Jane Shortall: ‘If I feel like dancing in an outfit, I know I have chosen well'

Irish Times

04-05-2025

The energy and dynamism of dancer Jane Shortall is palpable the minute you meet her. Restless, bright eyed and usually dressed in camouflage sweatpants or bright leggings and bra tops, she radiates good health. When we meet in a
Dublin
cafe she is evangelical about dance and its benefits.
'I'm good at motivating people and helping women get their mojo back through dance,' she says. 'When we dance, listen to music, squeeze in playtime and have more fun, we are more inclined to dress up and feel better mentally and physically.'
Shortall is a motivation coach on film and TV, and her recent work was on the second series of
Netflix's
Wednesday
, from director
Tim Burton
, filmed in Ireland last summer with Joanna Lumley,
Jenna Ortega
and
Catherine Zeta Jones
. 'I had to help the actors, referred to as 'outcasts', move like monsters and creatures,' she says with a giggle, brandishing her arms wildly and making faces.
Today we are discussing the kind of clothes she likes to wear when dressing up to go out, as distinct from what she wears at dance classes. When teaching, 'I love big and baggy, sloppy, oversized tees and baggy bottoms. I like scruffy,' she says, laughing. When going out, 'I dress in what makes me look good and feel confident, and if I feel like dancing in an outfit, I know I have chosen well.'
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Her target audience for her ConfiDance classes are women 'who want to have fun, want to dance. I make the classes fun and easy to follow, so people are energised by the music and the whole social experience. We start with a warm-up, always to music, and they learn a routine'. Her classes have attracted many who make the journey to the
Stillorgan
venue from around the country.
Shortall started dancing at 19 after leaving school in Mount Anville in Dublin and moving to the US. 'I wanted to be in the movies. There was no such thing as drama or the arts as a career choice then and I didn't want to follow the norm. I was noisy and showy-off at school.' It was in the Bronx in New York that she first encountered breakdancing, hip-hop, free-spirited street dancing 'that comes from the heart', and was immediately captivated. She points out how it later became a phenomenon embraced by singers like Michael Jackson and Beyoncé.
Back in Ireland in the mid-1990s, she started teaching this style of dance in Digges Lane in Dublin. Then, with a J1 visa, she moved back to live in New York for three years, attending classes in the city to further her interest and expertise, teaching herself. Contacts made there at that time included leading stylists for singers and music artists. Her big break was with Canadian country pop singer
Shania Twain
, helping her with stage presence and a music video involving Irish dancing.
When she returned to Dublin, Shortall's career developed quickly. Her events and workshops were sponsored by VHI for three years from 2005 to 2008. 'Trained dancers came to me to be inspired – all this before YouTube and I was jam-packed,' she says.
'There is a whole style that goes with any kind of dance – if you feel you look the part, you act the part so how you present yourself will enhance your performance. How you look, how you walk, how you dress, how you present yourself to the world is how you communicate.'
Vintage dress, €38, from Om Diva: 'I want to dance the tango in this'
Black fringed short dress, €80, Siopella
Dress by Tim Ryan: 'I have worn this to weddings and parties over the years with flats or heels'
Jersey denim jeans, €80, Lennon Courtney, Kilkenny Design Centre. Vintage gold top, €45, A Store Is Born
Simone Rocha layered skirt €780, and bow-tail easy T-shirt, €235
The outfits she has chosen to wear in these pictures to express her own style are the clothes that make her feel confident when dressing up to go out. They include everything from a
Simone Rocha
pink tutu from Havana to an inexpensive tulle skirt from Dance World, with a thrift shop buy and vintage slip dress (to do the tango) among the other looks. 'Like a lot of women now, I buy less, mostly from vintage and online as well as wearing favourite dresses bought way back.'
In her opinion, 95 per cent of what makes a grown woman stylish 'is not just clean-cut, classic clothes, good grooming and proper reading glasses, but the way she wears the clothes, her posture and how she holds herself when dressed up.' Dance, of course, improves posture and helps with flexibility, conditioning and mobility, as well as being a good mood-booster. In that sense, Shortall is her own best advertisement.
Spring ConfiDANCE classes start on Friday, May 9th, in Glenalbyn in Stillorgan, Co Dublin for six weeks, 10am-11.30am, €25. The Sisterly Summer Solstice Dance Party is on Saturday, June 21st, 1.30pm-3.30pm at Dublin Studios, Montague Lane, Dublin 2. For information and bookings see
janeshortall.com
.
Photographs: Barry McCall, Anastasia Redko; creative director Maeve Staunton; make-up Tara McHugh