To Dance Irish
I directed and co-produced To Dance Irish with Dr. Lucy Long. The documentary highlights the family-run Heinzman School of Irish Dance in southeastern 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.
The following is a clip from the program.