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| The Jig is Up! band teams up with adult Irish dancer, Richard Tew Photo: Christine Heartsill |
Champion Irish dancer Richard Tew is teaming up with Houston's
newest band, The Jig is Up!. The band performs traditional Irish tunes
and dance music, with musicians on flute, fiddle, accordian, melodian,
and bodhrán. Many of the
numbers are traditional Irish dance music, making the band a perfect fit for
Richard Tew's Irish dancing.
Tew began Irish dancing when he was 20 years old after seeing a
local dance school perform. After teaching himself the basics through video
tutorials, Tew sought out a dance school. He learned quickly, moving up in the
dance levels, winning several state championships and clinching the southern
regional championship in 2003.
Recently Tew began looking for a way to share his love of Irish
dance with others. "I've always wanted to be on the stage," Tew says.
He heard The Jig is Up! performing at a local coffee shop and asked if he could
dance with them. When he pulled out his hard shoes, the band members humored
him. After Tew pounded out the rhythm to their traditional Irish dance music,
the group grew excited and asked him to join them for their St. Patrick's Day
engagements. "We both had the idea," says Tew. "We wanted to
take it to the next level."
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| Richard Tew, champion adult Irish dancer photo: Pin Lim |
Tew and
The Jig is Up! are not trying to recreate Riverdance, according to Tew,
"The costuming and music are traditional, also with contemporary new beats
and sounds." The group desires to pay tribute to the music and culture of
Ireland and pass it on to the new generation. "We want the audience to
leave knowing they saw an original traditional Irish dance, as we know
it," says Tew. "This is modern contemporary—a competition trained Irish dancer in your
neighborhood. It’s good enough to stand on its own."
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Read more:
Giving
back with Irish dance - Carolan School and LauraLynn House
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Practices for Tew's first performance with the band are in full
swing. Tew says that it can be challenging to dance in time to the band's
music, which is more spontaneous than the live music played at Irish dance
competitions. "They love to improvise, " Tew says, "And it’s
natural for them to improvise and let loose, but it can’t deviate for a
dancer."
Tew has advice for adult Irish dancers:
"Don’t give up. If it’s really what you want to do, do
it. If you want to be good, you have to put in twice as much work to do
it. Don’t let competition be the end of your experience.The enjoyment is better
than how many trophies you bring home. "
The Jig is Up! with Richard Tew will be performing at the
Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex, 2201 Preston, Houston TX 77003 on Saturday,
May 12 at 7:30 pm.
For more information about the band, their recording and future
performances, go to TheJigisUpBand.com
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an adult Irish dancer, competitive or not, with a story to share? Would you
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