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SEATTLE, Wash. -- A group of sisters will be dancing
their way across country and onto the stage at the Marshall County Blueberry Festival Sunday.
Greta, Willow
and Solana Gothard have taken their love of Irish step dancing and the violin and turned it into a high energy musical act
that has been touring the country for several years. Greta, 22, the oldest sister, says the girls' love affair with
music and dance began early.
"I was about four and a half and my moth had decided to homeschool us," said
Greta on the phone from Washington. "She wanted me to do something outside the house to meet people and be able to work
on things other than school work and I decided on the violin. Then my siisters decided to copy me."
Once Willow and Solana had joined their sister musically, they all had a chance to see the film, "Riverdance," which also
had a great impact on their future.
"We all decided that was something that we wanted to do," said
Greta. "We worked hard at it and then we decided one day to add the violin to our folk dance and that became our show."
That show is a demanding blend of dancend fiddle playing, much of it at the same time, that has pleased audiences for many
years.
The high energy act is demanding on the sisters as well.
"I would really contend that [Irish]
step-dancing is every bit as demanding as any sport," said Greta. "We've competed in all sorts of Irish dance competitions
and it's very difficult to keep up with it. Add the fiddle playing and it takes some real coordination."
Luckily the personal coordination of traveling together is not as difficult. Greta says the trio gets aong well, which
came in handy on a nearly 44-hour train trip from Seattle to Chicago on a tour through the Midwest this July.
"Luckily we all get along really well," said Greta. "We're able to play a lot of cards and talk about and work on things
for the show--and that's a big help."
The road itself has been an education for the girls as well. "We
work on the fair circuit, so a lot of the people we perform with during the year are not musicians, they're hypnotists or
magicians...that kind of act," said Greta. "Most of them started out as street performers so they really know how to
draw a crowd, even if there isn't one there. I think sometimes musicians take the crowd for granted because they always
seem to be there. It's been a very interesting experience to learn from the other performers how to appreciate your
audience."
The girls will have three opportunities Sunday to appreciate the Blueberry Festival with shows
at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Stage and 3 p.m. on the Michigan Street stage.
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