4-year-old dancer wows the crowd with traditional Irish dance
Some videos are just too cute to stop watching.
Maybe that’s why a decade-old YouTube performance by a 4-year old girl is making the rounds again. Her adorable Irish dance has now been viewed over 2.3 MILLION times!
“How are they so coordinated at that age? Mind blown,” remarked one of those viewers.
The “McCutie Tiny Irish Dancer” referred to in the title of the video is Lucy, who is by now a teen.
And her captivating performance took place on St. Patrick’s Day back in 2010. It appears to be happening somewhere in the U.S. since there’s an American flag in the background. But this style of dancing has taken the whole world by storm over the last few decades.
Since the popularization of Riverdance in 1994, the world has fallen in love with Irish dance.
And we have Michael Flatley and his fancy footwork to thank for that!
Nowadays, you can find Irish dance classes for kids and adults all around the U.S., and children can start very young – that’s why it’s no surprise to see a 4-year-old performing (kids start dancing young no matter what the style).
As the video begins, Lucy is introduced by her teacher who tells the assembled crowd that the little girl is already an award-winning performer with two trophies and six competition medals under her belt.
Pretty impressive for 4 years old!
“We might have a future world champion here on our hands,” her teacher says before Lucy sets off.
She starts with a series of reel steps.
Dances performed individually are known as Irish stepdance. They’re characterized by an immobile upper body and almost no arm movement but swift and sweeping leg and foot maneuvers.
Lucy’s footwork begins about 45 seconds into the video and she demonstrates all sorts of maneuvers, including the high-kicks and pointed-foot-tapping that characterize the stepdance.
Her effortless movement across the floor has the audience cheering her on, but she looks dead serious throughout the whole performance.
As the adults in attendance clap along, she delivers a stellar show, moving back and forth in all directions and even doing some fancy diagonally-challenging footwork.
While the footwork might look repetitive, the key is to watch for the intricate formations in which the dancers move around the floor.
Lucy makes it all look easy, but we know it isn’t!
“Crazy good coordination for a 4 year old! I was probably tripping over my own feet at 4. TBH, I’m still tripping over my own feet as an adult….” said a commenter.
The whole performance is just about a minute long but we’d certainly be out of breath after all that jumping and kicking. This is an athletic activity!
Lucy has grace and poise and while it’s unclear if she’s still dancing there’s no doubt that dancing at such a young age gave her a great set of skills for the rest of her life.
Her laser focus and little red glasses only add to the adorable nature of her performance.
As she finishes up the short dance and takes her bow, a few people give her a standing ovation.
Lucy probably had no idea so many people would see her dance as she walked off the floor that day.
Be sure to scroll down below to see her festive holiday dance.
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