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Irish hand dance video reaches two million YouTube hits - SEE VIDEO

Creating a Riverdance for the hand dancing set

By
PATRICK O'SHEA,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, September 27, 2010, 8:25 AM
Updated Monday, September 27, 2010, 8:43 AM

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‘Up and Over It” the hand dancing video composed by Irish dancers Peter Harding and Suzanne Cleary has now had close to  2 million hits on You Tube.

Harding and Cleary have toured with  Riverdance but have never enjoyed the exposure they are getting now through their hand dancing.
Irish dancers learn their dance steps  with their hands, usually beating on their laps or chests, Harding told the Wall Street journal , “just so your head can kind of get around it.”

They sent five days working with film director Johnny Reed and they rehearsed another five days and then set the hand dancing to electro beat song  “We No Speak Americano,” Then it took two hours to film.

Your hands “get really sore,” Harding  admitted. “Actually to create beats like that on a wooden table, it gets really, really sore. I mean, sometimes you get splinters and swollen knuckles.”

They also used sign language messages, “for choreographic reasons.”

“There are messages there, but if anyone can decipher them, then they’re more than welcome,” he added.

“Hand dancing was kind of one alternative to that (traditional scene), and we knew that it would capture imaginations and, you know, make people think differently about Irish dance.”

The duo  say they are reinventing Irish dance, dancing to electro pop music, wearing more fashionable clothes They have really started to connect and just performed at London Fashion Week. They will  tour in the near future.

Their video is on upandoverit.com.

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7 Comments

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gaeilgesdamhsa | Sep 30, 2010, 04:46 PM EDT
LOVE IT!

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Aliciarose | Sep 28, 2010, 12:56 AM EDT
Clever. Hope they don't get arthritis in their fingers.

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LiamDavid | Sep 27, 2010, 09:59 PM EDT
These two young people are excellent performers and artist! They are both professional and talented, and as it was said earlier here, please don’t start comparing this piece or the method of what they are doing to any other performers. This was grand! Very, very brilliant! Slan

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judygaffey | Sep 27, 2010, 04:20 PM EDT
I love it!!!! Can't wait to pass this on!!!!

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Sweeneyastray | Sep 27, 2010, 02:56 PM EDT
Very enjoyable and fun!

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dessieglynn | Sep 27, 2010, 02:51 PM EDT
Why do we always have some assh*** who has somathing better.? Why not view this on its own merits. You like it or you don't. but don't compare it with something entirely different. It just does not make sense.

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carlotta | Sep 27, 2010, 10:03 AM EDT
Very creative! But, have you ever seen synchronized swimmers "land drill?" (Let's not have any remarks about whether this is a sport--try it and then tell me whether you can hold your breath for two minutes or more, stay vertical and straight under the water maintaining height at your knees or upper thighs while spinning and coordinate this with other members of the team?) Anyway, the Riverdance land routine can be tougher on your hands than land drill for a synchronized swimming routine.

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