Anyone who practices Irish dancing knows that it’s about much more than just doing the right steps or having the right shoes. As a percussive dance form, you also need the right surface to practice Irish dancing. This is easy when you’re in the dance studio, but what about when you need to rehearse at home?
Practicing your Irish dance skills on the carpet is impractical. Rugs don’t give you the right sound or support, and the concrete outside is too hard and outright dangerous to practice on for any significant amount of time. That’s why many dancers have turned to portable Irish dance floors as a way to sharpen their skills anywhere.
What Are Portable Irish Dance Floors?
When you hear “portable dance floor,” you might get flashbacks of those old dance mats with colored arrows from the 2000s, but that’s not what these are. Today, portable dance floors are designed to closely resemble and function like the floors at your dance studio.
Of course, each dance style requires a different type of flooring. For Irish dancing, you will want to look for a sprung portable dance floor made from a panel of strong wood.
Benefits of Sprung Mobile Irish Dance Floors
A sprung floor is a floor with some kind of cushioning underneath it, usually in the form of foam pads. These foam cushions give the floor a little more bounce and improve its shock absorbency. They also offer a few unique advantages over other portable dance floors and permanent dance floor installation in your home.
Joint and Injury Protection
Non-sprung floors leave your joints unprotected against landing forces, so your body feels every pound of pressure on each impact.
Sprung floors are the absolute best choice for Irish dancers because the added buffering on the bottom of the board absorbs most of the shock and helps protect against injuries, such as sprained ankles, tendonitis, myofascitis, pulled muscles, and back injuries.
Convenience
Portable Irish dance floors are extremely versatile and can be taken with you on the go so that you can practice your moves anywhere. This is great for people who travel a lot or like to practice outside. With portable dance floors, you are no longer limited to the confines of the dance studio or even your home.
Space Saving
Mobile Irish dance floors allow you to transform any room of your house, office, or dorm into a private dance studio in seconds. When you’re done practicing for the day, many models fold in half and become even more compact, affording you more convenience and saving yet more space.
The foldability of these portable dance floors also makes stowing and storing a breeze. The folded dance floor can easily slide under your bed or behind a bookshelf, and then your room goes back to serving its regular purpose.
Fatigue Prevention
Since the shock-absorbing foam takes a lot of pressure off of your feet, you actually fatigue at a slower rate on sprung dance panels. So you can practice longer and get more out of each dance session.
What to Look For in Portable Irish Dance Floors
Even if you’ve been dancing for years, you may not know what goes into making and selecting the best portable dance floor. Of course, you’ll want to find a floor that is the correct size for your needs. However, there are a few other things you should keep an eye out for, as well.
Material Durability
Durability is extremely important when choosing a portable Irish dance floor. Wood strength and type make the difference between a reliable dance floor you use for years and a lesser quality floor you have to throw out after it cracked in the first few months. Maple and birch are solid, sturdy options for portable Irish dance floors, although maple tends to be more expensive.
High-Quality Foam
When searching for a portable Irish dance floor at home, you’ll want to find one that utilizes high-quality foam. Ideally, the foam should be high density but not rock solid. You want something with a bit of elasticity or “give” to absorb impacts. Definitely not slices of pool noodles. You also want to be sure your top surface has a non-slip grip to avoid injuries and slipping.
Good Sound Quality
A big part of Irish dancing is all of the different satisfying melodic sounds created by kicks and steps, so you’ll want a dance floor that sounds good. Floors designed for ballet tend to be noise dampening, but mobile Irish dance floors will give you the loud, rich, and crisp sound you are looking for.
It’s also a good idea to ask questions and read labels before you purchase your portable Irish dance floor at home. Is there a warranty? Does it come with a traveling case? Does it have a carrying strap? All of these are good questions to ask when selecting which portable Irish dance floor is right for you.
If you are ready to invest in a high-quality and reliable portable Irish dance floor, look no further than O’Mara Sprung Floors. Stop by, call, or visit our website to check out the selection.
