| Irish Dancing - Upholding the traditions
Maybe it’s the fact that Ann’s been teaching Irish dancing since she was just 14 in 1946, or she’s a founder member of An Comhdhail, or that with her late husband, Jimmy McHugh (also a renowned musician, who won the All-Ireland countless times), they set up the first Comhaltas branch outside Ireland, but there’s something remarkable about Ann’s commitment to Irish culture.
But in her eyes, she’s simply got on with life. As she put it: “If I like something, I’ll do it, and if I don’t, I won’t!”
It all began in the late 1930s, when Ann attended her first Irish dance class, under Peggy O’Neill. It was natural for her to learn Irish dance, as her father was Irish. When Ann was 14, then the age at which people started working, she taught her first dance class.
“I just loved Irish dancing and, in those days, there was no such thing as exams,” she said. “If you were still dancing at the age of 14, your teacher would ask if you wanted to take a class. We taught because we were good enough. So, in 1946, I had a youth club and a class. The youth club belonged to the church and was run for the kids, basically just to keep them off the streets. I was given one night a week to teach Irish dancing, and that was my section. Then, on other nights, other people took classes in different subjects, such as Scottish dancing.”
So, Ann got into the swing of teaching, while continuing to attend her class with Peggy O’Neill, where she met her future husband. “Jimmy came to Peggy’s class in 1948. He used to play for the Ceilis in the Four Provinces Ceili Band, and I went to the Ceilis every night in the week.” She giggled. “He played for all the Feiseanna for over 55 years. He had a good idea of timing and could have picked out a good dancer without any question.”
Ann speaks about Jimmy with great affection; they were very much in love. They married in 1956 and, a year later, their first son, Martin, was born. In 15 years Ann gave birth to six boys (Martin, Kevin, Brendan, Thomas, Michael and Ciaran) and two girls (Roisin and Deirdre), most of whom tried their hand at a few steps or notes. Roisin took her TCRG and now teaches alongside her mum. Musically, the boys take over. Martin’s a whiz on almost any instrument but he’s won the All-Irelands twice on the bodhran, whilst Brendan, or ‘Benny’ as he’s known in the music circle, is a Great Britain fiddle champion.
Music has always played a role in Ann’s life. After she married Jimmy, they went to the fleadh in Co. Clare and decided to set up the first branch of Comhaltas outside of Ireland on January 20, 1957.
“We held meetings every so often, ran Ceilis and then eventually, we got around to starting the classes and keeping the Irish tradition going. Jimmy could teach almost everything. He could take a tune out of anything he lifted, but his main instrument was the fiddle, which was self -taught.”
In 1957, Ann set up a school of her own. Over the years, her students have enjoyed dancing to live music, as Jimmy used to come along to all the classes and play jigs and reels. In the mid 60s, Ann was busy training up champions, when the An Coimisiun split came, and she became a founder member of the then, brand new organisation, An Comhdhail.
“Well, basically, we were all under Coimisiun, and the teachers still had, what we call, a Teacher’s Association, as well as conventions. We’d put forward several proposals over the three years, previous to the 1968 split. There were things we wanted, such as receipts for our money, guarantees and other Comhdhail rules, and I think, at the end of the day, it was just a case of not upholding rules that caused the split. It’s died down over the years though, and not something we want to bring up again.”
After years of taking classes on her own, Ann now teaches with her daughter, Roisin, and Caroline Boyle, both of whom were taught at the Shamrock Academy, the school’s name, before the girls joined the teaching team. And, after teaching for 55 years, Ann certainly knows her stuff.
“I think, first of all, you need a sense of discipline, so you can keep your class under control,” she said. “especially when you’re starting out. If you don’t, you’re fighting a losing battle. Then, I would say, you need a method in your teaching. You should start with beginners and work them up. And, even if you get a good kid, they still need to progress through the different stages. A good beginner pushed on too quickly might do well in the light dances, but when it comes to the heavies, I feel they fall back. If you let them progress steadily, they get a good grounding and tend to work harder,” she added.
Ann loves nothing more than teaching a child to dance, who isn’t a natural. Whether they win or not, is immaterial.
“I’m easygoing, up to a point, but can call a halt when I need to,” Ann said. “Irish dancing is fun. It’s a hobby and not, as some teachers treat it, a religion. You need to treat the kids the same as well. From the day I started teaching, I have never in my life given a private lesson.”
Ann is also a qualified adjudicator and examiner.
“I look to see if they know their stuff and if they’re able to impart their knowledge on to others. They are quite extensive exams and you really need to know your stuff. If you’ve done the work, you’ll have no problem passing, but there’s always some who don’t make the grade. I do enjoy examining, I must admit. Although you have a bigger responsibility than you do adjudicating, you don’t have the same pressure, because you can work to your own time. When you’re judging, you’ve got three dancers on for so many bars of music, then off, then three more on.”
Keeping the tradition alive is of utmost importance to Ann. Of course, in 55 years, there have been some huge changes in the world of Irish dance, and though Ann’s moved with the times, it’s important to her to sew the seed of the past.
“I can sit at a Feis and basic, standardised movements like rocks, cross keys, and drums, which used to be seen in nearly every dancer, are barely seen at all now. I really feel it’s a shame to lose them for the likes of these high kicks. We’ve banned a couple of moves, like the bunny jump, for example, which we think is ugly, but that’s all you can really do.”
However, if you want to see dancers performing these beautifully traditional moves, you can catch a few when 10 of her pupils compete at An Comhdhail’s All-Ireland and International Championships at Easter.
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