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Irish dance: A once time-honored tradition-turned-plastic fashion parade?

TARA DOUGHERTY

Irish America Magazine Feature Writer

Published Saturday, June 6, 2009, 1:14 AM

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

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Read more: United States, Dance, Entertainment, Irish Dance, Performing Arts, Tara Dougherty, New York University

Irish step dancers: Then and now

When Irish America first published a story on the Irish dance phenomena in America in 1995, the scenes at feisanna were quite different than the chaotic sea of wigs and glitter one might find today. Little girls wore simpler dresses adorned with embroidery in the shapes of Celtic knots, with matching headbands holding back their natural ringlets of hair.

Enter the new millennium and the style of Irish dance twisted the traditional garb into a catwalk of multi-thousand dollar dresses equipped with glimmering rhinestones and the occasional feathers. Top it all off with those infamous and equally ridiculous wigs and you have the sorry spectacle that is competitive Irish dance fashion.

A once time-honored tradition has digressed into a parade of overly made-up children in glittering pageantry. Feisanna are now attracting new over-the-top trends that makes one ask whether the competitions are centered on dance ability or dress-up. Little girls await their competition results with tears streaking their fake tanner and mascara running down their unnaturally rosy cheeks, as mothers and teachers tweak the girls’ wigs and tiaras. And while the boys still wear a shirt, tie and often a broach, the girls arrive in neon-colored dresses and with faces painted like dolls.

The sight of all these little orange girls with manes of faux-ringlets begs the question of where did these “traditions” came from? The Internet has been abuzz in recent years, with parents blogging about the frightening costs and absurd wigs that caused them to pull their daughters out of dance. The same story pops up several times in an attempt to rationalize the popularity of these wigs.

As the story goes, a young red-haired colleen with bouncy curls entered the feis scene and fully dominated her categories, competition after competition. Parents and teachers alike watched in frustration as the dancer enthralled judges, and in an attempt to find what exactly gave her the edge over the competition, they began to fixate on her hair. The mane of curls bounced to heighten her leaps and make her spins more dramatic. Thus began the tradition of curling girls’ hair for competition. At first the curls were a natural wave but as foam spikes became the weapon of choice in coiling the young dancers’ hair, soon every dancer was showing up to competition with endless piles of perfect spirals atop their crowns.

Now what about those wigs? Any straight-haired woman will tell you the moment rain becomes a factor, no amount of foam spikes or hairspray will hold a curly hairdo. Outdoor feisanna grew in popularity and after a few days of bad weather, wigs found their way onto the heads of nearly every competitive dancer. As for the makeup and fake tanner, there’s nothing less traditional than Irish skin delightfully browned by the sun. Those customs are mysterious infiltrations of the current cultural atmosphere that values a sun-kissed glow and a plastic sheen of cosmetics into the step-dancing world.

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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.

Irish dance: A once time-honored tradition-turned-plastic fashion parade?

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