On the Heels of Riverdance: Choreographic Process
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ON THE HEELS OF RIVERDANCE: CHOREOGRAPHIC PROCESS IN CONTEMPORARY IRISH STEP DANCE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DANCE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY DARRAH EILEEN CARR, B.A., M.F.A. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2017 Copyright © Darrah Carr, 2017 all rights reserved. iii DEDICATION For my giving mother, Eileen, who taught me how to teach my children and my students. For my devoted father, James, who brought me to Ireland to dance. For my loving husband, David, and our precious children— Cavan, Eamonn, Ettamoya, Manus Owen, and B. Byrne. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is an outgrowth of my love for Irish step dance and my passion for choreography—dual tracks that originated in the earliest days of my training and upon which I have built my career. Along the way, I have received immeasurable support from numerous colleagues, to whom I am deeply indebted. First, I extend my heartfelt thanks to my advisor, Dr. Rosemary Candelario, for her insight, guidance, and encouragement throughout the lengthy research and writing process. I am very grateful to my committee members, Dr. Linda Caldwell and Department Chair, Professor Mary Williford-Shade, for their time and attention to my work as well as for their expert instruction as faculty members during my coursework. I also thank Cornaro Professor of Dance Emerita, Dr. Penelope Hanstein, who sparked my desire to pursue practice-led research and provided invaluable feedback throughout my coursework and during the early stages of my study. I am deeply indebted to Seán Curran and Breandán de Gallaí, artists whose vision I admire and whose friendship I cherish. I thank them for inviting me into their choreographic processes and for enriching this dissertation with their creativity, insights, and life stories. Many thanks are also due to the dancers of Darrah Carr Dance for their incredible talent and commitment to bringing the choreographic vision to life. I greatly appreciate the perspectives shared in these pages, including those of Louise Corrigan, Brigid Gillis, Timothy Kochka, Caitlin McNeill, Laura Neese, Niall O’Leary, Melissa Padham-Maass, Mary Kate Sheehan, and Alexandra Williamson. And I remain forever v grateful for the fifty-five dancers who have graced my company since its inception in 1998. I am also very thankful for the Irish Arts Center and their wonderful staff for their steadfast support of our artistic vision. Indeed, two of the three works analyzed in this dissertation received their premieres at the Irish Arts Center. And I wish to thank my former students at Hofstra University, as well as Professor Rachel List, Director of Dance, for their willingness to participate in this research study. I am very grateful to the dance faculty at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts—especially to Professor Deborah Jowitt, from whom I learned a deep appreciation for dance history and an admiration for her crystalline writing. I am extremely thankful for the education that I received at Wesleyan University, most memorably from Professor Cheryl Cutler and Dr. Richard Vann, who encouraged me to research both the theory and the practice of Irish step dance as an undergraduate. My research has been inspired by many colleagues in Dance Research Forum Ireland, especially by Dr. Catherine Foley and her pioneering work in ushering Irish dance into academia. I wish to acknowledge the late Dr. Moe Meyer, who championed my work and provided valuable insights on the field. I am also appreciative of the work that Dr. Mick Moloney has done in promoting and sustaining traditional Irish music and dance. Many thanks are due to my step dance teacher, Tim O’Hare, for instilling a love of Irish dance at an early age, and to Madame Marie Vogt, for showing me the magic of live performance. Finally, I thank my family for their unending love and support—which provides the ballast for my dance and keeps me airborne—always. vi ABSTRACT DARRAH CARR ON THE HEELS OF RIVERDANCE: CHOREOGRAPHIC PROCESS IN CONTEMPORARY IRISH STEP DANCE AUGUST 2017 This qualitative research study analyzes a groundswell of choreographic activity in contemporary Irish step dance in a post-Riverdance climate. Through case study methodology, I investigate the choreographic processes of Irish-born choreographer Breandán de Gallaí and first-generation Irish American choreographer Seán Curran. I also conduct practice-led research into my own choreographic process as an American choreographer of Irish descent. Data collection procedures include interviews with artists, participant observation during rehearsals and performances, and analysis of rehearsal journals and videos. I examine three new works against the historical backdrop of the Gaelic revival’s insular nationalism and Riverdance’s high-octane multiculturalism—both were revolutionary moments for Irish step dance, but neither satisfy our choreographic concerns. In contrast, we bring Irish step dance choreography to the concert dance stage. Through choreographic processes that embrace improvisation, task-based movement generation, and inspiration from other dance forms, we expand both the aesthetic of Irish step dance and conventional notions of choreography. Our choreographic interventions can be distilled in three words: expression, hybridity, and fusion. vii In advocating for practice-led research, this dissertation expands the current discourse on choreographic practice to include Irish step dance. This study contributes to the Irish dance community, to the larger field of Irish Studies, and to the much wider circle of dance scholarship. The issues raised—individual agency, cultural identity, and hybridization—are applicable across many disciplines. By introducing the dance company model to Irish step dance, we encourage practitioners of ballet, modern, and postmodern dance to reevaluate binary definitions of “world dance” and “Western dance.” This dissertation asserts that choreographic process in contemporary Irish step dance is a practice of rewriting history through the body. This is not only a highly political act but also a deeply personal one. The data reveal that active participation in choreographic process moves beyond aesthetics and into identity politics. Having a generative role in rehearsal enables artists to examine what it means for them be an Irish, Irish American, or American Irish step dancer. Areas for future research include a cross-cultural comparison of Irish and Indian dance and an investigation of Irish step dance pedagogy. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page COPYRIGHT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ ix Chapter I. SETTING THE STAGE ........................................................................................ 1 Background .................................................................................................. 3 Research Focus ................................................................................................ 7 Definition of Terms.......................................................................................... 9 Irish Dance Studies ........................................................................................ 11 Irish Dance in Academia ................................................................................ 13 The Irish Dancing Body ................................................................................. 17 Research Overview ........................................................................................ 24 II. DANCE MASTERS AND HISTORY MAKERS ................................................ 28 Traveling Dance Masters ............................................................................... 29 Set Dancing ................................................................................................ 30 Step Dancing ................................................................................................ 32 Emigration ................................................................................................ 33 Nationalism ................................................................................................ 35 Religion ................................................................................................ 40 Competition ................................................................................................ 43 Diaspora ................................................................................................ 46 Costume ................................................................................................ 54 III. RIVERDANCE—HEARTBEAT OF THE WORLD ........................................... 56 Interval Act ................................................................................................ 59 Emerald Globe ............................................................................................... 63 Meaning Making ............................................................................................ 67 ix Marketing ...............................................................................................