Members of Rince: Fredonia Irish Dance include (front row, from left): Sarah Warren, Makayla Mohrman, Molly Radigan, Alyssa Marley, Allyson Mohrman, and (back row): Eliora Emmott, Sydney McClelland, Jackson Kelly, Rayne Mescallado, and current Jamestown Community College student Quincy Goyer. Missing from the photo is Maddie DeJoy (photo by Katherine Hanley).
In all of SUNY, you’ll find just one Irish dance club registered with the Collegiate Irish Dance Association. It’s at SUNY Fredonia.
Achieving that recognition is Rince: Fredonia Irish Dance Club. The group has grown large enough to be able to compete in national dance events and thus become registered with the association, explained Vice President Makayla Mohrman. The group recently received official notification.
The University of Rochester is among three other schools in New York state in the association’s Mid-Atlantic region with registered college Irish dance teams. Overall, only nine schools – among them Penn State, Rutgers University and Temple University – are in the three-state division.
The association helps draw incoming freshmen/transfer students to our school based on whether or not the school has an Irish dance club.” – Makayla Mohrman
Many competitive Irish dancers view the association’s website when choosing which college to attend, noted Ms. Mohrman, a junior with minors in Sociology and Psychology, from Webster, NY. “The association helps draw incoming freshmen/transfer students to our school based on whether or not the school has an Irish dance club,” she said.
“Come learn some Irish dance with the Rince Irish Dance club,” Mohrman said. No experience is necessary. “We'd love to see as many new faces as possible!”
Rince holds weekly practices on Tuesdays, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Rockefeller Arts Center Studio Dance Studio 3
Rince members reflect a “pretty wide variety” of majors, according to Mohrman. They include Music Education, Childhood Inclusive Education, Social Work, Visual Arts and New Media: Graphic Design, Music Industry, English Adolescence Education, Music Performance, Psychology and Music Therapy. There’s not a Dance major among them.
Other club officers include: Allyson Mohrman, president, a junior Childhood Inclusive Education major, with a concentration in English Literacy from Webster; Jackson Kelly, secretary, a senior Music Education major, with a concentration in Voice from Amherst, NY; Alyssa Marley, treasurer, a senior Music Therapy major, with a concentration in Woodwind from Seneca Falls, NY; and Molly Radigan, events coordinator, majoring in Music Education, with concentration in Instrumental, from Carmel, NY.
Rince, whose roots go back 10 years, performs regularly at Culture Fest, Homecoming and Activities Night, and has also danced in local pubs and at some nursing homes around St. Patrick’s Day.
“We perform at whatever event we get asked to perform in, and host our own events on campus as well,” Makayla Mohrman said.
Rince would like to hold events and fundraisers to support its participation in the National Collegiate Irish Dance Championships in Dayton, OH, in 2025.
Collegiate Irish Dance, whose motto is “Dance Another Day,” promotes the continuation of Irish Dance throughout college for dancers who enter college with experience and encourages the beginning of an Irish dance journey for those who are new to the activity.
More information about Rince and upcoming performances is available through email at mohr7109@fredonia.edu or mohr7126@fredonia.edu.
