| Over the centuries Ireland developed a unique style | | | | manor houses and entertaining the residents with |
| of dance, but it's only in recent years it has come to | | | | songs and stories, in return for which they received |
| the attention of the wider world -- and here's why. | | | | bed and board. In the eighteenth century, this |
| During the interval at the 1994 Eurovision song | | | | tradition was enlarged to include traveling dance |
| contest, a little known group of Irish dancers called | | | | masters who would roam the country and teach |
| "Riverdance" brought the audience to their feet and | | | | villages to dance in the traditional way. |
| astonished a massive world wide TV audience with | | | | In order to whip up enthusiasm the dance masters |
| their feet-tapping rhythms and colorful dance style. | | | | held group dances and competitions, with the best |
| Riverdance is produced by Moya Doherty and its | | | | dancers in each village held in high esteem. In order to |
| instant popularity owes much to the brilliant and | | | | give a firm surface for dancing, doors were often |
| flamboyant execution of the principle dancers, | | | | taken off their hinges and laid flat for the dancers. |
| Irish-Americans Jean Butler and Michael Flatley. | | | | This, coupled with the use of the hard shoe, gave |
| Thus a dance style that drew its inspiration from | | | | rise to the rhythmic and rapid foot tapping, so closely |
| many races became universally recognized and | | | | associated now with Irish dancing. |
| enjoyed. | | | | One interesting sequence in the Riverdance show, is |
| The history of Irish dancing has its roots back in the | | | | a little tableau when some Irish immigrant dancers |
| period before even the Celts arrived in Ireland. At | | | | meet some American "hoofers" and try out each |
| that time, the Druids worshipped nature -- in particular | | | | other's style of dancing. |
| trees -- and they would have performed rituals which | | | | Dancing competitions between villages were held on |
| involved dancing around the oak tree, in particular. | | | | neutral ground crossroads where the roads to the |
| When the Celts arrived from mainland Europe, they | | | | rival villages met. Later, this gave rise to the building |
| brought with them dance styles from their countries | | | | of permanent dance halls at crossroads, which |
| of origin. When the Normans conquered Ireland in the | | | | subsequently led to romantic liaisons between |
| 12th century, they brought with them fresh dances. | | | | members of the different villages, when social dances |
| Chief of these Norman dances was the Carol, which | | | | were held. |
| involves a circle of dancers surrounding a single singer | | | | Today, Irish dancing is thriving as never before, aided |
| in the center. You can see echoes of this style in the | | | | by the popularity of Riverdance, and The Feis, as the |
| Riverdance sequence, "Countess Cathleen" a dance | | | | dance competitions are called, are an important part |
| of empowerment for the women dancers. | | | | of Irish cultural life, particularly in rural areas. |
| Later, three principle dance styles were evolved. | | | | The World Irish Dancing championships are held |
| These were the Prince Fada (the long dance), the | | | | annually near Dublin and reflects the fact Irish people |
| Trenchmore and the Irish Hey. Irish dancing was | | | | took their dance culture to many parts of the planet, |
| accompanied by the Uilleann pipes -- a type of | | | | with competitors from as far away as New Zealand |
| bagpipe, with its origins, as with the Scottish | | | | and Australia as well as The USA, Canada and |
| bagpipes, in the Mid East. | | | | England. |
| For many years it had been the custom for traveling | | | | Copyright 2007 Joseph Donegal and |
| musicians to roam the country, stopping at wealthy | | | | The-Best_Of_Ireland. |
