Mountain Eire Irish Dance School
From their website [1]: Mountain Eire serves Teller and Western El Paso counties, bringing traditional Irish dance instruction and performance to our rural area above 8,000 feet in elevation. We are members of An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (the Irish Dance Commission in Ireland), Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America, and the Western Region.
At Mountain Eire, we love Irish dance and music, and we believe that the dance is for everyone regardless of age. Our number one goal is to inspire this love of the dance in all of our students. Our philosophy is that every student can learn in a positive and fun environment, and we strive to create an atmosphere of personal attention and patience. In order to focus on the whole dancer, we plan to keep our school small enough to be able to recognize and develop individual strengths and weaknesses. We remember that our students are not yet professional dancers/athletes, rather we aim to keep instruction and opportunities enjoyable for all.
Over the years, we have seen many students leave Irish dance as they were intimidated by the intense format of highly competitive atmospheres, as well as many adults frustrated by the lack of emphasis on adult instruction and involvement in Irish dance in general. We understand there are many reasons to dance. Whether your goal is to get exercise, perform for your friends and community, or strive for championship titles as a competitive dancer, we will help you achieve your goals while having fun, forming new friendships, and enjoying the culture and music of Ireland. However, we do focus on proper technique. This becomes the foundation that determines how high a dancer can eventually aim. We encourage dancers to become serious dancers, but to what level is ultimately the student’s choice. We provide the training to make those choices possible.
Our definition of success is mastery of steps and techniques as well as acquiring a lifelong love of Irish dance. Our lives have been enriched by Irish dance, and we hope it will do the same for all of our dancers. Public recognition and awards are wonderful, but they should be a by-product of the dancer’s passion and commitment, not the overall focus. The primary benefits and rewards of dancing should be internal: discipline, confidence, presence, perseverance, etc. All dancers can achieve these, not just our competitive dancers. However, we find that this philosophy tends to make students better competitors. Great achievement does not come from the seekers of glory but from the passionate.
Lead Teacher: Mickie Richardson, TCRG
Email: mountaineire@yahoo.com