AURELIUS - While St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, the Irish spirit was alive and well Sunday afternoon at Fingerlakes Mall.

Dancers and musicians took to the foodcourt for the first Irish Fest.

“We wanted to give the girls a chance to show what they could do,” said Louann Griffith, event coordinator for the New York Institute of Fine Arts. “They really dance for enjoyment, so we wanted to do something to give them a chance to show what they could do and we wanted to get other artists from the area involved as well.”

The New York Institute dancers were joined by dancers from the Branagan School of Dance as well as flautist Jennifer Sofranko, Bride's Way DJ & Entertainment and the band Tathu, performing traditional Irish tunes.

“We got a really great response,” Griffith said. “We got a lot of support from other local performers and we contacted the mall about doing something here and they have been great to work with and it all really came together nicely.”

Dancers from both schools had to get their routines together quickly once everything was arranged.

“They had about three weeks,” said Shannon Maggio, of the New York Institute of Fine Arts. “But they've had a lot of practice with other performances to get ready for this. I think they are a little nervous, but I think they are having fun.”

While there may have been a few pre-stage jitters, the girls were enthusiastic once they hit the dance floor.

“I love it,” Hannah Dropa, 19, said. “I like to get out in front of people and perform like this; it is a lot of fun.”

The performers ranged from beginners to seasoned vets with girls ranging in ages from 7 to 20.

“I saw this and I thought it was really cool,” Stephanie Tucker, 14, said. “I took ballet for about a year when I was little, but when I saw this I thought it was really cool and I knew that was what I wanted to do.”

Others like Elizabeth Sadlus, 9, have years of tap and ballet to their credit, but Irish dancing can be even more demanding.

“I just started this,” Sadlus said. “So this is my first performance, but I've danced for five years. But this is a little different than other kinds of dancing, but it is a lot of fun.”

According to the girls, Irish dance requires a lot of concentration and good timing.

“You don”t move your upper body much,“ Dropa said. ”It is a lot of feet movement and you keep your upper body still and you have to pay a lot of attention to your timing and the beat.“

Generally the girls perform at school functions, nursing homes and local coffee shops, but Griffith wanted to get the girls out on a slightly larger stage.

“We wanted to do something that the public could stop and see,” Griffith said. “This is a little bigger performance and there are a lot of people stopping and walking by and watching what we are doing and I think that makes it a lot of fun for the girls.”

But more than anything, the festival was a chance to share and enjoy a little fine Irish art with the community.

“We have had a nice crowd of people,” Griffith said. “We just wanted to share some music and dance and what we do with the community, that was one of the main ideas of this festival and I think it has gone really well.”