Kick Up Your Heels at Clarkson School of Irish Dance

There’s an ordinary-looking strip mall off Manchester Road—the Boardwalk Plaza--that’s a virtual melting pot of international culture. Here you can pick up Halal-certified lamb chops from the , shop for a tunic at and get some new wheels for your totally American skateboard at You can also learn to dance at the .

Mary Clarkson is the director and head instructor of the school and has been dancing all her life. Starting at the age of 5 she learned various forms of dance, from tap to ballet and jazz. But her favorite form of dance is Irish, sometimes called “step dancing.”

During the day, Clarkson is a first-grade teacher at St. James the Greater School in Dogtown. Her dance studio operates in the evenings and on weekends, and she teaches children as young as 4 how to kick up their heels. Irish dance has been around since ancient times, but was made popular in America by the show Riverdance in the ‘90s. The style evolves quick foot work while keeping the upper body stationary.

Clarkson said she got the idea to teach Irish dance when a principal encouraged her to teach her elementary class a few steps before St. Patrick’s Day, just for fun.

“I really enjoyed it and decided to take a leap and open the Clarkson School of Irish Dance,” she said.

Once she decided to teach Irish dance professionally, Clarkson earned her Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rincí Gaelacha, (Gaelic for Commission Certified Irish Dance Teacher) and is the official certification from the Irish Dance commission in Dublin. She was the first St. Louisian to gain full accreditation and licensing.

Her dance school started in 1989 with 30 students. The current studio at 14353 Manchester Road opened in 2005 and now has 175 students, both boys and girls, from beginners to world champions. Clarkson also holds after school classes at St. James and Campbell Montessori School, and runs a summer dance camp through the Rockwood School District.

The Clarkson studio has 2,100 square feet of danceable space with two mirrored walls for students to observe their progress. The floor was custom-built with young dancers in mind: The subfloor is padded to absorb shock and prevent repetitive motion injuries and is topped with a professional non-slip dance surface.

Like other forms of dance, there are costs beyond lesson fees, which are $35 for a month’s worth of classes at Clarkson. Irish dancers perform in a strict style of costume, wear special dance shoes, and some even wear wigs to get a fashionable curly look--and avoid the hassle of growing out and curling their own locks. Clarkson makes it more affordable for parents by renting out the school costume, a blue dress with intricate embroidery work, worth $500. Students pay $100-$150 to rent the costume, which is refunded when the dancer retires and returns the outfit. The school costume is used when the students perform in teams.

The school also owns some special costumes, such as those used for a Riverdance routine, which are loaned out to students for no cost. Dancers can buy their own costumes for solo performances when they are ready to compete as individuals.

“The unique thing about Irish dance costumes is you can wear them all year-round for shows. This is unlike ballet, tap or jazz , where the costume typically is worn in one recital,” said Clarkson.

Clarkson’s students have been busy this spring and will perform at many events and competitions through Easter. In April, Clarkson will take 25 of her students to the World Irish Dancing Championships in Dublin. The sixteen-member Under 12 Choreography Team won the Mid American Regional Championships last November, which qualified the team for the Dublin championship. Seventeen dancers also qualified as solo dancers.

“We are the first school of dance in the state of Missouri to take a team to Worlds,” she said. 

On the Horizon:

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