a non-competitive traditional Irish dance program at
Dance Biz
Longview Plaza--1742 Long Pond Road
Rochester, NY 14606
(585) 227-6614
Welcome to Rince Na Saor, Rochester's recreational Irish dance school! Since 1997, Rince Na Saor ("rinka na sayer") has provided an alternative to the typical competition-based Irish dance school, offering children and adults the opportunity to learn traditional Irish dance in an environment focused exclusively on recreational students. Rince Na Saor's unique curriculum was developed specifically to meet the needs of the recreational student, which include lower costs, a smaller time commitment, and a more relaxed learning pace.
There are several different types of Irish dance, all of which are available at Rince Na Saor. We offer instruction in the Modern style of Irish stepdance which most people know from Riverdance, including hard shoe and soft shoe stepdancing, ceili and figure dances, traditional and contemporary set dances, family dances, and dance dramas. We also offer Rochester's first Sean Nós classes ("shah nose"--old style Irish stepdancing), and Country Set classes for beginners.
The links below will tell you more about us, and you can contact me at kathyw[at]rns.dance with any questions you may have.
Registration is open for the Fall! Classes for children and adults start September 16, 2022. You can register and see what we're doing to stop the spread of Covid-19 here.
We had a wonderful 25th Anniversary show on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at The Harley School in Brighton! Thank you to all our dancers and their supportive families for making our school such a special place to dance!
One of the new dances on offer this year is Maggie Pickens (also called Maggie Pickie), a lively older set dance suitable for all levels. Here's Edwina Guckian dancing her version of Maggie, accompanied by the fantastic Fergal Scahill.
Sean Nós, or "old style" stepdancing, is offered in single class workshops and short-term sessions. The workshops are a great place to start, while the sessions start with the basics, then move beyond. Beginners may start in either workshops or sessions.
Sean Nós Workshop: The workshop will return in the Fall!
Sean Nós Session: Our next session will be in the Fall!
This is an exellent video describing Sean Nós dancing. Since it was filmed, Sean Nós has become very popular all over Ireland, and has made its way to America.
One of my favorites, Kieran Jordan, Sean Nós dancing to jigs. A useful reminder that Irish dance need not be fast to be compelling.
(The last ceili we had before the world turned upside down was in January, 2020. This message seems quaint now, an echo from another world. I leave it here to remind us of the fun that awaits us when we can meet again.)
What a wonderful ceili we had on January 25th! We had a full house, with 4 sets running simultaneously and ceili lines stretching from one end of the dance floor to the other! Lots of Rince Na Saor students there, which was wonderful to see, plus we had takers for our Beginner's Session just prior to the ceili, and stepdancers joined us for the stepout.
Huge thanks to the Comhaltas for sponsoring these events and promoting them, our tireless musicians, and equally tireless dancers. Go raibh míle maith agaibth! (Thank you!)
