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Feiseanna take a heck of a lot of work

FRIEDA KLOTZ

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, June 15, 2009, 1:40 PM

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

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Read more: Maurice Landers, Competitive Dance, Dance, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Yonkers, Jim Mulvihill, Sheila Keady, Anne Garvey, Jackson Heights

United Irish Counties Feis secretary Sheila Keady hard at work

Feiseanna are fun, but they’re a heck of a lot of work. United Irish Counties is based in New York, but still many of the organizers of the United Irish Counties Feis, held on June 14, had to travel to Yonkers. It’s a weekend of early mornings and late nights. And not many breaks.

“The weekend is taken up,” said Maurice Landers, the co-chair of the UIC Feis. “You spend a good portion of Saturday setting up the five stages. There’s a lot of physical work – heavy lifting, to do.” The night before the Feis, Landers got home at 9pm. He was up the next morning at 5:30am to commute to Yonkers by 8am. But he doesn’t complain. “Everybody plays a role.”

Many people play various roles all day; some are not even sure how many roles they have.

“My title is secretary,” said Sheila Keady. “It’s hard to describe my job. I do all the stuff – spreadsheets and lists and Excel. I get the musicians and adjudicators. And I schedule events. There are so many details,” she said.

As she speaks, people constantly come up to question her, thank her, or say goodbye. By the end of the day, Keady can be a little frazzled from the frenzied environment.

The venue is crowded, as youngsters run around, change costumes, eat, dance, and play. It may look like chaos, but many of the old hands remark that it’s a highly organized feis. It’s “a testament to the efforts of the Feis committee and the UIC board and officers,” said Maurice Landers.

To run a feis takes a lot of work, and to run it well, even more. “I’m a slacker, I’ve only been here since 9am” Jim Mulvihill joked. Mulvihilll commanded the stage, making sure the dancers knew their marks. From Jackson Heights, Mulvihill is on the board of directors of the United Irish Counties and acts as a delegate for the Kerry Association. “Some people have been here much earlier than I was, to open the doors” – the doors opened at 8am.

The Feis went on without problems, due to the amount of work that everyone put in. But most important are the traditions upheld through dance and music. “Very few children are disappointed – they understand that not everyone will be a winner,” said Anne Garvey. “But if someone’s disappointed in their results, we try to highlight their participation. We encourage them to have a good time.”

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Posted by CEILIMAN on November 9,2009 | 08:47AM

Hi ,I know how much hard work goes into the organising of such functions and it is acredit to them,I organise a real ceili dance in the london irish centre in murray st camden townevery sunday night and I know how hard it is to try and keep these traditional events alive,we are now about the only real ceili left inlondon,the reasson I use the word real ceili is that the set dancing fraternity seem to advertise their events as ceili which of course they are not,what I would like to see is Feiseanna having ceili dancing in the progamme which might help to bring back the CEILI DANCE,PERHAPS YOUR READERS MAY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON HOW TO REVIVE CEILI DANCING YOURS ANTON COYLE

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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.

Feiseanna take a heck of a lot of work

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