Step in Time

by

Kathleen & Dom Lavin

Irish Dancer has just had the privilege of listening to a copy of this brand new Step Dancing CD and couldn't wait to let all our dancing friends know what we thought!

WIN A COPY HERE!

Kathleen & Dom have been playing at Feisanna for many years in the USA and it shows! Kathleen is a teacher (TCRG) herself, with a daughter who dances, so really knows what the dancers need from their music. A nice touch is the photograph of her daughter and niece on the CD cover. This really is a family steeped in Irish Music & Dance!

For anyone who has been to a feis, whether as a dancer or a spectator, this CD will bring the memories flooding back as soon as the first Reel starts to play. The tracks are made up from all of the Reels, Jigs and Hornpipes that you will actually be dancing to at the feisanna, making this CD perfect to practice at home to!

The CD has a kind of feel good quality, giving you the impression that Kathleen & Dom really are enjoying playing! It's lively and energetic and their sound has a purity that is often lacking in Accordion based music. Kathleen's Accordion playing is some of the finest I've heard. All of the notes are clearly played, and seem to just flow from her instrument.

Kathleen & Dom play their music in a simple style, switching smoothly from one tune in the set to the next, and always in perfect time. The first set of Reels runs out at exactly Seven minutes, and with long tracks throughout it is ideal for use in Dance classes too. This music isn't really for just listening to, but for dancing it's perfect! (That isn't to say you can't listen to it of course!)

There are some new tunes thrown in for good measure, including two tribute pieces, one to a former Accordion teacher, and one to a former Dance teacher Jim Erwin!
(Jim Erwin's Hornpipe is a catchy little drum driven tune.)
I also particularly liked the version of Eamonn McGivney's that starts off the Hornpipes, with Dom's keyboard playing really giving it a cheery rhythm.

The Traditional Jigs and Traditional Hornpipe tracks both seem a little fast but that is perhaps due more to a difference between music in the US and the UK.
(I have noticed this with other CD's in the past)

There are also three set dances on the CD and my only criticism there is that they have chosen one of the slower speeds for Planxty Drury. There's nothing wrong with that really, except my daughter dances at the next speed!

Highly Recommended!

For more info visit their website here