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Irish dance classes
Latest news! Lincoln Irish Dancers and Dowds Irish Dance Academy have teamed up to bring the best in Irish dance instruction to Lincoln. Dowds Academy is owned and operated by world champion dancer Marty Dowds. His background in Irish dance includes: Championship Worlds, All Ireland and British Nationals Irish Dance Champion. He also toured with the stage show Riverdance, and was the principal dancer for several years. Mr. Dowds brings passion and experience to Irish dance with the goal of passing his love of Irish dance and culture to people of all backgrounds. Marty will be the instructor for all classes offered by Lincoln Irish Dancers as well as his own academy in Lincoln.

Ceili: Kids age 12 and over and adults alike will enjoy our Basics class, where the beginning steps and the very first ceili dances are taught. These steps are the foundation for both step (solo) and ceili dancing, which is the social group dancing. This class is held on Monday nights at First United Methodist Church, 50th and St. Paul, in the Wesleyan neighborhood. Classes start September 19, with Basics at 6:00 p.m. and Continuing/Performance ceili at 7:00. Register when you come to class. Cost for Basics is $5 per lesson.

Students who have graduated from Basics are welcome to attend our Continuing Ceili class, which is held the second hour at First United Methodist. In this class we continue to learn and perfect new ceili and figure dances that will become part of our performance repertoire.

Step Dance: Step dance classes will be offered for ages 4 and up through the Dowds Academy. Students of Dowds may perform with Lincoln Irish Dancers and train to compete under the Dowds Academy. Information is available on the Dowds Academy website or email Marty@dowdsirishdance.com. 

OPEN HOUSE for Dowds Academy is 
past, but students may still sign up for classes. Visit the Dowds website for information and a registration form.

Classroom Attire 
We generally encourage adult students to wear flexible knit pants or capris, neither tight and restrictive nor excessively baggy. Tennis shoes are acceptable for students in the Basics class, as are jazz shoes and ballet slippers. Continuing students should wear Irish dance shoes, jazz shoes or dance sneakers. 

Everyone: NO denim jeans or shorts – denim is too hot to dance in, and too restrictive of movement. No dangling or jingling jewelry, keys, change, etc. – either leave at home or with your personal belongings before coming onto the dance floor. Step dance students, please see the Dowds website for other requirements.