Irish dance is known all around the world for its music, style, and costumes. What once started as a cultural folkloric dance has now turned into a worldwide phenomenon because of many contextual factors on the three defining characteristics. In this paper I will attempt to show how the Gaelic League, An Coimisiún, and Riverdance influenced and changed the posture, movement, and appearance of the dance form. The story of Irish dance thus far is one of a constant changing dance that reflects the influences around it. Each of the changes in the style, costuming, and meaning of the dance has molded it into the globally accepted and loved dance form seen today.
Irish dance has evolved over the years and is unique compared to other dance forms.
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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
...re of different dance cultures within the vocabulary of their scope, then the results would be so astounding as to give that dancer an unspoken quality distinguishing them from among their peers. Movement knowledge is cultural knowledge and remembering that each culture is beautiful and different in its own way can help create a dancer that will resonate with any audience member.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
Dance was being developed in the Courts of Italy and France because the courtiers would pay dance masters to create dances for their celebrations and festivals.
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
The seven minute long interval act during Dublin’s Eurovision’s Song Contest introduced not only Riverdance but all Irish dance forms to the public eye. The past twenty-two years have seen the Irish dance world rise and evolve dramatically. A traditional art form once enriched in culture and discipline has been renovated into today’s era where competitiveness is at its height. The debate lies whether this evolution has been for better or for worse. The rise of Irish Diaspora in the past two decades has seen an impact on style of dance, appearance, employment opportunities as well as the development of Irish national identity and fame. It is argued that Irish dance, as a consequence, has lost some of its valued principles including discipline,
Tap dancing has an intriguing history. “Slave trade in the United States of America resulted in a rhythmic collision of cultures” (Holmers). Originally, slaves used drums to communicate with each other, but fearful of revolt, slave masters
In Summarization there are different types of dances other than we do today. A recent survey poll stated that 40 out of 50 people would do a trending dance than any other type of dance. Many people have never heard of Jitting, Krumping, or Footwork. All of these dances and cities have something in common and that’s a love, passion and competiveness for what they
This article discusses the use of Scottish highland dance to develop the movement skills and the overall physical literacy of the youth. Topics covered in this article include the history of Scottish Highland dance and other distinct dances in the Highland category that can be performed individually or with other dancers. There are many movement skills that can be developed through Highland dancing such as balance, coordination, and agility. The strength, stamina, and perfection of technique are expected to increase as the dancer gains experience and mastery of the fundamental dance steps.
Southern Italy serves as the birthplace for the folk dance known as the “Tarantella.” This dance originates as far back as the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Primarily, this dance started off as a solo dance to cure diseases, but eventually transformed into a dance of courtship over the years (Saint-Louis). I choose to research this specific country because my grandfather is an immigrant from Italy. Italian culture has always intrigued me; I enjoy learning about the history of where my ancestors came from. The tarantella dance caught my attention because of its fascinating history as well as its fast, upbeat pace, and music. I was also captivated with how the dance evolved into new forms over time, I enjoyed seeing how the dance adapted
When taking such an overarching class such as this, there is a lot of outside influence when trying to choose a topic on which to narrow one’s mindset. Then to delve into the depths of a topic regarding a specific type of dance or movement is something in and of itself entirely. Some might find it difficult to decide on a path to follow and others might find that choice a bit easier. Luckily for me, I knew exactly what I wanted to learn about from the beginning. My ancestry is my influence on making my decision to study and research the history of Irish dance for this final research paper. I come from two heavily Irish families who hold true to their heritage pretty well, and I take pride in my Irish roots. All of the women in my family (and
It is a fact that emotion stimulates the body into movement. It has been said that “dancing is older than anything except eating, drinking and love”. Civilization and conditioning has taught people to suppress this natural response but the primitive desire still remains. Prehistoric man expressed his emotions by movement. When speech was just developing, even primitive cave drawings depict men dancing. As time went on and language was developed, the expressive movements of early man continued but transformed from spontaneous, formal and lastly traditional aspects. These dances were adapted as parts a social custom. This became the foundation of folk dances.
Modern dance has also developed a popular place in the dance community through history and
Irish dance is a group of traditional dances forms originating in Ireland. Irish social dancing can be divided into set dancing. Set dances are danced by four couples arranged in a square, while ceili dances are danced by varied formations of two to sixteen people. Irish step dancing is notable for its rapids leg and foot movements, body and arms being kept largely stationary.
Folk dance is also a popular types of dance. Folk dance is a variety of dances that reflect a certain culture. There are many types of folk dance including aboriginal dance, clogging, irish dance and square dance. Folk dancing started in the 18th century, the steps were then passed through the generations. Many children songs and games today come from folk