The Dance – Declan’s Way

Declan On Dance

Dance—it’s in my blood. The spirit of the dance lives in the rhythm of the heart and soul. I feel it within me, coming to life anew each time I step onto the dance floor—wherever, whenever and however that may be.

The music dictates my mood and response—a gliding Foxtrot, a floating Waltz, the staccato Tango or a whirling Viennese Waltz.

Ah, the country life! Boots and hat optional but fun for a Country Two-Step. How about a pleasant Country Waltz or a high-energy Swing with a cowgirl? And the slower, sweeping romance of a Night Club Two-Step can’t be beat.

Hot, summer nights and a strong Latin band are a great recipe for Salsa as a main course! My Spanish blood thrives on a menu of hot and spicy, high-energy Meringue or Salsa. We can cleanse the dance palette with a slow and passionate Bolero or perhaps a romantic Rumba, savoring each step and movement with a little Latino flourish. Then on to the side courses of Cha-Cha (the Latin-style swing) and it’s kissing cousin, the Mambo. A shared dessert of the sultry and fiery gyrations of Samba—a definite treat!

Sometimes I find myself in a New York state of mind—up for some movin’ and groovin’ to the 80’s and 90’s beat with the Hustle. And while we are back East we can be-bop and kick it with the East Coast Swing or swing out with the Lindy Hop. Then it might be time for a change—of coast that is—to West Coast Swing. Time to be cool, sexy and funky with some blues or pop music.

No matter the tune, the no matter the place, there’s dancing to be done!

Declan’s Dance Bio

My whole family dances. The fun really started when my father was in West Point Military Academy, in the same class as one of my maternal uncles, which is why my mother attended that dance as part of the holiday family visit – 1944. My father noticed my mother’s Irish eyes in distress as her date “had two left feet”. My father being a natural dancer, felt behooved to cut-in, and proceeded to dance my mother around the Christmas tree, out of sight from her date! The rest was history! Thus, we were raised with it in our earliest years at home as an integral part of our Irish and Spanish heritages. Our first formal dance education was in Cotillion, during grammar school. My parents wanted all twelve (yes, that’s 12) of their children to know dancing and the wonderful world of the fine and performing arts, in addition to being multi-lingual.

I started dancing with “freestyle” in my freshman year of high school, twenty-five years ago. My first dance styles, some fourteen years ago, were Country Western Two-Step, Waltz, Cha-Cha, and Swing, and traditional Irish step dancing around 1990, and then began teaching, first in California, then in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and now back in California.

In Texas, I had joined with two Irish dance troupes, a couple of Country Western dance associations, and a general, social ballroom dance group of singles along side teaching various singles and couples. Occasionally I competed in both styles at various special events, and performed exhibitions with various dance partners. After moving to Georgia, I entered the world of Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios, and a few other studios, where I pursued medallist certification in ballroom dancing and otherwise continued dancing the nights away socially anytime, anywhere I could, as well as taking on students that crossed my path and sought my counsel, in addition to being a public high school teacher. Eventually, other opportunities arose for me, which beckoned me down to South Florida for a year, where I went on staff with a couple of independent studios, successively, and continued teaching in public high schools. Then I felt it was time to return to California in order to be geographically close to my now senior and ailing parents in order to enjoy them and being close again to all my siblings after having been “away” so many years.

The highlights of my dancing career thus far have been dancing across America and around the world with various renowned instructors, the dance troupes, associations, and performing for cultural organizations and events.

My greatest dancing achievements thus far, and aside from various awards in Country Western and Irish dancing, have been a long list of opportunities extended to me to teach a wide spectrum of people, domestically and internationally, to start dancing or improve their dancing dramatically in a short time. I simply love being a teacher and a performer … “it’s in the blood”, they say. I know this to be true, for it is within me!

SHALL WE DANCE?