Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Presss on February 17, 2022.

Returning to the June Bug Center studio, where she first taught Irish dancing and ballet in 1996, Thally McBroom is offering Irish Ceili Dance classes on Mondays (6-7 pm) and Thursdays (12-1 and 6-7 pm).

The classes are free (donations accepted) and will be taught with the intention of bringing friends and family together for fun, said McBroom, whose late Grandmother June McBroom is the namesake of the Center.

Born in Edenborough Scotland and raised in County Wicklow Ireland, McBroom first learned Irish Ceili dancing when she attended summer camp as a teen to improve her Gaeilge, the official language of Ireland, which is a mandatory subject taught in Irish schools.

She first learned ballet in Scotland at the age of four and has studied dance and music at two performing arts high schools and in college.  McBroom, who has musicians on both sides of her family, also studied and played professional recorder. She is a singer and has been a front woman in bands, including a newly formed band (name still undetermined) that will be playing locally within a few months.

While growing up in Scotland and in Ireland with her mother, a British musician and music teacher, McBroom came to America every summer to visit her Roanoke and Floyd-based McBroom family. After graduating from high school, she moved to America full-time and has lived in Floyd, Roanoke and D.C., returning to Floyd with her daughter in 2019.

McBroom cites the kindness and generosity of the people of Floyd County as a reason for offering to teach the classes. “I want to give back,” she said.

As an example of how she feels about Floyd, which reminds her of Ireland, she described getting a flat tire while driving her daughter to Check Elementary and being stuck for hours, waiting for a tow truck. “Every person that drove by slowed down to ask if I needed assistance in any way. Every single one,” she said.

Another reason for the classes has to do with the Covid pandemic. “Since we have all been so confined, it’s about time to regroup and do fun things together as a family,” she said, adding, “What better way to do that than to dance together?”

“Ceili,” which means “party” in Irish, is a form of community folk dancing. The set step dances, which were traditionally danced in barns, are done with couples, 2 pairs and in lines and are associated with the areas in Ireland where they originated and the songs that accompany them. “It’s easy so to learn. There are only three steps,” said Mcbroom, who adds her own choreography to the dances she teaches.

For the initial classes McBroom will use recorded Irish music. “But I have lots of musician friends that are eager to come up from Roanoke to have an evening of music and dancing,” she said.

“Ideally, what I want to do in the future is to take the classes within a 50-mile radius – to Hillsville, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Roanoke, Salem and Vinton and then connect us all to have live Irish Ceili nights.”

McBroom stated that the classes couldn’t happen without the help of the June Bug Center and its director Shannon Bragg Haradwicke.  She encourages those who are interested to sign up by calling or texting her at 540-588-3705 or emailing her at thistlethis76@gmail.com.  Children under nine should be accompanied by a parent. People can drop in, take a couple of classes or more.

“Let’s rejoin our families and community in the joy of dance,” McBroom said.