Imagine taking a door off its hinges just to be able to dance? Years ago in Ireland when there was no place to dance, this was not uncommon. Irish people have always found a place to dance, whether it was a tiny area, or an open road. Though Irish dancing has changed through the years, it has always been a way of bringing people with a common interest together. The steps, styles, costumes, and degree of competitiveness may have changed, but the idea of socializing through dance has remained the same.
Years ago when my Grandpa lived in Ireland, he would go to ceilis, or informal evenings of dancing (Richens 1). There he would meet new people, and socialize with the people he already knew. When he came to the United States, he continued to go to ceilis as a way to keep in touch with other Irish people. He even met my Grandma at a dance. Not only do people socialize through actually going to dances, but also through competitions in traditional Irish dancing.
Traditional Irish step dancers who compete in international competitions meet people from all over the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, and even Australia. Irish dancing teaches about friendship. Today, dancers learn through spending long practices together, traveling the world together and learning how to compete against one another. When my Grandpa came from Ireland, a way of meeting people was going to dances for fun. While competitive dancers focus on being the best, they also enjoy the social aspects of Irish dancing.
Irish dancing has a long history. In the 3rd century BC, the Celtic people, also called the Gaels, settled all over Western Europe. Eventually, all of the Gaels were conquered by the Germans and the Romans, except those in Ireland. There is not much known about dancing from this time period because Viking raiders destroyed many written records, though some of the Celtic artwork can still be seen today (Richens 1). Patterns from the Book of Kells are still used on Irish dancing costumes now.
For centuries, the Irish were surpressed by the English. The English forbade them to dance and have fun. This is one theory to why Irish dancers keep their hands by their sides. They would have to dance in such small spaces so the English would not catch them, and leaving their arms down would give them more room. Around this time, feisanna (plural of feis) started. A feis (pronounced fesh) used to be defined as "a combination of a trade fair, political gathering, and cultural event with music, sporting events, storytelling and crafts"(Richens 2). Today a feis consists of dancing, music and sometimes craft competitions. When my Grandpa used to go to dances, they would be held outside in the summertime. They put up big tents and floors, and hundreds of people would go. This reminds me of feisanna in the summer. There are always tents set up, and crowds of people just enjoying the day.
In 1929, the Irish Dancing Commission (An Coimisiun le Rinci’ Gaelacha) was founded (Richens 2). This organization set up rules about competition, teaching and judging, and many of the same rules are still enforced today. Before the commission, there were many variations of dances, music, costumes, and feis rules. The Irish Dancing Commission helped to standardize these rules. Today, the commission needs to keep up with regulations with how quickly dancing is changing because of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Costumes have gotten shorter when dressmakers started imitating those from the professional shows. The Irish Dancing Commission made a rule that dresses can be no shorter that four inches above the knee. If a dancer fails to comply with this rule, points may be deducted, or depending on the adjudicator, she can be disqualified from the competition.
Dancing itself has evolved over the years. Today stages are bigger (we do not have to dance on tabletops or barrels anymore). Competitions take place in schools, hotels, or fairgrounds. Bigger stages allow for different techniques in dances. Now, dancers are judged on their use of the stage. Adjudicators like to see a dancer who moves around the stage and uses every part. Steps that need a lot of space, especially in light dances, are now possible. Spring 2-3’s (long jumps with the front leg extended) are a big part of soft shoe dancing today. These jumps should carry the dancer across the stage. At the same time, the dancer should focus on the height of the jump over.
In championship competitions, dancers are required to dance one soft shoe dance (reel or slip jig for girls, reel for boys), one hard shoe dance, and a set piece. Soft shoe dancing, or light dancing, consists of reels, single jigs, and slip jigs. Girls wear ballet like pumps when doing these dances. They focus on ankle movements, while boys focus on hitting their ‘clicks’. Boys’ shoes have fiberglass heels. When the heels hit each other, they make a sharp clicking sound. It is very noticeable when a dancer ‘misses a click’, and does not make the distinct sound with his heels. Points can be deducted. Girls’ ankle movements look almost like ballet. One common movement of today is the double scissor, where the girl jumps up in the air and rapidly switches her feet back and forth twice before landing on the ground. Dances today have more intricate footwork than dances from years ago.
Hard shoe dances done in competition are jigs and hornpipes. The jig originated in Ireland and is in 6/8 time. The hornpipe is initially English, and began around 1760. It is in 4/4 time, and used to be only danced by males (Coogan 75). Now, however, it is just as common to see a female dance a hornpipe. In hard shoe dancing, adjudicators look for a dancer to be strong yet at the same time graceful. Hard shoes have fiberglass tips and heels, the same kind of heels as boy’s light shoes. Dancers must get every beat or treble of the feet out, and hit all the clicks. Popular movements in hard shoe dances today are toe stands. For these, dancers must have a good arch in their shoes, which enables them to stand on just the very tip of these shoes. People who see Irish dancing for the first time often think that like toe shoes in ballet, there is wood in the shoes to help keep up on their toes. There is no wood, just a lot of time spent breaking in the shoes so they can bend the right way!
Another kind of hard shoe dance is a set dance. Set dances are done one at a time, to the dancers desired speed. Jigs, reels, and hornpipes can vary depending on the musician, but set pieces have not changed in over 200 years. Some sets, like Planxty Davis and Planxty Drury, were composed by a blind harpist, Turlough O’Carolan, who named his music after his friends. Davis and Drury were the names, and Planxty means ‘good health’. Another group of sets, Downfall of Paris, Madame Bonaparte, and Bonaparte’s Retreat are related to Napoleon. This is probably because the Irish looked to the French for help in overthrowing English rule around Napoleon’s time (Richens 6).
Set dances are done in championship levels at feisanna, and in major competitions. At regional, national, and world championships, dancers must recall in order to dance a set piece. After two rounds, a soft shoe and hard shoe, a certain percentage of the dancers are called back to dance again. At regional and national Oireachtas (championships), every recalled dancer is placed and receives a prize, which ranges anywhere from a medal to a trophy to crystal, depending on the competition. At the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (world championships), only half of the recalled dancers are placed. Only a third of the dancers are recalled to begin with making it very difficult to win in the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne. Last year I danced against almost 130 girls. Around forty dancers were recalled, and the top eighteen dancers were placed and received world medals. With such a small percentage of the dancers winning, judges can knock out competitors for any tiny mistake. Any dancer who wins in the world championships must be nearly perfect.
Because I dance, I have been lucky enough to go to Ireland and actually see what my Grandpa would tell my sisters and I stories about. I met one sister and one brother of his, I saw the house he grew up in, and saw the field that he always told us he was trapped in one night by a ghost. I feel closer to and have a new kind of respect for my Grandpa, because I got an idea of how he lived. Now, he tells me to enjoy dancing.
Sometimes, his advice can be hard to follow. Imagine the judges recall 25 dancers. Your friend was the last dancer to be recalled, and you find out later from the marks you came in 26th place, and you missed recalling by only one place. Are you angry at, jealous of, or happy for your friend? Dawn Nestor, a regional and national champion, explains that there is more to Irish dancing than just winning. It is about friendship, and learning how to be happy for that friend who got the recall when you did not. She says that "Dancing has taught me dedication, time management, and has introduced me to some of my best friends. I don’t know where I would be without them. We have all learned from each other how to be happy for others, not just ourselves. We have become more of a family than anything else"(Nestor).
Dawn has become my best friend despite the fact that because we are the same age, we always have and always will dance against each other. We both had personal goals for the regional competition this year, and practiced together to help each other dance the best we could. Just last week, we both achieved our goals. I can honestly say that I was just as thrilled for her as I was for myself. I have finally learned that there is more to dancing than just winning. Through all of the crazy, difficult, and nerve-racking times, I would not trade a moment of my Irish dancing career for anything in the world.
Dancing practice and competitions take up a lot of time. Before major competitions, many dancers are at practice four times a week, and some travel up to two hours for class. Besides that, the dedicated dancers practice on their own every other day. Competitions take up many weekends, especially near major competitions. A lot of dancers are also involved with sports and other after school activities, leaving them no time for anything else.
Irish people have always been hard workers. My Grandpa loved to go out at night, but he knew his father would be expecting him to be up early the next morning to help out on the farm. He explains, "When you come home at four, five o’clock, you don’t go to bed"(Neary). His father would tell him if you are awake enough to go to the dance, you are awake enough to go to work. Sacrifices had to be made many times to help his family out on the farm.
In high school, I gave up parties and Sweet Sixteen’s to go to competitions and practice. I would feel left out of things with my school friends, but dancing was like another life for me. I know that my sacrifices that seemed to be a huge deal to me were nothing compared to how my Grandpa lives and how he grew up, but he is proud of the fact that I work so hard for something I want. Most dancers are hard working, because they want to do well. Dancing people seemed completely different from my high school friends. We have a special bond that makes us closer. We understand what one another is going through before, during, and after competitions. No one else can understand the nervous feeling when you walk into the hall the morning of your solo, that feeling that eats away at your stomach when you see the big envelope and you know that your results are in there. We cry tears of joy together, and comfort each other when we lose. We know when our friends are not satisfied with their place. We tell them he truth about their dancing, and we know that we are helping. We travel the world together with people who seem like a second family to us. I have made sacrifices for dancing, but in the long run, missing little parties and going to the movies with my friends can not compare to my dancing experiences.
Often dancers form close relationships with their teachers. "The atmosphere at any (dancing) school should be that in which students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents as well as to work well with others. This can be accomplished when the student and teacher share a common goal: to learn as much as possible from each other and to have fun while doing so" (Montague 4). Teachers show their dancers how to be a good winner, and a good loser. These are some of the most important lessons that we learn. My teacher is strict enough to make us work hard, but knows when we need that extra bit of encouragement. She teaches us how to be solo dancers, and how to work as a team. She makes us, the dancers, feel like we are in it together, all working for the same goal.
Ceili dances are a big part of the social side to Irish dancing. Ceilis are team dances that involve anywhere from three to sixteen dancers. The most common in the regional, national, or world championships are 8-hands and figures. 8-hand dances are all done ‘by the book,’ meaning every team from all over the world does it exactly the same. Figures have either 12 or 16 dancers, and the teacher makes up the choreography. Ceilis are judged based on how the dancers work together. Each line must be exactly straight, every turn must be done together, and every arm must be held the same height. Dancers learn the importance of teamwork, and how to depend on each other. In figure competitions, the team is judges on lines and exactness like in ceilis, but also on the creativeness of the original choreography. Imagine the pressure of dancing solo, times fifteen? No one can slack off; every one must work as hard as everyone else must on the team. The group must flow together as one unit, which takes a lot of practice.
Dancers gain experience from ceilis and dancing with others that they would need to dance in a show like Riverdance. Without ceilis, dancers would only be used to solo steps. Teams teach them how to guide on other lines, keep them straight, and dance as a group.
Riverdance and Lord of the Dance have become very popular, and have helped Irish dancers have professional careers. Riverdance tells a story about people who move from an island to survive somewhere else. "They found a new world and in it, new people with new ways—but above all, a common humanity in which they join like tributaries to a great river"(Brophy 2). This hints about the social aspect of dancing. The show demonstrates how different people came from different countries, and dancing is what they all have in common. No matter how different their cultures are, Riverdance through comparisons and contrasts, show how their steps and music are in some ways similar.
These professional shows have helped Irish dancing to be recognized as the amazing art form that it is. When I first started dancing, none of my friends in school knew what Irish dancing really was. Today when I say I am an Irish dancer, I get a completely different reaction. Now, dancing is respected, and almost everyone has heard of Riverdance.
Even though these shows are not very traditional, it is very interesting to see the similarities between the steps done in competition and shows. The basic steps are the same, with a little extra pizzazz added to amaze the audience. Costumes are shorter, arm movements are added, and music is constantly changing. Many traditional people do not like these new ideas in Irish dancing, but I think it just proves that everything changes with time, even something like Irish dancing which everyone thought was forgotten.
Now, competitive dancers are taking movements from the shows and adding them to their routines. Dancers are always trying to find something new to impress the judges and stay on top. The shows give Irish dancers career opportunities that they never had. Before this, the only way to stay involved in dancing as one got older was to be a teacher or adjudicator. Irish dancers are finally getting the fame and attention they deserve.
My Grandpa loves the idea of shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. He is still very traditional in many ways, but likes the idea that Irish dancing is being noticed.
Irish dancing has changed a lot through the years. A big factor that
has changed it recently is the popularity of shows like Riverdance.
Some dances are universal, and known by many. At any Irish ceili or dance,
you will always hear the Siege of Ennis. My Grandpa did it years ago, and
I still do it today. It is amazing to see how many people still know this
dance that has been around and not changed. Irish dancing is a huge part
of my life that has taught me lessons about hard work, friendships, my
family, and my culture. Though it is very different from the time it originated,
dancing still has a power to bring people together.