To Dance Irish presents an overview
of the history of Irish dance and the various styles making up the rich traditions of dance in Ireland,
focusing on the basic forms and techniques of step-dancing and
on the feis, or competition, system. Popular commercial dance productions
in the mid 1990s introduced traditional and contemporary Irish dance to new audiences throughout the world,
drawing large numbers of students to dance schools so that Irish dancing in the United States is no longer an ethnic Irish phenomenon.

This video highlights the family-run Heinzman School of Irish Dance in southern Michigan and northwest Ohio. Of Irish-German ancestry, the Heinzmans teach dance as a cultural form as well as an art form, passing along a sense of Irish-American
heritage and identity to both children
and adults. To Dance Irish also
explores the motivations of the
students and the various meanings
they attach to their dancing. These students come from a range of cultural backgrounds. An active Irish-American community has supported these
classes, and now new communities
have emerged that are united in their appreciation of this dance form.

Watch the Video

Heinzman's School of irish Dance