Celebrating Irish Dance With Nicholl Irish Dancers

Exhilarating, awe-inspiring, and wow factor are just some words to describe an Irish dance performance. Whether it’s a solo or group dance, the intricacies of the steps and the movements are astonishing to watch. With limited upper body movement and fast footwork, the “modern” Irish dancing we see nowadays is steeped in tradition dating back hundreds of years.

Washington Crossing resident Amelia Hartman fell in love with this type of dance when she started at Nicholl Irish Dancers at age 8. She’s still a part of the studio as an adult, heading its operations and guiding young dancers through some of the same experiences she remembers fondly.

“Being on stage is such an exhilarating experience,” Hartman says. “When you’re performing, it takes so much to execute a step flawlessly—remembering the footwork and choreography and maintaining proper technique, all while remembering to breathe, keep your head up, and smile like it’s not hard at all. The enthusiasm you get from a crowd will always give you the best boost of motivation to dance your strongest.”

Honoring Tradition

Samantha Nicholl Fleming, the original owner and founder of Nicholl Irish Dancers, was born in Ireland and moved to Holland, Pennsylvania, when she was 13. She founded the school in 1993 with recreational classes to promote Irish culture, music, and dancing skills. She eventually added competition opportunities, which have continued to grow. When Fleming decided to retire, she asked Hartman to take over.

“Amelia is so talented, so patient, and has such a love for Irish dance,” Fleming says. “She had been with the school for so many years and taught by my side for a long time. She knew the school’s mission and the philosophy I had for the students. I had no doubt when I handed the school over that she would be phenomenal as its leader.”

Hartman didn’t hesitate when asked if she wanted to take over ownership of the school.

“As the owner, I love that I’m able to carry on the traditions and experiences I had as a dancer,” she says. “I see current dancers having so much fun doing the same local parades and performances I did when I was their age. It’s so rewarding that I can give them those experiences.”

Falling Into a Rhythm

The school accepts students from age 5 until high school. Hartman emphasizes that a dancer does not have to be Irish to be a part of the studio. All dancers begin with soft-shoe, learning the basic Irish dance techniques, skills, and steps. Dancers can start learning hard-shoe once they’ve been dancing soft-shoe for at least three years, as it’s much more difficult to learn and execute. Each year, there is more training involved, and there are more milestones to meet to advance to the next level.

“The dances are very rhythmic; it’s not a flowy form of dance,” Hartman says. “It’s a hard eight-count, and you’re hitting every beat of it. It’s interesting seeing the difference between the two types. Even though you can’t hear the soft-shoe, you can see when you’re watching it that they’re hitting every beat of the music. And with hard-shoe, you have to look and sound good when dancing.”

Sarah Awadalla is a high-school senior who has been dancing since she was 3 years old. When she goes to college next fall, she plans to join an Irish dance club.

“I love the atmosphere at school and dancing in competitions,” she says. “I’m more of a hard-shoe person—I really like the sounds—and that is my specialty when it comes to dancing. When we are all dancing in sync, it shows that hard work pays off.”

In addition to its signature dance moves, another familiar site in Irish dance is the costumes. Hartman says the color choices are based on the school’s colors, which are green dresses with gold details for Nicholl’s dancers. Performers get to create their own blinged-out dresses to wear at competitions.

Time to Shine

St. Patrick’s Day is synonymous with celebrating Irish culture, and Irish dancing epitomizes this festive holiday. Hartman nicknames it “March Madness” because her dancers are extremely busy with Bucks County parades, the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade, dancing at Peddler’s Village, and performing at assisted living and nursing homes. Some of the dances are choreographed by the teachers, but many are traditional.

“A lot of times, you’ll see more traditional group dances,” Hartman says. “There are historic books that have all the steps written out, so they’re done the same way everywhere. One of the most popular dances is called “The Walls of Limerick,” which is a dance for any even number of couples and is usually the first céilí (group dance) that Irish dancers learn.”

Grace Heitzman, a 14-year-old dancer who has been with the studio since first grade, loves to perform. “Around St. Patrick’s is our busy time, with lots of performances and parades,” she says. “It’s really fun to connect with your friends when dancing, and it’s exciting to be in shows where people are cheering you on and celebrating the holiday.”

A Close-Knit Community

Hartman is a lifelong Washington Crossing resident. She attended Crossing Cooperative Nursery School as a preschooler, graduated from Council Rock School District, and remained in town as she taught and took over ownership of the dance studio.

“Every time I have someone come visit me, they say Upper Makefield Township is the coolest place in the world, and I agree, it’s truly the most beautiful area,” she says. “I have always lived right by the canal path, so that was always a staple every weekend growing up—either walking or biking along the canal—and that continues today.”

Although the dance school is located in Yardley, it has many students from surrounding towns, especially Upper Makefield Township. What has always stood out to Hartman since she started as a dancer at Nicholl’s Irish Dancers is the strong community of support between all the families.

Washington Crossing resident Grace Ciccimaro, whose daughter Lydia has danced at the studio for three years, says that the school goes beyond dance instruction and provides a true sense of community. “The dancers form close bonds by supporting one another at competitions, recitals, and in class,” Ciccimaro says. “By parade season, that connection is unmistakable as you see them holding hands, laughing together, and genuinely enjoying being part of something special.”

Hartman says it’s heartwarming when graduates of the school and their parents come back to watch performances. She strives to maintain a tight-knit community and hopes for that to continue for years to come.

“Looking to the future, I want to have a good balance of expansion and newness but maintain the heart of our school,” she says. “I want to continue all the experiences that have become traditions for us, but I want to find new performance opportunities and local community events we can be a part of. That’s the goal.”

Dari Kotzker resides in Bucks County with her husband and four kids. She has worked as a reporter in television news and print media since 2001.

Photograph by Juan Vidal Photography