Priest teaches step dancing

POMPTON LAKES  “Keep your steps small. It will make it easier to keep in time to the music.”

Franciscan Father John Aherne, a parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish here, calls out this suggestion to a class of 55 people — lined up in rows in the gathering space in the parish center — as they attempt to follow his nimble footwork in learning a “reel,” the most basic routine in Irish dance. On the night of March 4, students — from St. Mary’s and elsewhere — share lots of smiles and laughs as they succeed, or sometimes fall short of, mastering the steps as demonstrated with great skill by Father John, a certified teacher with the Irish Dance Commission of Dublin, Ireland. They dance to Irish “reels,” bouncy popular songs, such as “Blackberry Blossom” and “Patrick Coyle,” which play on the sound system.

In the soft light of the room at evening, Father John teaches the first for four Irish step dancing lessons to help his students — from children to seniors — take a small step in learning the basics of Irish step dancing and a big step in becoming more acquainted with a part of Irish culture just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Father John will be teaching these classes on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the parish hall until March 25 — the second year that he has been offering the series at St. Mary’s.

“Welcome to Riverdance!” quipped Father John, referring to the widely popular theatrical show that features Irish music and dance. He told the audience that he started Irish dancing lessons at seven years old with a cousin, who dropped out after two weeks and later co-owned the Aherne Sheehan School of Irish Dance on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He gave up regular teaching, before his ordination to the priesthood in 2018. “Irish dancing has been one of the biggest parts of my life. I have made great friends. I’m glad to share this with you,” he said.

On that first night, the students — some with dancing experience and others with none — had fun trying to master the first few steps of the “reel.” Standing in rows on the floor of the parish hall, they tried to match the dance moves of Father John, who stood on the stage of the gathering space, so they could see his feet. The first part of the “reel” involves keeping the heels together and toes out, kicking their feet up and down and moving across the floor in small movements like “crab legs.”

“You’re all still standing. Good!” Father John told his students, after a round of dance moves. “ ‘Reels’ are lively and easy to pick up,” he said.

In the front row, Maggie and Raymond Mulry of St. Mary’s, both first-timers, try to grab some of the Luck O’ the Irish in mastering the steps to the “reel.” Raymond Mulry suggested to his wife that they try the dancing lessons as part of a “date night,” which included dinner afterwards. From an Irish family in The Bronx, N.Y., he told The Beacon about how his cousins performed Irish dances at a local bar.

“It’s a challenge to get the coordination — to get my feet to go the right way and to stay that way. I’m taking Father John’s suggestion to take small steps. He is light on his feet,” Maggie Mulry, a native of Colombia, said during a break in the dancing.

Then, Father John taught his students “The Sevens,” another dance routine that involved shuffling movements to the left with the left foot in front. Some people wore festive clothing for the occasion — green pants or shirts or T-shirts with leprechauns or shamrocks. Most of them wore comfortable workout gear and light, flexible and smooth-soled or dancing sneakers. While teaching the steps, Father Aherne remained encouraging and even stepped off the stage and onto the floor to dance with the students.

That first night, Jackie Perinotti of St. Mary’s gave herself quite a challenge: dancing, while holding her 8-month-old daughter, Kelly. Earlier in life, she was taught by a local Irish dance company and had competed regionally.

“It was not easy moving around with an 18-pound baby. It was easy to get back into Irish dancing — just like riding a bike. Father John has a great command of the room and is a talented dancer. The rest of the class seemed to be getting the steps by the end, which is a great accomplishment. The mood was nice and light,” said Perinotti, who became an Irish citizen through a grandparent, who was born there. “I loved Irish dancing, because it gave me a sense of community and some life-long friends. It also gave me confidence and a work ethic that has continued throughout my life. This [class] gives my daughter a taste of our Irish heritage,” she said.

So too did Father John’s Irish dancing take him to competitions — this time on the local, regional, national and world levels as far away as Glasgow, Scotland. At his ordination Mass, members of the Aherne Sheehan Irish Dance Company paid tribute to him by dancing a jig of thanksgiving. The priest is a first-generation U.S. citizen with his mother coming from County Monaghan and his father coming from Country Cork. Father John also previously worked in the publishing industry, he said.

After the dance lesson, students shook off the sweat and hung around for a few minutes to chat with each other. Another first-timer, Jane McEwen of St. Mary’s told The Beacon that she has a greater appreciation for her granddaughter who competes in Irish dance. McEwen took ballet and tap dancing lessons, when she was young.

“This is not easy. It takes good balance. Father John is a great instructor. We love him,” McEwen said.

A veteran of Father John’s classes last year, Mary Soltis of St. Mary’s called them “fun. We all support each other and can get used to the steps. It helps put us in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day.”