New school in Prague center to offer Irish dancing classes
A new school devoted solely to Irish dancing will soon open its doors in Prague. Lessons at Luas, Irish for speed, are due to start next month. Ahead of the start of the first course, the school’s director, Tereza Loužecká Bachová, invited all those curious about this dancing style to try it out themselves. She spoke to us before the sample lesson, about Irish dancing and why it fascinates her, and when classes will kick off.
Is there a lot of interest in Irish dancing in the Czech Republic, is it something that people really like?
“I think that the interest is increasing because of the shows Lord of the Dance and Riverdance, and lots of dancers would also like to try this style of dancing, so yes, there is quite a big interest.”
And when did you personally become interested in it?
“I got interested ten years ago, when I saw Riverdance, which is quite a popular show, and because I danced also before, I started with clogging, which is a style of step-dancing. I got interested, started with it by myself for the first two years. After that, some teachers from abroad came to the Czech Republic and taught us more and more and now I’ve decided to found my own dancing school.”
“At the beginning, just me and my sister, we are both Czech. But I hope that over the years, we will be able to also invite some teachers from abroad. Also, we can go for competitions, so we will see.”
Is it difficult? Do you need to have some prior dancing experience to be able to do Irish dancing?
“It’s quite an interesting question, because some people who don’t have any previous dancing experience do quite well, and some of them who used to dance in other styles are a bit confused, but if you have a good teacher, it’s not difficult.”
You mentioned competitions, where are those held?
Are you going to perform abroad as well? Especially in Ireland, are you planning any trips there with students?
“I hope so, but we have to see in the future, what will come."
Photo: Milena Štráfeldová
