
10th anniversary poster by Jane Lombard
Our signature event is the Annual Easter Weekend Workshop with Dance Master Pat Murphy. Pat's website, Memories of a Dancer, shares experiences from his last trip to Halifax.
Easter 2009 took place Friday, April 10 to Monday, April 13. See below for details.
Pat Murphy is a world-renowned teacher, collector and historian of dance, who has been teaching at our Easter weekend since 1996. Pat's first exposure to set dancing was right in his own home. His father, Jack, a fine accordion player, hosted and played house parties most of his life. Jack taught Pat to play the accordion, and Pat became a well-known musician on the set dancing scene. In the 1980s he was drawn into the dancing itself, and eventually started to teach classes. He worked with legendary set dancer teacher and collector, the late Connie Ryan, and soon was doing his own workshops. Due to his comprehensive knowledge and gentle instruction, Pat is in demand all over the world. Although he has been as far as Japan, New Zealand and Russia, his first foray outside Ireland was right here--in Halifax.
Where Pat teaches, he also collects. He has strengthened the set dancing revival by collecting and publishing dances from all over Ireland and throughout the Irish diaspora. The fruits of his labour can be found in the two books that are the set dancing standards: Toss the Feathers and The Flowing Tide. The latter includes dances from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Pat published his third book, Apples in Winter, in 2009. Scaip na Cleiti was delighted to host the North American launch of this much-anticipated resource, which is also available at pmurphysetdance@eircom.net.
Pat has moved into the digital age as well, and is producing instructional videos for sets and two-handed dances. He collaborated with ceili band leader Matt Cunningham on a series of videos. See this list from the Set Dancing News website for more details; look under Matt Cunningham as well as Pat Murphy.
Easter Weekshop Workshop 2009