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Peter Smith's style of Irish dance is here to stay

FRIEDA KLOTZ

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, June 22, 2009, 1:07 PM

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

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Read more: Peter Smith, Dance, Entertainment, Irish Dance, Performing Arts, Patsy McLoughlin, Competitive Dance, New Jersey, Ulster Province, Munster Province

Peter Smith

View photos from the Peter Smith Feis: Click here

One of the first people IrishCentral spoke with at the Peter Smith Feis in Edison, New Jersey is Mr. Peter Smith himself.

Sitting calmly in a wheelchair, he barely had time to say hello before dance teacher Deirdre Garie whisked him away. I had to run to keep up as she pushed him towards a central stage where Smith was scheduled to watch a contest, but there was nothing unusual in this.

Smith’s every minute was occupied, and during the day, though he is wheelchair-bound and fragile after an accident, he presented prizes to dancers twice or three times every hour.

The Peter Smith School annual feis is one of the biggest in the mid-Atlantic region, with around 1,500 young dancers taking part.

The scale of the competition reflects Smith’s contribution to Irish dance. Not only is his school one of the biggest on the east coast, Smith himself has actively influenced the direction of Irish dance in the U.S., bringing in a style in the 1950s that has held sway ever since.

Smith is one of a family of nine. He was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and his older sister Peggy taught him and all his brothers and sisters to dance.

Irish dancers compete at the Peter Smith Feis

Smith then studied with Peter and Cyril McNiff, two teachers from Belfast who introduced a class of dance from Ireland called the Ulster style. When Smith began to teach, he taught only Ulster style.

“It was a more beautiful style,” he said while sitting in the hospitality area during a brief break at his feis. “There used to be a fast style of Irish dancing in New York and New Jersey. It’s gone completely now, because the new style caught on throughout America.”

In the old style of dancing, the Munster style, musicians played fast and dancers did all they could simply to keep up, their feet battering quick and low on the floor.

The Ulster style Smith promoted allowed for more intricate footwork. “You could see exactly the steps,” he said.

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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.

Peter Smith's style of Irish dance is here to stay

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