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!
