By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
There was nary a hint of Irish as he spoke. Rather his sentences carried the soft, drawn-out Texas twang that has romanced many a soul. Nonetheless, Richard Tew is an Irish dance expert with passions for both the dance and the history of Ireland.
Though he does have a wee bit of Irish in him, as evidenced by a family member’s death certificate, participating in Irish dance is not limited to people of Irish decent. It’s a dance form that people from all over the world enjoy.
“Irish dance tends to attract the people who don’t fit into other dance forms,” Tew reported. He added, “I was one who didn’t fit in other places and found my calling in Irish dance.”
Tew assured me that Irish dance is a dance that men are willing to learn and perform. He speculated this might be due to the dance costume having more of a masculine look than, say, ballet with its leotards.
I thought to myself that perhaps the Irish dance steps, exuding strength as they do, are also a draw for men.
“Guys and girls start with the same steps but then it diverges, and they learn different moves,” Tew said.
After our interview at Paul Hopkins Park in Dickinson, Tew gave me a firsthand demonstration of Irish dance.
His demonstration went very quickly. His back was as straight as the wood under his feet on the pavilion where he danced. His arms were carefully kept to his sides with his hands folded loosely in what appeared to be a partial fist with his thumb pointed to the ground.
He kicked up his legs, leapt into the air, curled his leg behind him and landed on the wood planks without as much as a sigh or a groan. Then he was moving again with both of his legs in the air curled behind him. Again, he landed with only the clicks of his shoes being the sound that he made.
With my camera, I attempted to capture his movement to share with readers. I fear I failed a wee bit. Irish dance is intense and includes rhythmic sounds from clicking shoes meeting as the metal heals strike a floor. These can’t be captured in a still photo.
Tew relates his love of Irish dance to his years as a drummer in the school band. He compares Irish dance to playing percussion instruments because of the precision, rhythm and sounds that are key to both art forms.
An art form that sailed to the states from Ireland and that has ties in Wales and England, Irish dance involves both creating music and performing rigorous physical movements.
Though the dance hails from English speaking nations, there are hints of flamenco dance along with some Romani-style moves in modern versions of Irish Dance. In the United States, Irish dance grew in popularity because of the very well-known Broadway Show, “Riverdance” and the movie “Braveheart.”
Tew was once an auto mechanic, and he still knows his way around a combustible engine. He also knows how to work with electronics and audio equipment. He uses his electronic skills in developing a following with his podcasts.
Many of his podcast interviews are with Irish dancers, some of whom live on the other side of the pond in that wonderful place some of us believe is full of magic—Ireland.
His love of Irish dance all started with his mother inviting him to join her in watching “Riverdance” on PBS.
The pounding feet and clicking shoes with their precision captivated Tew. He was determined to learn how to dance like the dancers in “Riverdance.”
“I found a VHS tape called ‘Irish Dance Made Easy by Seamus Kerrigan,” Tew said.
He worked with the VHS tape until he was ready for in-person lessons.
There was a waiting list for adults like himself. At 22, he wasn’t a cute little lad whose parents were driving him to dance lessons. He was a determined auto mechanic, wanting to learn the lively, powerful, and intense performing art of Irish dancing.
Sitting around waiting wasn’t Richard’s style. He asked permission to sit in and watch lessons and spent five months watching and learning from observation till a slot opened for him.
After just six weeks of lessons, Tew determined he would enter his first competition, which was held in Dallas.
“From there I was bitten,” Tew shared.
He went on to enter numerous competitions from Texas to Philadelphia and other places in between. He won some and he lost some.
His coworkers during his competing days remember him stretching wherever and whenever he could find space while at work. He practiced two to three hours a day to prepare for his competitions.
After six years of competing, in 2004, Tew decided it was time to teach Irish dance to others. He has been teaching for 17 years and remembers the many students who have come and gone under his instruction through.
Though he doesn’t live in the barns of his students’ as once did historic Irish dance masters in Ireland, Tew does travel to his students throughout the Houston/Galveston region.
His primary base of operations is in League City. He has his own place to tuck himself in at night, so there’s no need to worry about finding him a space to sleep, even if he comes to your town. He will keep the Irish tradition of teaching dance along with a wee bit of Irish culture.
If you’d like to contact Tew about Irish dance lessons or would like his students to perform at an event, you can contact him at https://tewirishdance.wordpress.com/
