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Irish Irish dance is
based on a step sequence called “sevens and threes.”
Sevens take eight counts, and threes take four counts each, but
you usually do two threes together, so they usually also take eight
counts. If they take eight and four counts, why are
they sevens and threes? Because
it’s easier to learn the timing. Sevens and threes happen in a straight line out to your sides.
Imagine yourself in the Godwin studio facing the mirror, standing
right in the middle. When you do 7’s and 3’s you move to the right
away from center, then left back to center, then to the left away from
center, then right back to center again.
The whole thing happens on a single plane: in one straight line. You travel with 7’s and punctuate the traveling with 3’s. To do 7’s and 3’s you need to imagine yourself full of helium.
Irish dance is very light. The important thing is that you’re in the air…
not that you land on the floor. Does
that make sense? 7’s and 3’s
are jumpy and your feet are off the floor most of the time. Or maybe imagine yourself suspended by a bungee
cord from the ceiling so your toes just barely touch the ground, enough
to get you up again for the next step.
When your feet are on the floor, you should be on your toes. Begin with your right foot pointed on the ground, with your
heel off the ground, in front of you.
(I think it looks nicer if you keep your ankles and toes pointed
at least a little.) Your feet
should be exactly one in front of the other.
Below are the counts: 1
hop on your left foot, raise your right foot so that your
thigh is parallel to the floor. 2
rest your right toes (and ONLY rest and use ONLY your toes)
on the floor a little in front and a little to the right of your left
foot. Your right and left feet
toes should be only about one foot-length away from each other. Does that make sense? These aren’t huge. 3
bring your body and left foot to your right foot so that
your feet are again one in front of the other.
You are allowed to pull yourself a little with those right (front)
toes, but actually putting weight
on those front toes is wrong. It
will look like you’re crossing your back foot a little behind your front
foot. That’s ok. Now remember how I said that Irish dance happens in the air?
When you hop, you need to get some air.
As you put your right toes down, your left foot should already
be in the air on its way to its new position.
By the time your left foot lands your right toes should already
be on their way to rest again. You should never have more than one foot in
contact with the ground at any time, and in fact, you shouldn’t have
any feet in contact with the floor for most of the time. 4
repeat 2 5
repeat 3 6
repeat 2 7
repeat 3 8
swing your right leg and foot in a small circle, over the
place where you would have rested your toes and continuing to end behind
your left foot. On the 8th
beat your right foot will probably be next to, but about a foot-length
away from, your left foot. On the next “one” beat you’ll begin
3’s. Here’s how 7’s
look musically:
3’s are easier: 1
land on your right foot 2
rest left toes in front of you 3
land again on your right foot 4
begin to swing your left foot around to do something else 5
land on your left foot 6
rest right toes in front of you 7
land again on your left foot 8
begin to swing your right foot around to do something else “something else” means that you can keep doing 3’s forever,
or you can go into 7’s. So do to 7’s and 3’s together, you’d start in “center” and
move to the right with 7’s, then do two 3’s (one on each side), then
do 7’s to the left to get back to center, then do two 3’s once you’re
there. You need a transition between 3’s on the ends and 7’s going
back the center. Just finish
the second 3 by beginning to cross behind, and use a cross behind as
your “one” count. Then on the
“two” count you’ll rest your toes, and on three bring your other foot
behind your toes, etc, back to center. But once you’re there, you’re back in center and you need
to start the whole thing over to the left.
Begin with a hop on the right foot, and do the whole 7’s and
3’s thing the other way using the other feet. The words I use (that I think most people use) are these: Hop-2-3-4-5-6-7, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, back-2-3-4-5-6-7, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 The commas are those imaginary eighth and fourth beats.
These are called 7’s and 3’s because nothing really happens on
the 8th and 4th counts, so we pretend they don’t
exist. Looking from above, here’s where your feet will look like: Hop 2 4 6 hop on L
R R R 3 5 7 L L L
(these are both notations for doing 7’s only, to the right
only) So you travel on the even counts, with the foot that doesn’t
take any weight. Easy, huh? Boy, this is a lot of information. I’ll try to sum it up… Keep your weight back. Whichever
foot is in front should take practically no weight. Keep your arms straight at your sides. Hold the sides of your pants or skirt if you’ve
got to, but keep your arms straight.
Keep your back straight, too. It’s easier to keep your weight back if your head and shoulders
don’t keep trying to pull you forward. Stay on your toes. Literally!
It’s easier to be light and jumpy, and it’s easier to move fast
enough to stay on the beat. Don’t get frustrated. Practice
a little if you can, then on Wednesday we’ll polish everyone up. Don’t get worried if it looks like someone is doing 7’s and
3’s differently from the way they’re described here (especially if it’s
me!). Different people tend
to dance 7’s and 3’s with different little stylistic things. If anyone is doing something wrong
they’ll be corrected. Just know
that there’s an acceptable range of 7’s and 3’s –ing that we’ll take. Good luck! |
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Questions, comments about
FaB or classes? Please contact KT.
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