There is more to St. Patrick’s Day than corned beef and cabbage, shamrocks and pinching those not wearing green.

Students at Howard, Eastern and Tri-Central elementary schools learned about Irish culture Wednesday, with performances by dancers from the Central Indiana Irish Dancers of the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance. The group included dancers from Howard and Tipton counties, who take classes at the school in Tipton.

The girls wore brightly colored dresses, many patterned in green, gold and orange, with white knee socks and black shoes. Narrator Patrick Curtain said the less-experienced dancers wear what is called “school dress,” which is a dress designed by school leaders, like a uniform. The Celtic design on the black dresses is taken from the Book of Kells, and includes an RT in the patterning for the school’s name.

More experienced dancers are allowed to design their own performance and competition dress, with colors and designs of their choice.

“It is a unique design, one of a kind,” he said.

Many girls also wear wigs of long ringlet curls. Carl Horoho, whose daughter, McKinzie, is one of the more advanced dancers, said it is unknown how that tradition began.

McKinzie Horoho, a freshman at Eastern High School, said she knew she wanted a black lace top and white and green patterning on her dress, but she left the design up to her seamstress when having her costume made.

The boys have it easier — wearing black pants, a black shirt and a vest in a color of their own choosing.

The group began with soft-shoe dancing, with the younger performers in school dress doing a two-hand jig. Curtain said the dance includes the basic steps beginners learn before moving on to more advanced dances.

A more advanced group performed a dance called “Treasures of Ireland,” and the elementary children gasped as the dancers formed a difficult formation, one group forming a line, the others making a circle to intersect the line, and then going around through the line.

Curtain said many of the dances are changed slightly by instructors, but some dances, called “traditional set,” must be taught the same way at every school. That includes one called the St. Patrick Day dance, performed by a group of girls in school dress, with hard shoes.

Curtain said legend has it the hard-shoe dancing came from Irish soldiers tapping out messages with their feet. The dancers’ feet flew, keeping the beat of the music.

Mary Fernung of Tipton, mother of two of the dancers, said though her father was Irish, she never had an opportunity to learn the traditional dances because there wasn’t anyplace teaching it when she was a girl. When she heard about the local school, she first took daughter Hannah, who has been dancing for seven years. Her daughter Brigid has been dancing three years. Both are home schooled.

Fernung likes having her daughters learn because “it’s part of our tradition and heritage.”

She said in addition to learning about Ireland and Irish traditions, the dancing is good exercise and teaches skills.

Carl Horoho said his family became involved in Irish dancing after seeing the Hunt Family Fiddlers perform in Virginia Beach, Va.

“We watched, and we were mesmerized,” he said. “That’s how we really got hooked.”

He added that his family is Irish, so McKinzie is learning about their heritage.

Carl Horoho said local dancers are lucky to have a school nearby, and the instructor, Elizabeth Donohue Jones, is a five-time qualifier for the world championships.

“We are the best-kept secret around,” he said.

In addition to performing for the three Kokomo-area schools, the dancers were going to be at Our Lady of Grace School in Noblesville and then at Moe’s Irish Pub in Hamilton Town Place. Carl Horoho said it would be a whirlwind day of activities for the dancers.

“St. Patrick’s Day is like Christmas for Irish dancers.”

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.