A Brief History of Irish Dance

by Donncha O Muineachain

General

========

There are no definite references to dancing in the early Irish Literature. This would seem to infer that the ancient Irish never danced. However, since the Irish were renowned for their music, such a theory would be at variance with the history of most peoples in the early ages. It is no more possible to dissociate Irish music from Irish dance in early times than it is today. Praiseworthy references to Irish musicians can be found by 12th century English and Welsh historians. Names by which we have come to know the dances, e.g. reel, jig, hornpipe, etc., do not help in tracing the origin of the dances themselves. It is believed that the word "jig" was derived from the Italian word "Giga" and was the work of Italian composers Gemiani and Corelli, to whose work piper O'Carolan was attached. However, tunes called Irish jigs had previously been published between 1650 and 1700, many years before the birth of these two Italian composers. There is no evidence to show that the origin of the jig as danced in Ireland for the past 160 years is of great antiquity; instead, evidence seems to point to the fact that in its earliest forms it was a "Round" or a "Long" Dance, "A Hey de Gigue". Dr. Petrie, the well-known Collector of Irish Music, was inclined to the view that our jig tunes were originally clan marches. The word "reel" cannot be traced to an Irish origin at all, but indications are that it originated in Scotland as a "reill" - so referred to in Scottish literature in 1598. Another origin viewpoint is that the tunes that are now considered to be of Scottish origin may in fact be of Irish origin, over 1,000 years old. Before St. Colmcille's lifetime (circa 500 - 550 A.D.) many Irish from Antrim/Down settled in Scotland and brought with them their Irish music, dancing and language. Subsequently, the language, music and dancing in Scotland and Ireland developed independently, hence the little variations. A possible reason why references to Irish dancing are so scarce in early Irish History was because up to Cromwell's time, the history recorded was largely a history of the aristocracy. From then on, and particularly from Sarsfield's time (circa 1690), we began to get the history of the common people of Ireland. Three dances frequently mentioned in the 16th century Anglo-Irish or English literature were "The Irish Hey", "The Trenchmore" and "The Rince Fada". Allusions were frequently made to "Irish Heys" or "Rince Timcioll" in well-known plays of the 16th/17th centuries. These references indicate the existence as early as 1550 approx. of a round (circle or Hey) dance in which a number of men and women took part, and it may be reasonably inferred that the old Irish Hey was the earliest and simplest from of our modern round dances like the 8 Hand Jig, 16 Hand Reel, etc. The "Rince Fada" (akin to the "Bridge of Athlone" as danced in the last century) is said to have been danced for King James II on his arrival in Kinsale in 1689 and to have given him great delight. It was the customary last dance of the evening at private and public Balls and also at comedies/Comic Operas.

 

Dress of Dancers

=================

A few centuries ago, the gent normally wore high buttoned waist-coat, cravat, knee britches, stockings and brogues, while the lady wore a coloured homespun skirt reaching down to her ankles and black bodice.

 

Types of Dances

================

There are 3 main categories of Irish Dancing - Solo Dancing, Figure/Ceili Dancing and Country Set Dancing. Solo dances are performed nowadays mainly in exhibition or competition and require considerable expertise and many years of training. Figure (ceili) dancing and set dancing generally do not require more than an elementary knowledge of the basic step and are most suitable for social dancing.

 

(a) Solo Dancing

Evidence seems to suggest that solo dances were the creation of dancing masters of the 18th/19th centuries. All references to Irish dances in literature up to the beginning of the 18th century deal only with round or long dances. The "Dancing Master" was a very important person in rural Ireland and he commanded the greatest respect. His dress was colourful and he travelled the country from village to village in the company of a piper or blind fiddler. There would be great excitement in a village when the dancing master arrived, as it meant that there would be music and dancing for several weeks. He might stay in one farmer's house or in a different house each night. Each dancing master had his own district and never encroached on the territory of someone else. It is said that the dancing master received a fee of sixpence from his pupils, with the musician getting about half this amount. Dancing masters would challenge each other at fairs or similar events and hold a dancing contest in public. Around 1800, Cork, Kerry and Limerick were renowned for their dancing masters. The music of set-dances such as "St. Patrick's Day", "Job of Journeywork" is said to have been composed by some of these dancing masters, with perhaps the assistance of their accompanying musician. There was a time when men and women did not dance the same steps/dances. The old dancing masters taught women steps of a lighter and simpler character. Steps with a "treble" or "batter" were traditionally reserved for the men. Equality of treatment did not exist in those days!

 

(b) Ceili Dancing

The word "ceili," derived from "le cheile", originally meant the gathering of neighbours in a house at night to have a chat and to have an enjoyable time together; it was some time before music and dancing became part of a "ceili". Ceilithe can be traced back prior to the famine when dancing at cross-roads was one of the most popular pastimes in rural Ireland, usually on Sunday evenings. After each dance there would be a change of partners, as it was considered unseemly for the same couple to dance two consecutive dances together unless they were actually married or engaged to be married. The priests generally denounced cross-roads dancing, considering it to be an occasion of sin - young boys and girls being allowed out until an ungodly hour without supervision. Crossroads dancing was eventually forbidden by the clergy in many parishes around Ireland and so the dances moved indoors! This, in turn, led to the birth of the Ceili Band for non-house dances. It is felt that some of the present day ceili dances were invented by the Dancing Masters to hold the interest of those pupils having difficulty with the solo dancing and to give them an opportunity to enjoy themselves. They gave us plenty of variety with Round, Long (progressive) and Square Dances. The side-step in Ceili dancing is unique to Irish dancing and is not to be found outside of Ireland. The great Dancing Master, O'Kearin (O'Kearing) from Kerry is reputed to have been mainly responsible for the crystallisation of Irish dances, reducing them to the order and uniformity they have now attained. Irish dancing suffered a decline for some years, but was revived due mainly to the efforts of Conradh na Gaeilge, founded in 1893, the forum being the "Feis". Believe it or not, the first organised Ceili was not held in Ireland, but in London on 30th October 1897; it was organised by the newly formed branch of Conradh na Gaeilge. A Centenary Ceili was organised in Dublin's Whitehall Colmcille's GAA Club, Collin's Avenue, on 1st November 1997 in celebration of this event. "An Comisiun le Rinci Gaelacha", founded in 1929, completed the standardisation of the ceili dances as we know them today and which can be found in their book "Ar Rinci Foirne". Some readers may not know that "The Sweets of May", "The Three Tunes" and "Trip to the Cottage" originated in Co. Armagh. The "Rakes of Mallow" is said to have been arranged/invented by an tAthair Lorcan O Muiri during ceilithe at the Irish College in Omeath, Co. Louth, in the early 1930s, where girls outnumbered the boys.

 

(c) Set Dancing

The Country Sets (4 couples) and Half-Sets (2 couples) have had a very controversial history here since their introduction some centuries ago. These Sets should not be confused with Solo Set Dances, such as "The Blackbird", "King of the Fairies", "St. Patrick's Day". Conradh na Gaeilge would not permit Sets to be danced at any of their ceilithe in Dublin on the grounds that they were "foreign imported dances". To country folk where "the set" was more part of their social living tradition over the years (e.g. Clare, Kerry) than a ceili dance, this was a grave insult. It would appear that Set Dancing reached us indirectly from the Royal Courts of France, Spain, Portugal and England and that the Irish soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars played an important role in their introduction. Abroad, these dances were known as "Quadrilles" or "Sets of Quadrilles" and movements were generally performed by walking or sliding. However, the Dancing Masters increased the pace of the music and made use of native steps in the movements. With these modifications, the Quadrilles spread throughout the country, developing local peculiarities in time. Some Sets are distinguished by places of origin, e.g. Cashel Set, Ballycommon Set, others by the rhythm of the music, e.g. the Reel Set, the Jig Set, or by the dancing step involved, e.g. the Polka Set. The Caledonian Set (Clare) is said to have been introduced into Co. Clare by Scotsmen who came to work there. The number of figures/parts constituting a set can vary from 2 upwards and in some Sets more than one musical rhythm is used - the average number of figures is 5 or 6. Over the years, where Set Dancing was alive and thriving, the musicians loved to play for the sets. It could be said that the dancing of these sets, in the houses in particular, helped to preserve the traditional music. Although the Public Dance Halls Act (1935) was responsible for the demise of traditional dancing throughout most of the country, thankfully it remained vibrant in isolated pockets of the country, e.g. Clare, Kerry. With the renewed interest in set-dancing, how proud these counties/areas should feel to see their own sets danced all over Ireland and outside of it. However, a note of warning needs to be sounded with this nationalisation / inter-nationalisation of sets, some areas could lose their sets due to the "importation" of more popular, more varied sets. Another area of concern is the way steps for sets are generally being danced at present. Many of today's setdancers, while thouroughly enjoying themselves (and rightly so!) are (a) dancing (or attempting) the Clare Set style battering (often overdone) for ALL the reel sets (and indeed for ceili dances such as the High Cauled Cap which represent a different form if Irish dance), and (b) dancing the Sliabh Luachra Set slide (with various native ornamentations from that region) for the slide movement of many of the polka/jig sets. No distinction is being made between the true native steps (basic or otherwise) for the various sets. It is very important that people learning any particular set are taught the steps for that set in their pure native form. Unless serious efforts are made to rectify this quite soon, the next generation(s) will be unaware of the existence of the great variety of authentic steps for sets our forefathers have bequethed to us - which will be a huge loss to our tradition. This can be achieved without losing the spontaneity with setdancing or lessening the enjoyment of dancers.

 

Donncha O Muineachain

 

Sources used:

"A Handbook of Irish Dances" by J.G O'Keeffe and Art O'Brien

An Comisiun le Rinci Gaelacha

"Irish Dance" by Arthur Flynn - No. 73 of the Irish Environmental Library Series

 

Copyright(c)Donncha O Muineachain

 

History_of_Irish_Dance.zip: - Vous pouvez télécharger ce document en format Word 6/95 (8Ko)