In the air lingers the faint smell of hair spray and industrial strength adhesive, above the bustle and murmur of the crowd, an accordion bellows in the distance, girls with tanned legs and big wigs rush by: you are at a feis. It is easy to be overwhelmed by an initial glance at Irish dance especially in a competitive context. From the seemingly endless ‘diddlyi’ music, to the rhinestone covered costumes, it is a lot on the senses, but when it is broken down, Irish dance is just like any other contemporary dance genre with strong traditional roots. Dance in Ireland began to appear in documents in history as early as the 1300s, however, it was not until the 1600s that it began to be thoroughly documented.  Irish dance developed as a source of nationalism in the Republic of Ireland in its infancy. From its earliest appearances, Irish dance has been central part of Irish tradition, and has continued to progress and evolve into the competitive performance art it is today. 

What distinguishes dancing in the Irish tradition from other dance forms is the stepping technique consistent throughout all divisions of Irish dance. The earliest wave of what became the Irish dance we know today began after the French Revolution. Dance masters that had been teaching the aristocrats in France became redundant and left France and went to England and Ireland. When they arrived in Ireland they adapted many of the dances they had already been doing in France to fit to Irish music, which were mainly jigs. Dance masters played a huge role in the spread of early Irish dance. Dance masters would travel from county to county teaching the people of Ireland. The dance style of dance they taught is what we now call sean-nós, or old style, and cèilidh, group dancing. Dance at this time was much simpler and not as stylistically developed due to its level of significance in day to day activities. Survival and work were of the highest importance and leisure activities such as music and dance were put on the back burner. The tradition of the travelling dance master eventually became obsolete when there was a lifestyle shift in Ireland. The travelling dance master and traditional Irish dance were seen as traditions of rural culture, and the modern focus shifted towards city life (Brown). Dances such as the foxtrot and the waltz replaced Irish dance as stylish forms of entertainment. (“Buail Cos”) Irish dance also was separated from popular and modern forms of dancing in Ireland at the time, through its approval from the Catholic church. (Hall) Cardinal Logue wrote “[Irish dances] should be the fashion in Ireland. Irish dances do not make degenerates” (O’Toole 147.) This emphasis on the morality and religious safety did not bode well for traditional Irish dancing, and further drove it out of the limelight.

The second major historical event that shaped Irish dance is the Irish Revolution. A key event in the incitation of the revolution was the founding of the Gaelic League or Conradh na Gaeilge. During the revolution, there was a major focus on the de-Anglicization of Ireland and many aspects of Irish culture became politically charged as a product of strong nationalism that was felt for the Republic. Major traditional dance forms in Ireland at the time: step dancing, set dancing and cèilidh, were put under the umbrella term ‘Irish dance’ which took on a new meaning in terms of pride for Ireland during its political turmoil. The Gaelic League contributed to the effects of the revolution by putting emphasis on components of Irish culture including music, language, and dance. The Gaelic League’s interest in promoting Irish dance stemmed from, not enthusiasm for the dance itself but, promoting “Irishness” and Irish culture around the world. (Hall) This focus led to controversy at feiseanna, as the people who the League had appointed as adjudicators did not have a dance background, but were merely important members of an Conradh. The league went on to fine tune the way feiseanna and Oireachtas were governed by creating an Coimisiún La Rincí Gaelacha. Since then, Irish dance has evolved progressively with the changing contemporary culture in Ireland. Forms of traditional Irish dance prevalent today are step dance, sean-nós, and festival dancing. There are several associations that have branched from the Gaelic league, started by dance teachers with differing opinions of the way the association should be run. Currently, the main governing bodies of Irish step dance are An Coimisiún La Rincí Gaelacha, An Chomhdháil Muinteorí na Rincí Gaelacha, and the World Irish Dancing Association. 

In its early stages Irish dance was a male dominated activity. Dance masters were typically male. Traditional clothes for women did not allow for women to dance easily, and the would have had to hold up the front of their heavy skirt for their steps to be seen (Buail Cos). With the institutionalization of dance and competition, there began to be an increase of female dancers and teachers. Currently, Irish dancers are predominantly female, as boys risk their masculine image when pursuing Irish dance. Recently, NFL player Alex Collins was in the news when a video circulated of him dancing a reel. Collins began Irish dance for the sake of agility and stamina, however he became a symbol of encouragement for boys who are teased for dancing (Kindelan).

Competition is a big driving force for many dancers; from local feiseanna, to Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, or ‘worlds’, dancers spend hours a week working towards the top spot on the podium. The smallest competition is called a feis, pronounced ‘fesh’ and is translated to ‘festival’. Feiseanna are hosted by dance schools across the world. The rules of each feis are determined by an Coimisiún, an Chomhdháil and WIDA respectively. Each dancer progresses through six different levels of competition. The first four ‘grade levels’ are called beginner, advanced beginner, novice, and prizewinner. Once a dancer is moved out of prizewinner they are considered a ‘champion’, first a preliminary champion and then an open champion. Competitions are also separated by age group and by gender at major competitions. In the grade levels, a dancer can do as many or as little dances as they or their dance teacher desires, as each dance is judged and awarded individually by a single judge. For a champion competition, each dancer is required to do one hard shoe dance, one soft shoe dance and then a set dance. There are three judges for a champion competition, and the scores from each judge are combined to get the competitors overall score for each dance. The overall scores for all three dances are combined to get the dancers overall score and placement for the feis. The major competitions are Oireachtas (regional championships), Nationals, and Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (world championships). Each competition season, each age group is given their ‘Oireachtas draw’ and that determines which dance they will do for majors. At a major, every competitor does one hard shoe and one soft shoe round and then only the top scoring dancers from the first two rounds are ‘recalled’ to do their set. In addition to solo competition, dancers may compete in ceili, figures, and dance drama at the Oireachtasi. 

What each dancer wears for competition varies based on their association and specific style. For CLRG dancers it is typical for girls to wear elaborately embroidered dresses and long curly wigs. When Irish dance competitions first became formalized by an Conradh, costumes were plain dresses with capes or shawls and tights for girls and a pleated wrap around garment called a kilt and knee-high socks for the boys. Since then, boys have abandoned the kilt for dress trousers, a button down, and a vest which is typically ornate with embroidery and rhinestones. For the girls, the dresses first had long stiff pleated skirts embroidered with Celtic knot work or Celtic animal designs, high necklines with a crocheted collar, and a shawl or cape. Today dresses are still decorated with complex embroidery, rhinestones. Capes and shawls are now small, flat and embroidered, matching the design of the dress. With all of the man-hours that go into assembling the many pieces and layers of fabric, embroidery, and gluing on the rhinestones, as well as the cost of materials, dresses can run up to $2,500 USD when they are custom made. (“Back to Basics”) Inches have come off of the skirts, however high necklines and the inclusion of Celtic embroidery still pay homage to the traditional costumes. In addition to a solo dress, many dancers have chosen to replace the ‘rag’ curls with long curly wigs. Wigs vary in style, texture, and color. Ornate head pieces such as tiaras, barrel headbands, crystal flowers, and fabric crowns are attached to the wig to complete the look. 

A dancer’s look is created by the dance teacher in collaboration with the parents and the dress maker. Aspects of a dancers look include the color, length, and texture of the wig, dress colors and style, hard shoe buckles, sock length and make-up colors. Stylistically, Irish dance dresses come in a wide variety. Each dress has a unique embroidery pattern and color combination. The skirt and collar shape are also specific to each dress. Certain embroidery designs and styles are also specific to certain dress makers, and are recognized as their unique aesthetic. Dance teachers tend to have a concept for what they believe will be most flattering on the dancer, as well as accentuate the dancer’s strongest aspects. Tastemakers in the world of Irish dance like Gavin Doherty and Shauna Shiels push limits each year as far as what will be the next dance trend. These designers save their most dramatic innovations to reveal on their top dancers at major competitions such as the World Championships. Animal prints, tulle skirts, feathers, and monogrammed capes have come and gone out of fashion. Trends are either phased out by new, more exciting trends, or they are seen and banned by the CLRG for the next competition year. Specific trends that have been seen at majors that have since been banned are feathers, names, cartoon characters, globes or rankings, and logos. 

Wigs have come to be quintessential of the competitive Irish dancing image. The archetype for curled hair being a part of the image is thought to come from when girls danced after Mass wearing their ‘Sunday best’. Rag curls were eventually replaced with ‘poodle wigs’ that had tight banana curls. With the addition of the wig, dancers gained creative control over hair color, length and texture. Current wig trends include bun wigs, and loose curl wigs. In addition to adding variety, wigs gave dancers control over hair height which now a large factor in wig styling and judging of a dancer’s appearance. Dancers include several hair donuts underneath their wigs to achieve the desired hair height.  

Irish dance was spread around the world as people began immigrating out of Ireland, but it was first seen on a major global stage with the introduction of Riverdance, a performance during the 1994 Eurovision contest. Riverdance was then turned into a theatrical show that toured internationally. Theatrical Irish dance did not affect the style and form of competitive Irish dance, but it attracted global interest. This new popularity changed the face of Irish dance. It was no longer strictly for Irish people and people of Irish decent, and you will now find people of all races and nationalities participating in competitive Irish dance. This was once not the case and people who did not fit the stereotype had a hard time fitting in in the competitive Irish dance world. With increasing numbers of Irish dancers with diverse backgrounds, acceptance of non-Irish competitors has increased as well and now some of the top dancers are only part Irish if at all. (Velasquez)

Any dance form is reflective of culture, but traditional dance takes on a role of national expression that reflects and affects society and culture at on much deeper levels. It is seen throughout the history of Irish dance that cultural and political issues in Ireland were fundamental in shaping traditional Irish dance to what it is today. 
