As the name suggests, Irish dancing originated in Ireland and is a set of traditional dances. Ireland has been home to many different cultures over a long period time, and each of these have influenced the Irish dancing we see today. Originally, Druids used to dance in their religious rituals and the Celts then arrived, bringing their own folk dances. During the late 12th century, Ireland was invaded by the Normans (of Normandy, France but with Norse origins) who again brought to Ireland their own folk dances and music which they performed in the towns they conquered. By the 16th century Irish dances were commonly performed for arriving royalty and as entertainment, particularly a dance called the Hey which is similar to the reel we see today.
In the 18th century, dancing masters became common and would travel between villages in their own districts, teaching the peasants there to dance. Solo dances were taught to the most talented, while group dances were more suited to those simply dancing for the joy of dancing. During this time the jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and step dances of the present were beginning to be developed. In 1893, the Gaelic League was established to promote Irish culture and set up dancing
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classes throughout Ireland. They now also organise the World Championships held yearly in Dublin. The dresses worn by Irish dancers are reminiscent of the peasant dresses worn around 200 yeas ago and are decorated with embroidered Celtic designs and a cape across the back. Extravagant curly wigs and bejewelled dresses and shoes have now become the fashion in the competition circuit. Feis, or dancing festivals and competitions, are held throughout Ireland and the most talented can go on to compete in the All Ireland Championships and the World Championships. As well as this competitive side to Irish dancing, informal evenings of dancing known as céilis are held in most towns and provide an opportunity for anyone to join in the group dances. These gatherings have long been held, originally on Sunday evenings in summer at the cross-roads of rural towns. Irish dancing became internationally known thanks to Riverdance and Lord of the Dance.
Riverdance began in 1994 as a performance during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest, an international talent competition, created by husband and wife John McColgan and Moya Doherty. It was then developed into a stage show which opened in Dublin in February 1995 and travelled the world, becoming one of the most successful international dance productions and is still performed today. The original cast featured American Irish dancing champion Michael Flatley, who also choreographed many of the show's numbers. However, tension rose between Flatley and the show's producers and he left the show in October 1995, hours before the opening of the second run in
London. Michael Flatley began to develop his own Irish dance-based show, and after six months of preparation Lord of the Dance opened in June 1996, and began to tour internationally soon after. The Lord of the Dance show and it's reincarnations always follow a similar storyline – An evil dark lord is attempting to take over Planet Ireland, but the Lord of the Dance, with the help of the little spirit, defeat him. Flatley is possibly the most well known international figure of Irish dance.
Breakdancing was born as a result of the song “Get on the Good Foot” by James Brown when it was featured on television. People would attempt to copy his moves in their living rooms. Clive Campbell, or more famously known as DJ Kool Herc, is credited with evolving breakdancing. Breakdancing started with fancy footwork and intricate tricks such as head spinning. Breakdancing became popular in dance and disco clubs. As breakdancing further evolved, there was the addition of groundwork with moves like handgliding, windmilling, and headspinning. This addition of groundwork helped shape what we know breakdancing to be today (Bedinghaus).
A club known as the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers possibly began this trend in 1935 when they formed their group of 12 dancers (Swingin’). This group of dancers began, and performed the majority of their lifetime as a group in the Savoy Ballroom. They created the Lindy Hop quite simply, using movements from the Charleston as well as basic tap movements. And because of their dance, they had the opportunity to perform both on Broadway, and even in some movies. First, two partners would dance around together in various ways. Then, the man would complete a series of lifts with the girl, usually ending with them apart. Finally, a section of solo footwork would occur to bring the couple back
Irish Dance has played a large role in defining my identity from a very early age. Not only does it serve as a connection to my Irish heritage, but it also serves as a connection between my mother and I since she has been my teacher since I was four years old. This is something that I have always cherished because dance is a common ground for us, regardless of other issues that may be happening in either one of our personal lives. Similarly, dance has also been one of the only constants in my life. Whenever I have had problems with family, friends, or school, I have turned to dance as an outlet through which to relieve my stress and be creative. Because of this, I consider Irish dance my passion and know that I want to be involved in it for
Irish Step Dancing started around 1750, when the appearance of dance masters came about. Dance Masters would travel from town to town teaching their dances to people that were interested and that could pay for it. They would teach in barns, kitchens, crossroads, and hedge schools. These teachings went on in secret due to Penal Laws that were enacted in the late 17th century. The English were determined to suppress Irish culture and abolish Christianity so these laws banned the education of catholic children, which was why the Irish created hedge schools. The Dance Masters would start with dances like the Reel and the Jig. Each dance master had his own collection of dance steps and would also create their own over time, which lead to Step Dancing. 8 measures or bars or music is one step, thus the name “Step Dancing”. Often competitions were held where Dance masters would show off there steps and perform on small areas like a table top, top of a barrel, or a small stage. Dancing in these small areas showed great talent. The greater number of steps that were preformed or known the more respect a dance master received. Some Dance Masters would even compete at Feisianna, which was a combination of a trade fair, political gath...
Traditional music and dance in Ireland have strongly survived throughout the years. Music in Ireland today has not strayed too far from that of the mid twentieth century’s music. Think back to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Even though the year is 2014, men are wearing kilts playing old-style Irish instruments to the songs of the Irish as they are led by the young women wearing brightly colored costumes and dancing the Irish step dance. One can hear the rich sounds of the bagpipe, the beating of the drums and the sharp, up beating sounds of the fiddle as they parade past. Add something!
A leader would sing while surrounded by a circle of. dancers who would sing back in reply (“The History”1). For century’s Irish dancing had been a peasant dance done in the villages to celebrate community gatherings and family events. Until the seventeenth century, when Queen Elizabeth I received a letter from Sir Henry Sydney describing the beautiful dance he saw (“The History”1). The Queen invited dancers to perform to her court. This created a new drive for people to start dancing, and in the early eighteenth century formed the Irish dancing we know
Intermarriage between the African Americans also blurred the ethnic lines. Greater participation in multicultural public schools also shows how Irish no longer needed parochial school system for all Irish students. Irish are also well represented in law, medicine, and other prestigious professions. They spoke English from the beginning, so language barriers were not seen as a result of this immigration. Irish history influenced many aspects of American life. In 1993, the University of Notre Dame and New York University established Irish studies and from then on, the classes doubled on Irish history. In 1995, Riverdance, an Irish dance show debuted in Dublin. Irish feis, or festivals last a few days and at the event many tourist companies promote Irish tourism. At the Irish feis there is food, music, and dance all related to Irish culture.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Irish rapidly flowed into the United States. The Irish immigrated in different waves and for various reasons, only to be greeted with significant barriers when landing in America. The Irish were essentially pushed out of Ireland because of the awful economy and the great potato famine. Upon arriving in the United States, the Irish had a difficult time with jobs, discrimination, housing, and money in the populated urban cities in which they settled. Having a rough life in the New World, the Irish still managed to leave a powerful legacy and an influence still visible today.
Dance halls were growing increasingly popular, on average, most people attended at least once a week. Twenty-five percent of San Francisco youths regularly attended their local halls, according to American Mercury magazine. Admission ranged from fifty cents to dollar and a half (McCutcheon 217). Many times women would supervise so that the proper rules of dancing were overlooked. Proper dance rules were that the p...
But the next major influence on the style was in the 1990’s when the appearance of Irish dancers changed drastically. People’s perceptions of step dancing were influenced by the introduction of commercial step dance shows such as Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. These shows in the 1990s flung Irish dance into the global scale and were the biggest influential force on the dance before and after 2000 . This new international stage allowed the dance form to become transnational with people of all backgrounds wanting to take part in what was once a cultural dance form . Irish dance has since been practiced and performed in countries across the globe. The introduction of new and exciting dance shows coupled with the economic prosperity in Ireland during the 1990s allowed for changes in Irish dance to occur much more rapidly. Appearance then started to be a larger determination on performance. Riverdance caused many changes to occur in both the style and costume of Irish dance. Wigs, expensive dresses, makeup, and tanning are now also characteristics of dance competitions . Elaborate colorful costumes covered in designs and gems are also popular. These flamboyant dresses are not used more than once anymore; often a performer will purchase and wear an outfit for one or two competitions before going out and buying a new one. This moves away from the old way of using a costume to build personal identification as well as identification to one’s dance school. Favoring presentation over technique not only makes Irish dance a costly hobby, but it also takes away from the initial intent of Irish dance being an historical pastime. These factors over the turn of the century have turned Feis, Irish dance competitions, more into a pageant like event. This is characterized by the change in mentality of dance groups such as the Celtic Tigers to move towards a more over the top appearance. As Tom Inglis says it represents “a
Ballet is a popular dance form that originated in the 1500s around the time of the renaissance. It consists of many different forms that have evolved over the years. Some examples of these forms include French Ballet, Vaganova (Russian Ballet), Cecchetti (Italian Ballet), and Balanchine. Ballet forms and variations originated mainly from Italy, Russia, and France.
One of the most notable dances people did during the medieval was known as The Carole Dance. The Carole Dance was the earliest saxon dance created and it was usually done in a circle, chain, or as a processional. There was a dance known as the egg dance and that was usually done around the time of Easter. The idea during the egg dance was to put eggs on the floor and dance around them while damaging as few eggs as possible. Another very famous dance that was done in the middle-ages was known as the jig.
It wasn’t until later, around the 18th century, that Irish Step Dancing evolved into the tradition we’re familiar with today. ("The History Of Irish Dance") This was all down to the arrival of the Dancing Master. The Dancing Master is a teacher who voyaged between villages and towns and while doing so, held lessons for peasants. This is how group dances came to be; it was a simple way to have all people in a dancing class, all involved into one dance.
The Northern Territory is known for its culturally diverse population and some would say it is the ‘multicultural hub’ of Australia. With all of these cultures comes distinctive customs and traditions. Throughout history dance has been used to help people develop a sense of identity, the younger generations are also taught social patterns and values through the different dances. The significance of these traditional dances was to reinforce and celebrate cultural law and practices including the celebration of the passage from child to adulthood or spiritual worship. The predominantly Western culture in Australia often causes minority groups to struggle for recognition regarding their beliefs and traditions. This is parallel to the Australian dance industry, where many cultural dance groups feel they have to justify who they are and are often
Dance is an ancient human practice, however the earliest record of human dance remains a mystery. By