Shall We Dance?
It was a lively day in the middle of November… I was promenading along the wide and sparkling Moscow streets when my friend suddenly called and said: “Would you be happy to visit the ‘Celtic Legends’ concert? Come on! Events are moving!”…To tell the truth, I shivered with joy! –“I would be the luckiest if I could come, dear!!! It is always a mighty occasion!”
And after few days we were there, at the magnificent show. The concert hall was filled with screams and hands’ claps when the sound of a bagpipe suddenly rushed from the dark of the scene into our ears! Everybody was excited and their feet beat time, their hearts overwhelmed with anticipation of the miracle of Irish dance! Do you want to enter the world of motion of steps and impassioned souls? Let me tell you something curious…
The early history of Irish dance reveals constant changes in population through migration and invasions. Each of these people brought their preferred types of dance and music. Traces of their circular dances survive in the ring dances of today. When the Celts arrived in Ireland from central Europe over two thousand years ago, they brought with them their own folk dances.
When King James landed at Kinsale, County Cork in 1780, he was greeted at the shore by young women performing native dances. Three people stood abreast, each holding ends of a white handkerchief. They advanced to slow music and were followed by dancing couples, each couple holding a handkerchief between them. The tempo of music increased and the dancers performed a variety of lively figures… Several versions of the same dance were to be found in different parts of Ireland. In this way a rich heritage of Irish dances was assembled and modified over the centuries. Today, jigs, reels, hornpipes, sets, half sets, polkas and step dances are all performed. Solo dancing or step dancing first appeared at the end of the eighteenth century as a combination of steps mixed within the set of energetic footwork with hands kept close to body. Now step kind of dancing is extremely popular in Ceilidhs – informal evenings of dancing, which are often fast and complex. Ceilidhs are held in large towns and country districts where young and old enjoy group dances together. A Ceilidh event may be a social setting with dances and folk music, everyone can take part in the action – the upcoming steps are announced during the dance for the benefit of newcomers!
Ceilidh dances vary widely throughout Ireland and the rest of the world and they are known to be an excellent pastime! In Ceilidh-dancing, there is an organized step dance competition – a feis, which means “festival” in Irish. Feises are always very exciting, because lots of people come from their schools annually to show there brilliant skilled manner of performing! Dance competitions are divided by age and level of expertise.
The costumes worn by Irish dancers today commemorate the clothing of the past. Each school of dancing has its own distinct dancing costume. Most of the dresses are adorned with hand-embroidered Celtic designs. Male and female dancers today wear hornpipe shoes, and for reels and jigs, soft shoes similar to ballet pumps are worn. The Lord of the dance, Michael Flatley, the most honorable Irish-dancer, who holds his own show “River Dance, the Legend”, uses about 100 pairs of soft and hard shoes a year! That’s because you need a great possessiveness to stand during a 4 hour show with steps rapid and heels rushing up and down in an amazing tempo! Though it can seem so hard to take up this dance style, the popularity of Irish dances is growing from year to year! There are dancing championships held in Dublin at Easter where dancers from England, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand compete for the world title.
Today there are many opportunities to watch and enjoy Irish dancing. It is a regular part of social events, held in schools and dancing halls all over the world, including Russia. Dancing sessions at Ceilidhs are usually preceded by a teaching period where novices are shown the initial steps. Visitors are always welcome to join in and with informal instruction on the spot, anyone can quickly master the first steps and soon share the Irish enthusiasm for Irish dance!
The most actual principles to be mastered are:
Being gifted at dance,
Learning from a good teacher,
Having a positive attitude.
Meeting these three simple terms you can reach your point of success very soon!
So, let your feet jiggle on a hot floor and feel the lively Celtic sounds come into your heart! Try your own way in dancing and you will feel your inner confidence also in a great number of life situations as well!
Join in the Moscow dancing schools and express your own individuality together with a sound of hornpipe on a lively Ceilidh evening, so that the question “Shall we dance?” will be given a relevant and joyful answer!!!