St. Louis Irish Arts school performs at SIC

At St. Louis Irish Arts has a mission to promote and preserve traditional Irish music, song and dance with special emphasis on the Irish harp and the use of the Irish language.

They perform 7 p.m. Friday at Southeastern Illinois College's George T. Dennis Visual and Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students. For details, you may call 252-5400 ext. 2487.

St. Louis Irish Arts Incorporated is the local branch of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and was founded in 1973. The school grew out of a wish to train and educate musicians and dancers in the traditional music, song, and dances of Ireland. The branch started with weekly tin whistle lessons for adults and children.

In 1987, the first Missouri Irish dance teacher licensed to train dancers for competitions opened a school for music and dance. This school was, and continues to be, unique among Irish dancing schools in the United States because every student who joined the school was required to take an Irish music lesson on the tin whistle to complement their regular dance lessons. The school was named St. Louis Irish Arts School.

According to information from St. Louis Irish Arts, this magical blend of Irish music and dance lessons has fostered and produced some of the finest musicians and dancers worldwide. Today, St. Louis Irish Arts School is located in Maplewood, Mo. Students are accepted into the school's program from the age of four years old through adults.

The audience will see dancers in valuable, authentic and elaborately embroidered dresses that are handed down through sometimes an entire family of girls who attend the school.

This is the last performance in the Cultural Arts Series this year.