The History of the Irish Stepdance
The Irish stepdance encompasses several styles and centuries of tradition in dance. Different times and places in history have made Irish dance a world-recognized, widely practiced social and performance art. In contemporary times, most people perform and recognize the southern form officially approved by the Irish Dancing Commission. Many cultural aspects of Ireland as we know it remain only lightly influenced by multiple outside attempts to conquer Ireland. Stepdance is a part of Irish culture which grew to influence invading cultures and spread with the Irish diaspora via immigration.
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Early History
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Pre-Celtic Druids were said to have used early Irish dance in their rites and rituals. The identifiable ring format of these early dances still appears in some forms of Irish dance today. These religious dance practices were combined with folk dances brought to Ireland by the Celts circa 400 A.D.
Middle Ages Through 18th Century
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From the 12th through 18th centuries, Irish stepdance received a moderate amount of influence from outside cultures. When the Anglo-Normans took over many Irish towns in the 12th century, they brought with them their own cultural folk dance forms. The carol form was particularly popular as it involved a dancing ring, which Irish stepdance already incorporated. The Anglo-Norman addition involved the placement of a singer in the center of the circle.
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Types
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Irish stepdance developed from these coordinated folk dances. During various trying times in history, music was either banned or unavailable, so Irish dancers began using rhythmic patterns with their feet to make the dances wholly entertaining. When stepdancing became formalized in the 20th century, Irish dance was divided into the social and performance categories. Social dances tend to be less complex dances for large amounts of people; performance dances include stepdances such as those popularized by Riverdance.
Dancing Masters and the Feis
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Irish dancing masters formalized and trained pupils and began appearing commonly in the 18th century. They went from town to town in their own area and gave lessons, making a distinct regional difference in Irish dance. The dances they trained included many Irish stepdancing moves seen today. Dance masters were noted for their colorful, exuberant clothing. True, formalized stepdancing first appeared at this time as dancing masters competed with one another. This launched the feis, or a dance competition, which includes the judging of stepdancers and their masters. The feis is a popular event all over the world in areas settled or influenced by Irish.
Modern Stepdance History and Performance
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The formalization and preservation of Irish stepdancing in the 20th century and beyond is attributed to An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission). This group first met in the 1930s and established guidelines for teaching, performing, and judging Irish dance (including stepdance). Members of the Irish diaspora such as Australian Geraldine O'Shea Ryan began to travel to Ireland to seek approval from the commission, solidifying stepdance as an internationally recognized dance form. In 1970, the commission established the World Irish Dancing Championships. From there, groups such as Riverdance have captivated international audiences.
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