St. Patrick’s Day is a time for celebrating all things Irish—food, music, dance, among others. But one group of students has made it their mission to celebrate and promote the culture all year long.
Step About Boston, BU’s Irish step dancing team, launched 10 years ago. The club is open to everyone, from novices to world champions. This year’s team comprises 16 women, but men are welcome. Their goal is to celebrate traditional Irish dance—and to bring people together to have fun and build lasting friendships.
Members practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the SAC gym and perform during the year at campus events and at venues across the city. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, they’ll give a free performance tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17, at Faneuil Hall, from 2 to 4 p.m. and on Marsh Plaza at 8 p.m. On Saturday, March 21, the dancers will travel to Ohio for their first dance competition, the Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival, where they’ll face off against teams from Catholic University, Georgetown University, Loyola University Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, Villanova University, and host University of Dayton.
Members of the BU community are invited to Step About Boston’s annual spring showcase, Ceili, at the SAC Gym on Friday, March 27. (In Irish, céilí is a traditional social gathering, usually with folk music and dancing.) The group will perform traditional Irish dances, with live music by local band Tradition. Club members will also devote part of the evening to teaching Irish step dancing to anyone in the audience who wants to learn.
Interested in learning more about the group? Email stepabt@bu.edu. Step About Boston’s Ceili showcase is Friday, March 27, from 6 to 10 p.m. in the SAC Gym, One University Rd. The event is free and open to the public.
Jason Kimball can be reached at jk16@bu.edu.