Interview with Prairie Gael School of Irish Dance owner, Caitlin Preston.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Regina has a thriving Irish culture, part of which is Irish Dance. We interview Caitlin Preston about Irish Dancing in Regina with her school Prairie Gael School of Irish Dance. For a thousand years, music and dance have been a huge part of Celtic life, having a Feis to celebrate, and modern Irish dance is rooted in that history (although these dances looked different from today’s). Caitlin is from Calgary, and when she moved to Regina she became involved with Prairie Gael Dance, eventually becoming the owner and head coach, and establishing the school in the competitive realm of Irish Dance. Keep reading to learn more about the unique cultural dance flourishing in Regina!
How did you start learning Irish dance?
When I was little, I had a friend who did Highland Dancing; I always thought that was the coolest thing. I wanted to learn and there was Irish dance instruction being offered at my elementary school over lunch hours, so me knowing nothing about the different styles and thought they were basically the same thing- which it's not at all. I started learning over the lunch hour and took to it right away, and the rest is history, I fell in love with it. I’ve been teaching for around 20 years, I started assisting with my instructor when 17. I’m originally from Calgary and had started my own school in Lethbridge, and I was commuting to Lethbridge every weekend to teach classes there. Life happens, I got married and moved to Regina and there were no competitive options here. I started as an adult dancer at Prairie Gael and decided to start studying to get my teacher credentials.
What do you find most important about your work with Prairie Gael Dance?
I think it's establishing a high standard for the art form and the sport. Competition creates an extra push to practise harder and to really study your craft. I’m quite proud of the standard that we’ve developed through Prairie Gael. We can hold our own in international competitions. It's been pretty fun to watch that develop. Our youngest is three and we teach adult classes, so up to their 50’s.
Why did you establish the competitive aspect of the school?
It’s a bit of a personality trait, I’m not going to do anything unless I’m good at it and I’m a competitive person so being able to provide that opportunity to our dancers it important. Had we not been able to offer that opportunity, I don’t think we would have had as many students stick with it for as long as they have, because they're also competitive. It was important for me to be able to provide that.
What is the age dancers usually finish competing?
I’ve been loving seeing this change because it used to be that once you were done high school you would be done competing. It’s nice to see that just because you graduated high school, you don’t need to stop competing. For some of these girls, dance is such a huge part of their life, so when they go to university and deal with all the life changes after graduating, they can still maintain that connection to dance and compete drives them forward. The physical and mental health aspects are important. We have a student now who is in their second year of university and she is still going strong and competing. It‘s really nice to see that they’re sticking with it.
What is the proudest moment you’ve had as a teacher?
There are lots, from the little stuff like seeing a little three-year-old tottling into the studio to seeing them starting to learn their first steps and making it look like something is very fulfilling. It’s not just all of the competition wins, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. There are a lot of dancers who are shy and reserved, that eventually learn what they're capable of and feel confident in that. Watching them being afraid to try something new to just giving it a go and seeing what happens is pretty amazing. Same from the performance aspect, seeing dancers afraid to go on stage to look forward to it and enjoy it. Seeing the development of students is probably the most fulfilling things to watch.
What is the most inspiring thing you’ve witnessed through Irish dance?
Seeing the dancers learn to deal with adversity is inspiring to watch. If it’s something little like they have a cold but they have to get up on stage or be able to cope with challenging circumstances is quite inspiring. It’s also watching them go on and become incredible, strong, confident, successful young women as they grow up is pretty cool.
Why do you think people are still interested in learning Irish dance?
It’s dynamic, it's challenging, and it is a mix of sport and art forms that is really unique from any other type of cultural dance out there. It’s become so athletic and broadens our audience and market to get people involved, because it’s not strictly a cultural art form anymore, it has become more mainstream. Just watching it spread across the world through Riverdance and Lord of the Dance and different shows that are coming out shows that there is a potential for performance opportunities when you finish competing which has helped keep it at the forefront of the mind for an activity. Irish culture is so rich in art forms, like storytelling, music, Irish dancing and being able to share that through dance it really nice.
What would you say to someone hesitant to learn?
Oh, I would say come and give it a try!
What role does irish dance play in Regina’s community?
I’d like to think we play a large role in the community, we are always up for any cultural events that are going on. Every St. Patrick’s Day we make a point of going around to all of the senior homes in the city to get that community outreach to people who may not have the opportunity to see it. It’s really important to us to get out and be able to support any event we can.
What do you want Regina to know about Prairie Gael?
I’d love them to know that we are a World Class dance studio, we are open to all ages, and it’s a lot of fun, have a lot of craik along the way, and come give it a try, and hopefully, the rest will be history for a lot of young students along the way.
