - the only stopover in Ireland and the UK. The yachts are estimated to arrive May 23, 2009, where they will stay for two weeks - events run to June 6th. Find details on the Galway stopover on letsdoitgalway.com and Discover Ireland.

Irish Reel Step Dance Notes

One of the mementos saved from childhood is my teacher's handwritten Irish Step Dancing notes of the seven steps of the Beginner Reel (print it) including the Lead Out. I've since typed the notes and saved the file as a printable PDF document.

The new way of teaching "the sevens" isn't the "kick hop" but more of an "up" to the knee in front and down in back for the 1. If you're new to Irish step dancing, have a look at this instruction video on Expert Village.

Note: the step dancers in the photo are from Sheila Bremer's Bremer School of Irish Dance  in Salem, MA. The event was their "sunset ceili" fundraiser.

Reel - Irish Step Dance Steps

First Step
R.F.    Kick hop 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
L.F.    Kick hop 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
R.F.    Kick hop 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
L.F.    Kick hop 1-2-3
R.F.    Kick hop 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Second Step
Kick hop 1-2-3-4 kick hop down (3 times)
Kick hop 1-2-3 Kick hop 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Third Step
Kick hop, Kick hop, Kick hop 1-2-3 (3 times)
Kick hop 1-2-3 Kick hop 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Fourth Step
R.F.    Kick hop, Kick hop, Kick hop1-2-3 (3 times)
L.F.    Kick hop, Kick hop, Kick hop1-2-3
R.F.    Hop 1-2-3
L.F.    Hop 1-2-3
R.F.    Kick hop, Kick hop, Kick hop-2-3
Repeat stating on the left foot.

Fifth Step
1-2, 3-4, kick hop 1, kick hop 2, kick hop 1-2-3
The 1, the 2, the 3
Toe-toe, heel toe
The 1, the 2, the 3,
And the 1-2-3 and the 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Sixth Step
Toe-toe heel toe the 1, the 2, the 3 (3 times)
And the 1-2-3 and the 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Seventh Step
Kick hop, kick hop, kick hop 1-2-3
Kick hop 1-2-3
The cut, the cut
Toe to heel toe the 1 the 2 the 3
Kick hop 1-2-3, kick hop 1-2-3
Repeat starting with left foot.

Lead Out
The 1 the 2 the 3 and the 4 (frontwards)
The 1 the 2 the 3 and the 4 (backwards)
Repeat.