Ceili Dance:
a ceili (kay-lee) is a
traditional Irish gathering for fun, fellowship, and laughs (or
craic as the Irish might say). Traditional ceili
dances were enjoyed at house parties and corner road gatherings
in the rural countrysides. Decades later, they are still
danced in Ireland. The bonfire, haymakers jig, siege of
ennis, fairy reel, etc are very easy to learn. These
traditional country folk dances have a follow the leader
pattern that new dancers can pickup on their 1st attempt.
Our dance caller will teach the basic 3's, 7's, jig step, and
ceili swing at the start of the event. (easy stuff !)
From thereon, we walk thru every dance pattern slowly at first.
We won't repeat a pattern all night so jump in and join the fun
as you won't learn how from the sidelines. We'll dance jigs,
reels , hornpipes and a waltz . Its suitable to all ages, so
bring the entire family along. Wear cool lightweight
clothing - or layers so you can peel when things warm up.
Leather soled shoes that glide are preferable (sneakers tend to
stick ). If your hip creaks and you'd just like to watch from
the sidelines, that's ok too. There are numerous photos on this
website from the Vashon
ceili's and Des Moines Irish
Hooley's where you can sample these fun filled
events. Below are two older ceili video links from
Ireland, along with 2 recent sample of ceili's in the Pacific
Northwest.
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Sean
Nos Dance: this
is an old style traditional form of dancing that originated in the
Connemara region (west coast of Ireland). The low to ground stepping out
to the music, isvery relaxed and similar to tap dance. This is not
a stage show
event like the Step Dancing you see in productions of Riverdance.
Sean Nos
dancing is a very impromptu, rhythmic, and low key accompaniment to a
lively traditional Irish band. The footwork "battering" is great
fun to watch and listen to. These are typically done as a solo
performer or in very small groups and are well suited to all ages.
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| Brush/Broom dance: is
another traditional Irish dance form. There are many tales on how
this dance form originated. One version is that men outnumbered
women so the gents polished up their skills at home with a broom as a partner.
Once mastered, they'd go to their local dance gatherings to display
their skills in hopes of garnering the ladies attention. Another version is
that the Irish Tinkers/Pavees/Travelers would perform this
"showy" dance to attract attention and make it easier to sale
their wares, like brooms, tools and pots. This dance tradition
has been handed down for more than a century & is very entertaining.
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Irish Step Dance:
Riverdance is a
prime example of Irish Step Dancing. This is what most people think
of when they hear "Irish dancing". But in fact, its only one portion of their dance repertoire. There are 2 primary styles of
step dancing: soft shoe and hard shoe (examples above). Soft shoe
and hard shoe dances are both extremely energetic and high spirited.
These are very fun to watch & harder to do so that might explain why
its mostly performed by youth. Their costumes are often very intricate
& expensive so please keep your food at a safe distance from these
performers and resist the temptation to touch their wigs. Their mom's
will love you for it ! Ceili dances are
much simpler than these Irish Step dances. Checkout the softshoe and
hardshoe video samples below to "hear" the difference in styles.
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Irish Set Dances: This is perhaps where American
square dancing evolved from - but we took much of the high spirited energy
and footwork out of it. Irish Set Dances are danced with 4 couples in
a square. A "set" includes as many as 7 different figures
(each figure is a dance all to their own ). Thus the name SET dance - its a set
of dances! When you step out on the set dance floor be prepared to
dance ALL the figures in a given set. Dancers weave thru intricate
patterns with maneuvers like: lead around, house, body, little
Christmas, dance at home, swing, & chain. The names of the
set dances will typically hint at what region of Ireland they originated
from, like the West Kerry Set or Aran Set. Set dances are faster paced than ceili's, highly energetic,
and fun. Set Dancing is VERY popular thruout Ireland today. Hundreds of couples will grace the dance floor in most every Irish
community on a weekly basis for fast paced action ! They are not
couch potatoes and its shows in their wonderful clattery footwork called
"battering". When in Ireland - be sure to go to a set dance
event. If you'd like to study up on a set dance, here's a useful
web site
www.setdanceteacher.co.uk Leather soled shoes that
glide are recommended. Wooden heels help to accent your footwork, and
dress in layers so you can peel down when you warm up. Bill Lynch publishes a Set Dancing magazine and hosts a
website with great info & photos - it also includes links to many short
set dancing video samples ! so go check out that good stuff.
I'll put 4 samples below to give you a taste. .Set
dance lessons are held ever Sunday at Mick Kelly's near Seatac
airport and will also try to squeeze a set or 2 in during the
Irish Hooley's in Des Moines.
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Lilting:
is a traditional form of music in Ireland. They don't need
instruments, they take their music w/them whereever they go.
Here's a video sample of Seamus Brogan lilting the Mason's Apron, plus
Seamus Fay from Co Cavan w/Fraher's Jig .
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Trad Irish
Sessions: these
gatherings of musicians always vary. So sit down & enjoy ! Songs may
be sung, stories may be told, a sean nos dancer may get up and dance
along with a few steps, and the musicians come n go . You never know what will happen, but for sure it will be entertaining.
Here's several video samples of traditional Irish sessions I think you'll
enjoy
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Uilleann
Pipes: (
pronounced illan) Irish pipes are often called elbow pipes. They differ
significantly from Scottish bagpipes and Scotland's Highland pipes..
For starters, there is no mouthpiece to blow into. An
Irish piper has a bellow under one arm to pump up the bag under his other
arm. Uilleann pipes have 3 critical pieces, the
chanter ( where he plays the main melody with his fingers ), drones
and regulators ( watch those wrists hitting the levers). Scottish bagpipes
were used as war pipes to frighten the British troops away from
afar so they are LOUD and are played for the most part outdoors.
Uilleann pipes are much quieter and can be played indoors without blasting
you off the chair. Pipes - you either love em or hate em.
Doesn't seem to be much middle ground. Pipers are very coordinated -
watch their arms n hands closely as they manage to |
do 4 things at once (
until its time to tackle the wife's honey do list ). Pat D'arcy's
website
www.uilleannobsession.com is a great resource for Irish Pipe
information. And our local Seattle Irish pipers too at www.irishpipersclub.org
Here's a few
links to videos of Irish pipers. Enjoy
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We hope to see you at an Irish dance or session soon !
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www.hoilands.com
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