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Set dancing
is a form of
Irish social dance that is organised around couples dancing in groups
or a set
of eight.
It is a vibrant and fresh style of dance, based on dancing Quadrilles,
which
originally came from France.
The Irish have added their own unique steps and music to this dancing
to make
it energetic, rhythmic and great fun.The style is with the feet very
low and
flat to the floor, sometimes silently pushing and swishing around the
floor,
and other times making a rhythmic tattoo on the floor that is hypnotic.
Set
dancing uses the whole body in a relaxed stance.
Sets have evolved differently in different parts of Ireland,
with the music and unique
steps of the local area integrated into their own local set. This
creates
interest for those learning and dancing sets, with jigs, slides, polkas
and
reels being the most common tempo and guide to steps. Each set is made
up of a
number of figures, usually between 3 – 6 figures for each set
and will take
anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes to complete a full set . Some
sets will
be predominantly one type of music or step – jigs for example
– while other
sets will have a change of tempo for each figure.
Set dancing had a contemporary revival in the 1980’s after a
long dormant
period where ceili dancing and dance bands of the 1960’s were
more popular.
Over 120 sets have been revived and danced in recent times, and who
knows how
many more?
To see some examples of set
dancing, open the following clips from the YouTube website:
There are a number of
other
forms of Irish dancing, as follows:
Sean nós dancing (say shan-nose)
Sean
nós literally means
“old style”, and this beautiful style is danced by
individuals to their own
steps, and their own rhythm in their own time! These lovely steps have
been
integrated over time into various sets and have given Irish set dancing
a
unique look and sound when compared with other dance based on
Quadrilles –
English country dancing, Scottish country dancing, renaissance dancing.
The
closest to Irish sean nós would be the French-Canadian foot
percussion and Cape Breton
step dancing. It is generally to be found in the more remote and
isolated parts
of Ireland,
some of which are areas where the spoken language is Gaelige
(Irish).
For some
excellent examples
of sean nos dancing, see the following clips from the YouTube website:
Step
Dancing - not to be confused with Set Dancing!
Step dancing is
the
Riverdance–style of dancing, where individuals dance up on
the balls of their
feet, either with hard shoes or soft shoes, with very little movement
of arms
or upper body. The emphasis in this style of dancing is on the steps
and
footwork. There are many Irish dancing schools in Australia
and they, almost without
exception, only teach step dancing.
Ceili
Dancing is different again!
Ceili dancing has a
different repertoire of dances which are commonly danced in Northern
Ireland,
England, America and Australia, but uncommon in the south of Ireland
now -
people in their forties can remember being taught Irish Dancing
The dances
are in many forms, for couples or threesomes, in lines, squares and
circles, including several in four-couple sets. They are danced to
steps which
are similar to those used in modern step dancing – up on the
balls of the feet
rather than flat feet to the floor, like those for set dancing. This
style of
dancing is similar to Australian bush dancing and colonial dancing.
Irish Two-Hand Dancing
Two-hand
dancing, like sean nos dancing, has become more popular at ceilis in
Ireland. These are short, repetitive dances mostly done in couples, and
occasionally threes and fours,. These dances can often be
danced
in large circle where a partner moves on to a new dancer each
time
the dance pattern is completed. Some favorites are The Peeler and The
Goat, and Shoe the Donkey.
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Set Dancing?