Irish Dances Introduction

My topic is going to be the Irish traditional dances. I’ve decided to do this work about these type of dances because my great grandmother’s family was Irish, and i just wanted to know a bit more about my roots, specially the dance there in Ireland, because i think it’s one of the most beautifully curious local traditions and cultures. History

When the Celts arrived in Ireland from central Europe over two thousand years ago, they brought with them their own folk dances. There is evidence that among its first practitioners were the Druids, who danced in religious rituals honoring the oak tree and the sun. Types v Irish Céilí Dances

v Irish Step Dancing v Irish Céilí Dances A céilí is a social gathering featuring Irish music and dance. Céilí dancing is a specific type of Irish dance. Some céilithe (plural of céilí) will only have céilí dancing, some only have set dancing, and some will have a mixture. Irish social, or céilí dances vary widely throughout Ireland and the rest of the world. A céilí dance may be performed with as few as two people and as many as sixteen. Céilí dances may also be danced with an unlimited number of couples in a long line or proceeding around in a circle. Céilí dances are often fast and some are quite complex. The céilí dances are typically danced to Irish instruments such as the Irish bodhrán or fiddle in addition to the concertina (and similar instruments), guitar, whistle or flute. v Irish Step Dancing

Stepdancing as a modern form is descended directly from old-style step dancing. There are several different forms of stepdancing in Ireland (including sean-nós dancing and old-style stepdancing). Irish stepdancing is primarily done in competitions, public performances or other formal settings. v Sean-nós dancing As Irish people emigrate all over the world, they took their cultural traditions with them. Many people theorise that Sean-nós dancing has influenced various other forms of traditional solo dance, especially those found in areas with strong Irish communities. Sean-nós dance likely influenced the development of many American and Canadian traditional percussive dance forms. Sean-nós dancing in the United States and Canada is most commonly seen at folk festivals, although dance workshops are beginning to introduce the style more widely.

Sean-nós dancing

v Old-style step dancing Old-style step dancing is a tradition related to, yet distinct from, sean-nós dancing, though it is sometimes called "Munster-style sean-nós". Old-style step dancing evolved in the late 18th and early 19th century from the dancing of travelling Irish dance masters. Rules emerged about proper upper body, arm, and foot placement. Also, dancers were instructed to dance a step twice—first with the right foot then with the left. Old-style step dancers dance with arms loosely (but not rigidly) at their sides. They dance in a limited space. There is an emphasis on making percussive sound with the toes. Shoes and Costume There are two types of shoes; soft shoes (also known as ghillies or pumps) and hard shoes. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes. The soft shoes, which are called ghilliess, are black lace-up shoes. Ghillies are only worn by girls, while boys wear black leather shoes called "reel shoes", which resemble black jazz shoes with a hard heel. A new trend includes adding white laces to the soft shoes, and white tape to the straps(correas) of the hard shoes in order to give the illusion of elongating the legs Irish dancing dresses are beautifully designed with Celtic designs that date back to the arrival of the Celts. Several generations ago, the appropriate dress for a competition was simply "Sunday best" (clothes one would wear to church). Irish Dance schools generally have school dresses, worn by lower-level competitors and in public performances. As dancers advance in competition or are given starring roles in public performances, they may get a dress of their own design and colours or wear the team dress. In the 1970s and 1980s, ornately embroidered dresses became popular. Today even more ornamentation is used on girls' dresses. Solo dresses are unique to each dancer. Today most women and girls wear a wig or hairpiece for a competition, but some still curl their own hair. Most men wear a shirt, vest, and tie paired with black trousers.

Why the curly wigs?

Many people wonder why Irish Dancers wear curly wigs? Curly hair is based in an old Irish tradition where women put curlers in their hair on Saturday night to prepare for going to Church on Sunday Morning. Church was followed by céilí dancing, and there the tradition of Irish Dancers having curly hair was born!

For many many years, Irish dancers in modern day would also go to bed with a head full of rollers the night before a feis, and this proved to be a time consuming and uncomfortable process! Eventually people started to use wigs to avoid the hassle of having to curl their own hair, which is why most dancers today wear wigs! Videos v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw2JDrfbwgI - céilí dance v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43HHFm8UpU - parody beyonce sean-nós dance v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TatmDAawrHE - sean-nós solo v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Z8qG7AKo - sean-nós group v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHn-Jy0FNiM - old style step dancing solo v https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gvnGSCQrDU - old style step dancing group Webgraphy v http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_dance v http://www.penderkeady.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135:wigs&Itemid=227 v http://www.yourirish.com/culture/dance/