Why It's Awesome Being An Adult Irish Dancer

I am proud to say that, along with being a mom, wife, and writer, I am also an adult Irish Dancer! 

One of my goals is to spread the word and hopefully inspire other adults to try Irish Dancing. I danced as a child and teenager, and I have to say that I am having so much more fun dancing as an adult. There are so many benefits to being an adult Irish Dancer. I've made friends, gained confidence, lost weight, gained muscle, improved my stamina, and it's made me a happier person! 

Here is a list of reasons why it's awesome being an adult Irish Dancer for people interested in Irish Dancing. It's not as daunting as you might think! ;)

• It's a great way to exercise! 
• Your body will feel really sore when you start. It takes a little while for your muscles and limbs to get used to it, but when they do, you feel great! You build muscles and slim down; at least, I have. Your stamina always grows and I've noticed that when jogging or walking with my kids. 
• It's a good outlet. 
• If I'm feeling stressed, worried, or just burnt out by something, I go to class and just dance it out! The music cheers me up and the support from my teachers and fellow dancers lifts me up! Creatively, it's a splendid outlet because dancing is a form of expression and passion.  
• You can make friends with other adults who love Irish Dancing as much as you do! 
• I am really enjoying the friendships growing from my class and from the adult dancer Facebook group. It's a special community and there is a lot of support for adult dancers out there. My dance class is a special time for me for many reasons, but one is that I can be social with other people, which is a big deal for a stay at home mom like me. ;) 
• You are a good role model for other people. 
• By other people, I mean kids, relatives, friends, neighbors, you name it. By pursuing a cultural and healthy activity and persevering at it, you are presenting a good example for others. I think it's important for my kids to see my doing Irish Dancing; it might inspire them to dance someday or work hard at something else they love. 
• You can compete and win things! 
• I know I just recently wrote a post about how annoying it is to compete as an adult in Feiseanna (Irish Dancing competitions), but at a good Feis where there are lots of adults competing, it's so fun! I really treasure the medals I won at my first Feis as an adult. As an adult and a stay at home mom, competing is an accomplishment and it feels good when I've earned it. 
• You can work your way up to become a TCRG and teach. 
• This is one of my goals. I want to become a TCRG and teach Irish Dancing to adults or kids. I just love Irish Dancing so much that it would be great to work with others and teach. Fingers crossed that I do well on my first two Grade Exams this upcoming weekend! 
• You call the shots. 
• Growing up, I felt bad that my dad had to shell out so much money for my sister and I to dance and compete. Irish Dancing costs money, and as an adult, it's more up to us how we pay for it. I try to make a little by selling on eBay and Instagram, and that has helped pay for my classes and Feiseanna. Also, as adults, we are responsible for pushing ourselves and making ourselves practice. It's up to us how far we push ourselves. We are in control of a lot more things, such as time, food, and money, even if we are busy leading adult lives. :) 
• You are special. 
• Yep, pretty darn special. There aren't too many adult Irish Dancers out there and I think we are a passionate, hard-working, fun-loving bunch. It's an amazing world to be part of and when I hear the music, my heart lifts and I feel so happy. 

Let me know if I've missed anything and I hope I've inspired a few of you to try Irish Dancing! Any questions? Let me know! You can find me on Twitter too here: @OpheliaLeong.