Lori Madden
4:00-5:00 PM
12 Weeks
Advanced Beginner Softshoe Ages 5-7
$380 (BRIMS Members pay $360)
* For students that have taken at least one semester of Irish dance. Dancers will continue to expand their repertoire of steps while working to improve style, technique, rhythm and timing. No special gear needed. Advanced beginners can still dance in bare feet or ballet flats. Comfortable clothing that allows for free movement of legs and feet is a must!
Mimi Vidaver Davis
4:00 - 5:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
* For students that have taken at least one semester of Irish dance. Dancers will continue to expand their repertoire of steps while working to improve style, technique, rhythm and timing. No special gear needed. Advanced beginners can still dance in bare feet or ballet flats. Comfortable clothing that allows for free movement of legs and feet is a must!
Matthew O'Donnell
4:30-5:00 PM
12 Weeks, Ages 7-13
$200 (members pay $180)
For kids completely new to the instrument. Kids will learn the basics of 4-string tenor banjo or mandolin in the Irish style: how to hold and play the instrument, how to read tablature, and how to play simple melodies. Students may bring either tenor banjo or mandolin to the class.
Brenda Cox
4:30-5:30 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
This class is for youth ages 8-15 who have had previous experience either at BRIMS or with other harp lessons.
Brenda Cox
9:30 am *Satellite Location*
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
This class will have a slightly more in-depth study beyond the basics, exploring technique, repertoire and solo as well as group playing. Anyone who has played for a year or more would enjoy this class with a small, friendly and supportive group of harp players.
Brenda Cox
5:30-6:30 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
This class will focus on the mechanics and ergonomics of playing the harp, some very basic music theory, and user-friendly repertoire appropriate to new harpists. BRIMS has harps for rent
Fiona Balestrieri
5:00 - 6:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
Sean-nós or “old-style” dancing is an improvised percussive dance style that shares roots with flatfooting, clogging, and modern Irish hard shoe. In this class, you will learn the “basic” foot rhythms of Jigs and Reels and build a repertoire of “steps.”
Matthew O'Donnell
5:00-6:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
For students who have some experience playing a stringed instrument, and would like to apply their knowledge to accompanying or “backing” Irish tunes at sessions and in groups. In this class you will learn basic strumming patterns for Irish reels, jigs, and other common tunes, chord patterns used in traditional backing, and how to effectively back in a session.
The material in this class focuses on chording stringed instruments such as acoustic guitar, bouzouki and octave mandolin, but players of any instrument are welcome to take the class.
5:00 - 6:00 PM
Free & By permission*
BRIMS’ Traditional Music Ensemble (Trad) is an opportunity for Irish musicians (teens and adults), within the BRIMS community, to showcase their skills in and around Charlottesville. The Trad Ensemble functions as the public face of BRIMS, playing at local venues and providing community outreach in keeping with BRIMS’ status as a non-profit arts organization. Trad Ensemble allows members to hone the craft of musical performance by encouraging participants to arrange sets of tunes, play for and collaborate with dancers, and build a general comfort around interacting with an audience. Ensemble members will work with ensemble leaders to develop a well-crafted set list that can be used in a variety of performance settings.
Please contact Lori Madden at [email protected] for more information and specific details regarding guidelines for musicians.
Fiona Balestrieri
6:00-7:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360) For students having completed one or more semesters of sean-nós dance class or by permission of the instructor
Alex Davis
6:00-7:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
Come join us in learning new tunes to expand your personal tune library and build your confidence in playing in a session. We will learn a range of Irish tunes while exploring rhythm, tempo, lift and how to play in a group. Players of all instrument types are welcome, though basic proficiency on an instrument is expected. We will learn tunes primarily by ear, though sheet music can be provided on request.
Matthew O'Donnell
6:00-7:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
For the absolute beginner on bodhran. Drums provided if needed. In this class you will learn how to hold and play the bodhran drum, the basic rhythm for accompanying Irish reels, jigs, polkas, and other common tunes, how to use accents to enliven tunes, and how to play bodhran in a session.
Matthew O'Donnell
7:00-8:0 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
For students who have some experience playing the bodhran drum, and can play the basic patterns for reels and jigs. Drums provided if needed. This class will cover more advanced techniques including syncopated rhythms, triplets and left hand tone-changing, and how to use these techniques to craft unique rhythms that complement Irish tunes.
Advanced Hardshoe, Carolyn Ward
7:00-8:00 PM **BEGINS 9/17**
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
In this class, we will be learning hornpipes steps or a traditional set dance pending time and practicing technique. Hardshoes recommended for this class.
Fiona Balestrieri
7:00 - 8:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
In this class we join in a vast and diverse oral tradition of song that links Ireland to its many diasporas. We will build a repertoire of songs in Irish and English, and use them to explore vocal ornamentation and harmony singing. As we sing, we will also work on relaxing the tension that many of us bring to singing through deep breathing and mindfulness. I hope that each one of you will come out of the class your own versions of the songs we learn and the heart to sing them with confidence in the shower, the pub, or wherever songs are sung.
Mimi Vidaver-Davis
6:00-7:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
Class description coming soon.
Mimi Vidaver-Davis
7:00-8:00 PM
12 Weeks
$380 (BRIMS members pay $360)
Cape Breton step dancing is a percussive, close-to-the-floor dance tradition rooted in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. In this 6-week class series, students will learn the subtle—but important!—similarities and differences between Cape Breton step dance and Irish dance traditions. Class will focus primarily on mastering “the basic” reel step and all of its many variations, followed by an introduction to the rhythm of the strathspey and some foundational strathspey steps and movements. No previous dance experience required.