Ill
ST. PATRICKS DAY EVENTS SECTION Pull Out And Save
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2
MARCH 1992
Pretty Exciting Stuff, Hey?
By VIOLET MOORE
Irish Dancing Teacher
fj I ANCOUVER —The Irish • \/ dance classes in the inner w city are full to the rafters with Spanish, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Irish, Native Indian, East Indian and Iranian children gone mad with Irish dancing.
A friend asked me, "How did all this come about? Are there not enoughlrish children in Vancouver to keep the tradition alive?" Good
I>oint! There are indeed enough rish children here and the fact that they're mostly involved in ballet classes is beside the point. That's not what sent me into the inner city looking for would be-dancers.
Primarily, I went seeking children whose family's financial circumstances prevented them from taking part in any activity except those offered during school hours. Offering free lessons where I teach didn't nelp because the parent (usually a single mother) had no means of transport, other than public to make the trip. Consequently, three months of travelling by bus usually with younger tots in tow resulted in major burnout and I wouldn't see them again.
Taking the sessions to them solved the problem. The big surprise for me was finding children from such adiversityofcultures enrolled. My first thought was: They won't stay. But they did, and, boy are they enthusiastic!
Imagine this scene. Twenty-nine kidsof various persuasions all lined up. Shoulder high, hands hung at side, toes pointed, all ready to trip the light fantastic. Skip 1-2-3, skip 1-2-3, skip 1-2-3- up and down the length or the school auditorium.
Seymour Elementary School on Keefer Street and Tillicum Elementary on Cambridge don't know what hit them. It's hilarious! As I watch them, I think: What a greatcombatantagainst racism! Can you ever imagine kids who dance together bashing each other over the head with blunt instruments? I think not.
Photo: Tania Conley
MULTI-CULTURALISM IN IRISH DANCING Is alive and flourishing in Vancouver's Inner City where children from any cultural background have the opportunity to trip the light fantastic, Irish style!
As for the people who make this valuable program possible, there are seven (saintly) individuals, all parents of ex-pupils of the Moore School. Three Pads: One lawyer from Larne, David Bell (he set the organization up), two Dubs: Betty and Alec Moorhouse from Cabra and four home-spun Canadians: Joey Denny (who caretakes the money when we're lucky enough to get a casino) and her husband Bob, Mavis Kent (secretary) and the President of the Canadian Irish Dancing Foundation (C.I.D.F.), Cathy Gibson.
Cathy's daughter is proof positive that you don't have to be Irish to dance. AlixGibsonnotonlybecame one of Vancouver's best but went on to win the North American Championship and placed 12th in the World Irish Dance Championships in Ireland. Alix retired to complete a degree in engineering at the University of British Columbia. How's that for a strong role model for younger dancers?
The energy invested by these incredible people who make up the executive of the C.I.D.F. ensures that any child who takes advantage of our program can experience at least some of the benefits their own children enjoyed. In fact, the majority or the dancers from Tillicum travelled with us last year to the Seattle Feis (ina van borrowed from the Kiwassa Neighbourhood House) and romped in the pool in between competitions.
For those dancers wishing to invest themselves further, wegiveregular exhibitions at the schools. Dancers like Jackie Dowling and Tara Stefanko, both winners in their age group at the Oireachtas (the Western Canada World Qualifying rounds held in Winnipeg in November last year). NoraPickett, Cara Moorhouse, Ann Marie Lynch and Elisa Denny have all helped out at classes at Tillicum. Bryson Kent performs for the boys (we have about 12 between the two schools).
Watching what's available and the heights mat Irish dancing can take them, maybe some of our new members will be inspired. Who knows? Maybe an Iranian contender for the World Irish Dance Championships? Pretty exciting stuff, hey?
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IN THIS ISSUE
ST. PATRICK'S DAY SPECIAL EIGHT-PAGE SUPPLEMENT
TRAVEL............5-30-31
MUSIC...............6-7-9-12
MOVIES............8
BUSINESS........       23 - 24 - 25
SPORTS............26 - 27
RECIPES..........33
ASTROLOGY ... 34 GENEALOGY ... 35
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A BAKER'S SECRET
By MAGGIE HOLLAND
My Irish mother made good cakes. Everyone said so. I knew she did too; not because I ever tasted them, but because they looked delicious. I didn't taste them because the idea of cigarette ash as an ingredient made me feel funny.
Mother didn't know this, she probably thought it was for the same reason I didn't like wobbly Jell-O. But what little girl doesn't like deep, sponge cake with fluffy whipped cream on top, and strawberries? If only the sponge part didn't have cigarette asn in it.
All mother's cakes has this ingredient, but I didn't care about the others so much — passing up fruitcake or a chocolate eclair wasn t hard for me, if sponge cake was on the table.
Why did mother put cigarette ash in her cakes? Well, she didn't mean to—the ash just went in before her chin could deflect it from the mixing bowl onto the flagstone floor. As she beat the mixture with her wooden spoon, she was blinded by the smoke from the cigarette dangling at the left side of her mouth, and she couldn't see the soft, grey rube that formed at its end, before it was too late.
Maybe she didn't know that the ash never quite made it to the floor. But most good bakers have their secrets, and I think she had hers. How else could you get such a light batter? Only by folding in air, egg whites and cigarette ash.
THE CELTIC VOICE OF NORTH AMERICA
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