My British Daughter’s Irish Dancing Journey in Germany
How an Instagram ad led our family to embrace Irish culture and dance.
Three years ago, a random Instagram ad for a free trial session for a local Irish Dance School caught my eye. Irish Dancing? Isn’t that Michal Flatley and the Riverdance crew? I was trying to remember one Eurovision many moons ago …
Given the history between the British and the Irish, I admit, I had a moment’s hesitation. I remember vividly my year abroad at university when we made friends with two wonderful Irish girls, who were great fun to hang out with and I am still in touch with. But they would periodically remind us of our dark history and ‘800 years of subjugation’ when they got drunk.
Additionally, despite being British and living in Germany, neither country traditionally associated with Irish dancing, we decided to give it a chance.
My then 6-year-old daughter didn’t have a clue what I was talking about but agreed to go along, as long as I could sit in and watch her trial class. So off we went, and I managed to rope in a friend of hers to come along, which also turned out to be brilliant, as they both decided they wanted to learn together.
Fast forward three years and she looks forward to class every week. This is a big…
