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Another successful, rain-free year for the Rockland County Feis

FRIEDA KLOTZ

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, July 20, 2009, 11:53 AM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:46 PM

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Read more: Rockland County, Competitive Dance, Dance, Entertainment, Irish Dance, Performing Arts, Pat Dwyer, Rockland Feis, Gaelic Football, Gaelic Sports

Shannon Yeung, 8, and her little cousin Tara Neubauer, 2. Shannon came second in the reel competition, third in slipjig. Tara is a "future dancer," her mom said

Sitting at the back of the organizers’ tent with a table to herself, Pat Dwyer cut an imposing picture at the Rockland County Feis on Sunday.

Dressed in pinstripe pants, a black top and a black-and-white-patterned shirt, with short, wavy, light-blond hair, and a wry smile, Dwyer held court during the day, answering queries, chatting to passersby, and generally fending problems off with charm. This was Mrs. Feis, the woman who has chaired the annual Rockland County Feis for thirty years.

The Rockland County Feis is in its 36th year of existence. Sponsored by the Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians (men’s and women’s divisions), it is an enormous event, and is a huge undertaking to organize.

Families spread themselves all over the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area in Stony Point, NY, picnicking under the sun.

The Rockland Feis included not just Irish step-dancing, but a host of other forms of entertainment: music competitions like singing and lilting, field events like Gaelic football, piping contests, an old time waltz competition and an Irish soda bread award. And that’s not even all the event had to offer.

But the work doesn’t seem to bother Pat Dwyer in the slightest. “It’s a lot of fun because we have an excellent committee, and then some,” she says. “There is no challenge. I love dealing with people.” And she adds with a laugh, “if you run into someone you can’t deal with – you shuffle and deal.”

Like many other Rockland County residents, Pat Dwyer was born in the Bronx. Her grandparents are from Counties Down and Clare in Ireland.

She is the first woman to ever chair the Rockland County Feis, and also happens to be a strong supporter of Sarah Palin.

In 1980, a friend called Ed Moan told her there was no one to chair the feis and suggested that she do it. “I said, ‘they’re never going to let a woman run that. It’s always a man.’” But nobody else was going to run it, so she took it on.

It started out simple, but over the years, Dwyer and the feis committee have added more and more exciting elements to it, getting their ideas from the North American Feis Commission Convention.

So the pipe bands, the special needs dancing, the Gaelic-speaking and many other Irish cultural events came to be central parts of the Rockland County Feis.

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Irish dance can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances. Irish social dances can be divided further into ceili and set dancing. Irish ceili dances are danced by formations (ceili) of couples of 2 to 8 people. Irish social dance is a living tradition, and variations in particular dances are found across the Irish dance community; in some places, dances are deliberately modified and new dances are choreographed. Irish performance dancie is traditionally referred to as stepdance. Irish stepdance, popularized in 1994 by the world-famous show "Riverdance," is notable for its rapid leg movements, body and arms being kept largely stationary. Most competitive stepdances are solo dances, though many stepdancers also perform and compete using ceili dances. The solo stepdance is generally characterized by a controlled but not rigid upper body, straight arms, and quick, precise movements of the feet. The traditions of Irish dance probably grew in close association with Irish traditional music. Originating in Pre-Christian Ireland, Irish dance was later influenced by dance forms from Europe. Travelling Irish dance masters taught all over Ireland, as late as the early 1900s. As the Irish peoples migrated to other hills, they have taken sean-nos dancing with them. This form of Irish dance then has influenced various other forms of traditional solo dance extant in those other lands — such as American traditional informal freeform solo folk dancing. Old-style step dancing (a tradition related to, yet distinct from, sean-nos dancing) evolved in the late 18th and early 19th century from the dancing of traveling Irish dance masters. The Irish dance masters slowly formalized and transformed both solo and social dances. Modern masters of old-style step dancing style can trace the lineage of their steps directly back to 18th century dancers. The Irish dance masters refined and codified indigenous Irish dance traditions. Rules emerged about proper upper body, arm, and foot placement. Also, dancers were instructed to dance a step twice — once with the left foot and once with the right. Old-style step dancers dance with arms loosely (but not rigidly) at their sides. They dance in a limited space. There is an emphasis on making percussive sound with the toes. Irish social, or ceili dances vary widely throughout Ireland and the rest of the world. A céilí dance may be performed with as few as two people and as many as eight. Ceili dances may also be danced with an unlimited number of couples in a long line or proceeding around in a circle (such as in "The Walls of Limerick", "The Waves of Tory", or "Bonfire Dance". Ceili dances are often fast and complex. In a social setting, a céilí dance may be "called" — that is, the upcoming steps are announced during the dance for the benefit of newcomers. The term ceili dance was invented in the late 19th century by the Gaelic League Ceili as a noun instead of an adjective. A ceili is a social gathering featuring Irish music and dance. Ceili dancing is a specific type of Irish dance. Some will only have céilí dancing, some will only have set dancing, and some will have a mixture. In various parts of Ireland on St. Stephen's Day, December 26th, Wrenboys (mummers) celebrate Wren Day (also pronounced as the Wran) by dressing up in straw masks and colorful clothing and parading through towns and villages accompanied by traditional ceili music bands.

Another successful, rain-free year for the Rockland County Feis

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