About Traditional Irish Dancing
Like a lot of Irelands history there is little recorded information on the origins of Irish dancing. We do know however, it has developed into a popular dance around the world and has taken on many different forms.
When the Gaels arrived in Ireland they brought a new culture along with their own customs, which would have included some form of dancing. It is believed the Celts used dancing as part of religious rituals but how much of that is actually true is unknown.
We do know that the Celts did have a major influenced over today’s Irish dancing with their Celtic designs. Irish dancing dresses are beautifully designed with Celtic design that date back since the arrival of the Celts.
In Irish history we know that Christianity arrived in Ireland after the Celts which, like the Gaels, changed the local Irish culture and customs. As Christians converted the druids of Ireland into Christianity the earlier form of Irish dancing would have changed too although keep in mind we are talking about a period that spans over hundreds of years so the way people danced in Ireland was not changed over night.
During the 18th Century in Ireland the known Dance Master appeared. These were teachers of Irish dance that would travel around the country teaching the locals the art of dancing. They were seen as important figures as the helped the spread of Irish culture throughout the island. Even today, your Irish teacher should be given the utter most respect as they are teaching an ancient form of dance that is helping to keep the Irish culture alive as we know it.
In 19th Century Ireland the Great Potato famine occurred with many lives lost due to starvation. Those who could afford it left Ireland in search for better life.
After the famine and the leaving of Irish people population numbers in Ireland dramatically declined as did our culture, customs and traditions. A number of Irish people feared the worst for our culture so the Gaelic League was formed in the late 19th Century. The goal of the Gaelic League was to promote the Irish culture and customs which included the art of Irish dancing.
The Irish Dancing Commission was formed in 1929 that setup the regulation of teachers, rules of dance and how competitions should be judged.
Irish Dancing Video
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The different types of Irish dancing
Dances that are performed by a single dancer are known as solo dances. There are two main types. First we have the ‘sean-nos’ style, which came from Connemara, in County Galway. In Irish, ‘Sean-nos’, literally means ‘old style’. When the Irish migrated during the Irish Diaspora they took this form of dancing with them to America. The American style of dancing differs from the more traditional style danced in Ireland because over the years the cultural differences have evolved into different forms of dance. The dress is more traditional in Ireland whereas America has adopted a more modern approach.
‘Old-Style Step Dancing’, also termed, ‘Munster style’, is related and yet totally distinct from ‘Sean-nos’. It evolved in the 18th or 19th century, when the travelling dance masters refined the traditional rules about the proper use of the arms and feet. With the ‘Munster Style’ the dancer has to dance each step twice, first with the right foot and then with the left. The arms are to be held loosely at the sides as opposed to the rigidly held form of the ‘Sean-nos’. They also have a limited space to dance in and a lot of emphasis is placed on making percussive sounds with the toes.
Each solo dance is broken into two broad categories:
- Soft Shoe: includes dances known as Reels, Jigs, Slips, Light Jigs and Single Jigs.
- Hard Shoe: includes dances known as Hornpipe, Hard Jig, and Treble Reel.
Traditional ‘sets’ are a group of 36 dances that have set music and steps.
Irish Ceili’s are dances that danced by a formation of couples made up of between 2 and 8 people.
Sometimes Ceili dances have unlimited numbers of couples and they will dance either in a long line or in a circle. Examples of these Ceili are ‘The Walls of Limerick’, ‘The Waves of Tory’ or ‘Bonfire Dance’. These examples are very complex and fast paced.
Irish performance dance, Ceili, was popularized in 1994 by the world famous ‘Riverdance’, and made Irish dancer, Michael Flatley a household name. His style of rapid leg movements and stationary arms has brought Irish dancing into homes all across the world.
