THE JADED, sun-baked crowd thought they had seen and heard it all at yesterday’s Carnival of Culture in Berlin.
Then the insouciant salsa beats, carrying colourful floats through the multicultural Kreuzberg district, were drowned out by the jaunty notes of a very Irish jig.
It was a subversive, surreal moment in the carnival’s 15-year history: the premiere of real, live Irish dancers — though none of the dancers was Irish.
Gliding across the tarmac, Berlin’s light-footed Tír Na nÓg company draws dancers from all over Germany, with others coming from Slovenia, Belgium and even Kazakhstan. Heading the troupe is Sandra Kuhnert, who was bitten by the bug after seeing Riverdance.
“I know that sounds phoney but it isn’t,” said the 28-year-old Berliner.
Today she offers classes four times a week, as well as weekend workshops, to a 40-plus core troupe. Her hope is to boost numbers after their performance in front of the carnival crowd of half a million people.
“I just want people in Germany to start dancing,” said Ms Kuhnert, watching her troupe closely. “The people who come just love it, they’re passionate about the dancing: it’s pure energy, it’s pure music.
With just three Feis dresses and only one curly wig in sight, the troupe’s back-to-basics black outfits prove you don’t need expensive dancing garb to wow crowds.
“It’s marvellous, full of Irish happy-go-lucky spirit,” said Günther, a 68-year-old Berliner watching from the kerb.
What the dancers lacked in Irish blood they more than made up for in Irish spirit. “I think the ladies had a beer or two to warm up,” confided Ms Kuhnert.
Dancing under the influence? Antwerp-born dancer Sara Van Boeckhout (26) declined to answer directly, adding: “It wouldn’t be doing Ireland justice if a certain level of alcohol didn’t play a role.”
She began Irish dancing during a university exchange in Berlin and has kept it up even after ending her studies here.
“When I saw the dancing years ago at the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York, I never thought I would ever do it myself,” she said. “But I just love it and I certainly feel the difference in my leg muscles.”
Barbara Lozar from Slovenia, who is doing a work placement in Berlin, said she is “addicted” to Irish dancing, in particular the slip jig. “I love the elegance and the strenuousness of it,” she said. “It’s so difficult and after training you are exhausted but I like the music and the variety between soft- and hard-shoe.”
Like others, biochemistry student Petra got her first glimpse of Irish dancing watching Riverdance. After joining the Irish dancing classes in Berlin, the 22-year-old from eastern Germany is toying with the idea of spending a year in Ireland.
“Everyone here is dancing on their own steam because they love the music and the dancing,” she said. “I just love the music, the Irish spirit. At this stage, I couldn’t imagine life without this dancing.”