Highland Dancers deliver on St. Patrick's Day

COEUR d’ALENE — The beer was flowing at Paddy’s Sports Bar on St. Patrick’s Day, as was the conversation and laughter.

“You got started without me,” a man said as he joined friends at a table around noon.

The corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie and Reuben sandwiches were being served up hot and fast to a festive crowd, with many wearing green. Green hats. Green shirts. Green scarves. Green glasses. And then there were the green balloons.

A party was brewing early in Coeur d'Alene to celebrate the Irish culture.

Then, the sound of bagpipes filled the room. Dancers in colorful dresses stepped forth. As they twirled and hopped and skipped and kicked, customers of Paddy’s turned their attention to these young lasses and one young laddie.

They danced by the pool tables, the bar and the dining area. They danced in groups and individually, sometimes between customers and waitresses milling around them.

“They’re so good,” said Martin Roosevelt, who said he came to Coeur d’Alene for the day because he heard it was a good place to celebrate on March 17. “Yeah, I’m having a great time already.”

The dancers, ages 6-15, belong to Lake City Highland Dance, based at the Silver Lake Mall. It is a nonprofit Scottish Highland dance studio that teaches traditional Highland dancing to boys and girls of all ages and abilities, both competitively and recreationally.

Kasey Hawkins, owner and instructor, said Highland dance is a tribute to and celebration of the Scottish spirit. It’s a form of dance that’s been around more than 600 years and passed down through the generations “to preserve the rich heritage of the Scottish people.”

She said the group performed Saturday at the mall for the first time publicly in about a year due to the coronavirus. This was their second outing.

“I’m so glad Idaho is letting us perform,” she said shortly before Wednesday’s 12:30 p.m. performance.

Hawkins said her dancers practiced hard to prepare for the show at Paddy’s, and they delivered.

“I’m super impressed,” she told them outside afterward. “You guys did awesome.”

According to the Lake City Highland Dance website, Highland dance requires technique, stamina, and grace.

“Each dance is an amazing combination of strength, agility, movement, music, and costume," it read. "Dancers typically dance to traditional Scottish music such as Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes and Jigs all played by an accompanying bagpiper.”

That bagpiper on St. Patrick’s Day at Paddy’s was Kristin Stafford, of Rathdrum.

“They were fantastic,” she said of the dancers. “They make me look good.”

Her son, Taelor Stafford, delighted the crowd with his elegant, energetic moves. He’s been dancing for about 10 years so he doesn’t get nervous. The teenager was the only male dancer.

“Felt a little tall,” he said, smiling.

Sara Harrel, 9, of Rathdrum, was beaming as she and her friends walked in a line and followed Kristin Stafford out of Paddy’s to applause and cheers.

“My favorite thing to do,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard trying to get really good for this show. It’s exciting to go out there and dance.”

Her mom, Gabrielle Harrel, said the group includes some of the finest dancers in the country.

“There’s some amazing talent here,” she said.

She said Highland dance has helped build her daughter’s confidence and athletic skills, and she had made friendships through it, too.

“What more do you want of your kid?” she asked.

Best of all, she loved watching her daughter dance on St. Patrick's Day.

“I’m so proud of her and all the work she’s put into it, the time and effort,” Gabrielle Harrel added. “It’s a lot of fun. It makes her happy. I like that.”