Inspired by all the wonderful "date a girl who" posts-- if you like this, please check out the original work. My personal favorite can be found here: http://sandiegoballetdancecompany.org/date-girl-dances-steffi-carter-san-diego-ballet-dancer/
Date a girl who Irish Dances.
Date a girl whose instruments are leather and fiberglass. Date a girl who intentionally makes noise, whose goal is to be the loudest and clearest. Date a girl who isn’t afraid of being noticed for being too loud.
Date a girl whose art speaks loudly and clearly at times. At times it flows lightly and travels across the room. Date a girl who dedicates years to moments of performance. Date a girl who has taught her body to create sound that is rhythmically perfect. Date a girl who waltzes seamlessly between dancer and musician.
Date a girl who sparkles. Who glimmers under the lights, who can hold her own in a costume, in a wig, who won’t be swallowed up by the immensity of a garment. She can be extravagant, and understands the power of a great outfit. She is not weighed down by this knowledge, offstage she lives in stretch pants. Jeans won’t fit over her calves.
Date a girl who grew up in bars. Who impressed the St. Patrick’s Day revelers. Whose most cherished mentor showed their love and appreciation by yelling critique. Date a girl who cares enough about something to hear all the criticism. Who is willing to make a change by doing something different. Who is willing to do it all with no guarantee of success.
Date a girl with strong legs. With toes that can spring her feet off the floor with no momentum. Date a girl who flies with every practice, who seeks that feeling in every step. She’s strong enough to go it alone sometimes, but is always better off with you there. After all, she wants you to fly with her.
When she falls, she falls hard. It’s the breaking of bones, or worse, the spraining of extremities. It’s the landing from a perfect leap, the attempt at doing one more beat than she thought she could do. It’s the crushing, embarrassing falls, no fall is graceful in Irish Dance. It’s slipping off pointe at a pivotal moment, it’s falling, legs splayed, mascara running, wig askance. Date a girl who can get up from this moment and attempt to fly again.
She is a little rough around the edges, cruder perhaps than most, she did grow up dancing in smoky bars, drinking with her dance teachers and hanging out with Irish musicians, after all. She loves to eat. A lot. After all, she’ll burn it all off. She’s not afraid to have a beer before a dance, though holds her performance to the highest standard. She has an unquenchable need to move. To do more, more, now. To sweat, to create, to learn. When this moment is over she will lay on the couch. She will read. Binge on TV. Eat potato chips, french fries and drink wine.
Date a girl who longs for more, for Irish dance is never finished. There are endless possibilities, and she will seek to find them all. Date a girl with unharnessed energy, who can at times move with wild abandon, to whom traditional pursuits aren’t enough. She will seek more for you, and for you together. Don’t let her be bored, and never let her stop.
Date a girl who cries on St. Patrick’s Day because she missed a chance to dance. Who can’t sing, but lilts steps with wild abandon, as if you understand everything she is saying. She wakes up and dances in the kitchen, while in waiting in lines, while waiting for the bus. Date a girl who understands the importance of keeping up tradition, who listens with rapt attention to ballads sung in bars, and participates in drinking songs as if in a religious fervor.
She will commit to you, even if there is no guarantee of success. Give her adventure and she will give you more. She will give you song and endless energy. She will strive for perfection, and if not perfection, she will strive for moments of breathtaking performance. She is fearless. Irish Dancers see human bodies performing incredible feats of speed and precision and tell each other they can do it faster, louder or bigger.
She lives in extremes. You will have to adjust the temperature, she will turn the heat up all the way when she’s cold, get too hot and turn on the AC until she freezes and starts the process over. The middle is not her road.
You will have to take care of the finances, the plane tickets, bookings and plans. Take care of the details of all your grand adventures. She will be too busy thinking of them.
Did I miss anything? Feel free to add a comment below!
Stretching your quads is one of the most important stretches Irish dancers can do because we work them overtime! Most of us have overdeveloped quadriceps from all of the lifting we do (not to mention lifting with heavy shoes on). Quads that are overly tight can pull your knees out of alignment and eventually lead to tracking problems and pain. I had a physical therapist tell me to stretch my quads at least 5 times a day! Stretching your quads also helps achieve extension to the back (tucking that back leg on leaps, bicycle jumps, kicking your bottom). Stretch your quads by lying face down on the floor and holding onto one ankle and pulling your foot closer to your bottom. For a more intense stretch think about pushing your hips into the ground as you pull on your foot. 
Irish dancers use their hip flexors just as much as they use their quads, and they can get very tight, very fast. Your hip flexors lift your leg to the front, so all that picking up your feet in hardshoe really works them hard. Lengthening your hip flexors helps with extension to the back and helps you engage the muscles that help you turn your legs out. Stretch your hip flexors by finding a lunge position, putting your back knee on the floor and gently pushing your hips forward. For a more intense stretch, engage your core. 
Calves/Achilles 
We know Irish dancers have amazing calves, but just because they look good doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard. Because we are on our toes all the time without releasing into the floor, we need to spend extra time stretching our calves and achilles. The best way to do this is put one foot in front of the other, bend your front knee and lean forward until you feel a stretch in your calves. To get at your achilles (which is in a constantly shortened state while you dance) put both feet next to each other on the floor, bend your knees and try to keep pushing your heels down. 
We all wish there was a magic formula to guarantee success at qualifiers, but alas, on the day we work hard for all season, many defining moments are left up to the fray of mere minutes on stage. With the US Regional Oireachtasai right around the corner for most dancers, you may be feeling like you don’t have much time to improve your performance at this years competitions. In some cases, this is truth (I’m talking to you who can’t get through those three treble jigs, ahem) if you haven’t put in the work all year, a recall isn’t magically going to appear in two weeks of determined practice. However, there are some things you can do to work with what you have, right now, to put your best foot forward. 
