By the time March 17 rolls around each year, Firedance Academy director Alanna Callaghan is geared up for the local school’s busiest day.
For several years before starting the academy—which hosts Irish dance courses and holds showcases throughout the county—in 2019, Callaghan already struggled with setting aside any spare time around St. Patrick’s Day.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve been free to actually enjoy St. Patrick’s Day my entire life,” the award-winning dancer and instructor estimated. “From 4 years old to 31, it’s my biggest work day.”
Enrolled in Irish dance classes since early childhood, Callaghan was 16 when she discovered her calling and started teaching courses herself. As a kid, she’d spend each St. Patrick’s Day dancing in at least one holiday-themed performance. Her eventual transition to dance instructor barely altered this yearly tradition.
“We don’t really relax or put our feet up or anything until after the holiday,” Callaghan said. “It’s the week after that we take some time off.”
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this year, Firedance Academy’s Santa Ynez youth chapter will perform some Irish dance pieces at the Buellton Wine and Chili Festival. This marks the school’s first appearance at the annual festival, slated for Sunday, March 17, at the Flying Flags RV Resort and Campground.
Firedance Academy is among the live entertainment at the festival, where attendees will sample entries from dozens of participating wineries, breweries, and chili and salsa chefs.
While Callaghan founded her school in Santa Barbara in 2019, she started its Santa Ynez chapter during the summer of 2023 at the Maverick Saloon, where she teaches weekly Irish dance classes for adults and children. The Buellton Wine and Chili Festival will feature a group of dancers between the ages of 4 and 14 enrolled in lessons at the Maverick.
“These kids have been dancing less than a year,” Callaghan said of the young group set to perform a 45-minute recital at the fest. “They learn pretty fast, they like to practice a lot, and they’re really inspired by Irish dancing.”
Callaghan coordinated two specific choreography showcases for this St. Patrick’s Day-themed occasion, she explained.
“One they’ll do in soft shoes, which are kind of like ballet type shoes,” Callaghan said, “and the other they’ll do in hard shoes—kind of like tap shoes.”
Before finalizing the Maverick Saloon as her Santa Ynez Valley-based venue for Irish dance classes, Callaghan briefly dabbled in an outdoor alternative.
“I did start my classes just teaching on an open basketball court out in Buellton,” the instructor said. “But it got pretty hot during the summer.”
While Callaghan is a prolific competitive dancer in the realm of Irish dance and accumulated several regional and international accolades over the years, including a 2016 world champion title, she clarified that Fireside Academy is a noncompetitive school.
“I decided to open a noncompetitive school, so my kids are not versed in competition. We don’t do the crazy wigs, fake tanner, and costumes,” Callaghan said. “We’re mostly performance-based and about spreading the joy of Irish culture through music and dance.”
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