This Is Irish Dance: Innovation and Tradition in Irish Dance Teaching and Choreography
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This is Irish dance: innovation and tradition in Irish dance teaching and choreography By Eimear Kelly Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography 1 Statement of originality I, Eimear Kelly, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Eimear Kelly Date: 26/ 09/19 2 Acknowledgments Firstly, I am extremely grateful to Queen Mary, University of London for funding this PhD and enabling me to pursue doctoral research on a topic that I am incredibly passionate about. I cannot begin to express my thanks to my supervisor, Professor Catherine Nash, for all of her guidance, enthusiasm, and feedback throughout the years I have worked on this project. Your assistance has been invaluable and you have made this a wonderful experience. I am also incredibly grateful to fellow supervisor Dr. Philippa Williams for so freely giving her time, and providing brilliant advice and insightful suggestions. I also wish to thank the choreographers, dancers and Irish dance teachers who took the time to speak with me about their work and the world of Irish dance. Your voices were a key element of this research. Many thanks go to my lovely yoga students and friends who regularly asked about my progress and wished me good luck as I was coming to the end of this PhD. Finally, thank you to my family for always being there for me, I don’t know what I would do without you. Thanks to my parents for their incredible love, support, and encouragement throughout my life and during this research. Thank you to my sister, Niamh, for being my friend from day one, and for all the laughter and fun. And thanks to my dog, Paddy, for often snuggling up next to me as I wrote up this thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis explores alternative forms of Irish dance, examining the work of key choreographers who are creating new Irish dance performances which question what Irish dance is and can be. Innovative Irish dance emerges out of a discontent with the competitive, commercial and regulated nature of traditional Irish dance schools and instead, incorporates training in other dance forms, prioritises dance safety and welcomes improvisation as well as student involvement in the classroom and choreography. To examine the development and possibilities of new forms of Irish dance, the thesis draws on, and contributes to cultural geographical scholarship on dance, space and performance, research on folk dance and music, and Irish dance studies. Together these bodies of literature examine questions around tradition, modernity, authenticity, creativity, cultural change in relation to national cultural practices, and Irish dance more specifically. The thesis examines three main themes: i) the context, networks and motivations behind alternative Irish dance; ii) innovative Irish dance choreography, specifically the influences, form and values that shape and are inspired through new forms of Irish dance and; iii) the approaches, challenges and possibilities that arise through teaching Irish dance. I explore these themes geographically through an attention to the sites and spaces of alternative Irish dance, such as the studio, stage and classroom, and scales including the body, local, regional, national and international dimensions. The empirical findings were generated through a practice-based approach that drew on my experience as a former champion Irish dancer. The research has found that for innovative choreographers and teachers, how a dancer’s body moves in learning and performing Irish dance reflects an approach that does not oppose individual creativity and tradition. The authenticity of the movement depends on a respectful return to and innovative reworking of this cultural form. 4 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………………………………………7 Chapter 2: Situating alternative forms of Irish dance……………………………16 Chapter 3: Researching new and innovative forms of Irish dance……………...56 Chapter 4: Alternative forms of Irish dance: networks, motivations, definitions and debates………………………………………………………………………...87 Chapter 5: Innovative Irish dance choreography: meaning, expression, form and value……………………………………………………………………………….133 Chapter 6: Irish dance teaching: new approaches, challenges and possibilities………………………………………………………………………..169 Chapter 7: Conclusion…………………………………………………………....219 5 List of Tables Figure 3.1 Interviewees………………………………………………………....64 Figure 3.2 Observational Research…………………………………………….70 Figure 3.3 Dance Practice and Teaching……………………………………...80 6 Chapter 1 Introduction Irish dancer and choreographer, Jean Butler became famous as the lead female dancer in Riverdance, the 1990s Irish dance phenomenon which introduced a new and glamorous side to traditional Irish dance. This took Irish step dancing from the competitive arena onto the performance stage, creating what would become a formula for a successful Irish dance show based on spectacle and visualisation, attracting global audiences and significant box office revenues (O’Connor, 1998). In recent years however Butler has turned away from the standard model for Irish dance shows like Riverdance in favour of more experimental and intimate performances. In one of her recent works, This is an Irish Dance (pictured on title page), which premiered in November 2015 in New York, she appears barefoot, wearing simple black trousers and white top, dancing to the music of a cellist rather than traditional Irish music (Harss, 2015). This style is exemplary of the intimate, exploratory performances that she now embraces (Harss, 2015) integrating both her Irish and more recent contemporary dance training undertaken at the University of Limerick. Butler is just one of several choreographers who are rejecting both competitive step dancing conventions and the Irish dance show format, bringing alternative movement training to their Irish dance practice and exploring innovative forms of Irish dance. This research examines their work and others who are contributing to this movement towards new and innovative forms of Irish dance. The term “Irish dance” encompasses many different styles of dancing including set dancing, ceili dancing, sean nós dance, competitive Irish step dance and Irish show dance. The dance show Riverdance which had its origins in an interval performance of step dancing in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin in 1994 brought Irish step dance to wider popular audiences. Riverdance changed some publicly held views of Irish dance that perceived the practice as embarrassing, old fashioned and rigid, by suggesting that Irish step dancing could be exciting and sexy. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, academic debates and research on Irish dance focused on Riverdance as a key turning point in the practice of Irish dance. Riverdance modernised the dance movements, style, and costuming of competitive Irish step dance, it spurred the production of numerous other Irish dance shows which mimicked the Riverdance style, and it presented a 7 traditional Irish cultural practice in a new commercial form to its international audiences. Recent years have seen a further evolution of Irish dance practice, with choreographers, many of whom were lead dancers in Riverdance, now forging alternative forms of Irish dance that explicitly reject the rigidity of competitive Irish step dancing and the stylist conventions of Irish show dance. These choreographers and other Irish dance teachers are also challenging the deeply competitive, regulated and increasingly commercial nature of the Irish dance world. Contemporary competitive Irish step dancing is an extremely regulated practice with strict rules concerning authenticity and acceptable innovations in dance steps, style and costumes. The practice is regulated by the two oldest and largest Irish dance organizations, An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha, known as An Coimisiún, and Comhdháil na Múinteoirí le Rincí Gaelacha Teoranta, known as An Comhdháil. There are several smaller and more recent organizations that also exist but the most rigorous one, which is judged by many as producing the best dancers, is An Coimisiún. These organizations operate on an international scale, with subordinate organizations on a national and regional scale which report to them, and locally, the individual Irish dance schools follow the rules and regulations of the overriding organization (Foley, 2013; Hall, 2008; Kelly, 2014). Young Irish dancers just beginning their practice in Irish dance, join an Irish dance school but are often unaware of the world they are entering where participating in competitions is virtually compulsory, as is spending money on