Irish Stepdance - Roots

Roots

The dancing traditions of Ireland are likely to have grown in tandem with Irish traditional music. Its first roots may have been in Pre-Christian Ireland, but Irish dance was also partially influenced by dance forms on the Continent, especially the quadrille dances. Traveling dancing masters taught all over Ireland as late as the early 1900s.

Professor Margaret Scanlan, author of Culture and customs of Ireland, points out that the earliest feis or stepdancing competition dates no earlier than 1897, and states: "Although the feis rhetoric suggests that the rules derive from an ancient past, set dances are a product of modern times". There are many other forms of stepdancing in Ireland (such as the Connemara style stepdancing), but the style most familiar is the Munster, or southern, form, which has been formalized by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (English: The Gaelic Dancing Commission), which first met in 1930. The Commission (abbreviated as CLRG), was formed from a directorate of the Gaelic League that was formed during the Gaelic Revival and agreed the modern rules.

In the 19th century, the Irish diaspora had spread Irish dance all over the world, especially to North America and Australia. However, schools and feiseanna were not established until the early 1900s: in America these tended to be created within Irish-American urban communities, notably in Chicago. The first classes in stepdancing were held there by the Philadelphia-born John McNamara.

One explanation for the unique habit of keeping the hands and upper body stiff relates to the stage. In order to get a hard surface to dance on, people would often unhinge doors and lay them on the ground. Since this was clearly a very small "stage," there was no room for arm movement. The solo dances are characterized by quick, intricate movements of the feet.

Sometime in that decade or the one following, a dance teacher had his students compete with arms held firmly down to their sides, hands in fists, to call more attention to the intricacy of the steps. The adjudicator approved by placing the students well. Other teachers and dancers quickly followed the new trend. Movement of the arms is sometimes incorporated into modern Irish stepdance, although this is generally seen as a hybrid and non-traditional addition and is only done in shows and performances, not competitions.

Irish stepdance has precise rules about what one may and may not do, but within these rules leeway is provided for innovation and variety. Thus, stepdance can evolve while still remaining confined within the original rules.