Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day!

So we're all back in the 'Cuse now, I'd imagine, and St. Patty's Day has come and gone. But still, why not revel in some good ol' fashioned Irish stepdancing in commemoration of all things green and lucky?

The featured link is from the 2007 tour of Riverdance, a show that at least Wikipedia credits for the global popularization of Irish dance. It's been making theatrical rounds since 1994, and I remember seeing it as a little kid...and being blown away by it.

Looking at this video now reminds me why I was; that footwork is insane! More specifically, the fact that all of these dancers rely almost exclusively on their feet for movement and expression is impressive. Their backs always stay rigidly upright, their arms never leave their sides. To make things even more complicated, they're creating the beat they're dancing to--in perfect synchronization with each other. And I thought it was hard enough moving to music!

We touched on clogging and tap dance in class. What are some similarities you see here? Too obvious? How about this: what's different?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B718RsboGEI&feature=related