Style of performance dance with its roots in traditional Irish dance
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Irish Step Dance
Irish dancers performing at a show
Medium
Dance
Types
Performance and Competition
Ancestor arts
Irish dance
Originating culture
Irish
Originating era
Mid-1800s
Irish stepdance is a style of performance dance with its roots in traditional Irish dance. It is generally characterized by a stiff upper body and fast and precise movements of the feet. It can be performed solo or in groups. Aside from public dance performances, there are also stepdance competitions all over the world. These competitions are often called Feiseanna (singular Feis). In Irish dance culture, a Feis is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. Costumes are considered important for stage presence in competition and performance Irish stepdance. In many cases, costumes are sold at high prices and can even be custom made. Each costume is different, with varying colors and patterns, designed to attract the judge's eye in competitions and the audience's eye in performance. General appearance beside the costume is also equally important. Female dancers would typically curl their hair before each competition or wear curled wigs, while male dancers would neatly style their hair to a shape to their liking. Poodle Socks are worn by female dancers while males wear plain black socks. Poodle socks are white socks that stretch to typically 1-4 inches above the ankle, depending on the dancers preference. They also have distinctive ribbing, and can be embroidered with gems.
Riverdance, an Irish step-dancing performance in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest that later became a hugely successful theatrical production, greatly contributed to its popularity. Once Riverdance became a large production, it changed the way that Irish dance was performed and viewed. Now that entrepreneurs could capitalize on Irish culture, they were able to tweak it to the audience's liking. This meant adding a theatrical flair to the performance, including arm movements (as opposed to the previously rigid top half that dancers maintained) as well as sexualizing the dance and the costumes. To many, this was a betrayal of tradition, but to some, it was a way of expanding Irish culture and became widely accepted. Following after Riverdance was Lord of the Dance and many other theatrical productions based on Irish stepdance. Michael Flatley, an Irish stepdancer, became a well-known name within these shows.
Two types of shoes are worn in Irish stepdance; hard shoes, which make sounds similar to tap shoes, and soft shoes (called Ghillies), which are similar to ballet slippers. The dances for soft shoe and hard shoe are different and go by different names. Different music with varying beats are played based on the dance, though each soft and hard shoe dances all share basic moves and rhythms.
Irishstepdance is a style of performance dance with its roots in traditional Irish dance. It is generally characterized by a stiff upper body and fast...
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choreographed. Performance dance is traditionally referred to as stepdance. Irishstepdance, popularised by the show Riverdance, is notable for its rapid...
dotted crotchet note. The slip jig is one of the four most common Irishstepdances, the others being the reel, the jig and the hornpipe. It is danced...
tradition. Irishstepdance is a widespread form of step dance. The earliest feis, or competition, occurred in 1897. It descends from traditional Irish dance...
Irish Dancing World Championships; often simply the Worlds) is an annual Irishstepdance competition run by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (the Irish...
Contest 1981, which was hosted by Ireland. At the time, Bill Whelan and Dónal Lunny composed the music, augmenting the Irish folk band Planxty with a rock...
first Roadblock, one team member had to perform thirty seconds of an Irishstepdance routine from Riverdance in order to receive their next clue. After...
independent Ireland. Today, the former generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see themselves as Irish, while a Northern Irish or Ulster...
Irishstepdance was performed at céilís, organised competitions and at some country houses where local and itinerant musicians were welcome. Irish dancing...
and steps. It may refers to : A kind of solo dance in irishstepdanceIrish set dancing, an irish Country dance in groups of eight or four dancers, derived...
stylistic differences between festival dance and modern stepdance as the predominating forms of solo Irish dance. Teachers of festival dance emphasise the importance...
(born 8 May 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer who is a leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, as well as a theatre actor...
a new take on traditional Irishstepdance that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish traditional music and dance...
Northern Ireland. The two principal characters are a widower, Lexie, and his daughter, Laura, who live in Derry. Laura becomes keen on Irishstepdance and...
Canadian stepdance refers to several related forms of percussive stepdance in Canada with European origins including France, Scotland and Ireland. Canadian...
the Catholic Church and other social activities, such as Irishstepdance and frequenting Irish American bars).[citation needed] While not as extensive...
play a simple blade of grass as a musical instrument and even does an Irishstepdance with Sean and a chorus line of sheep. Despite Sean's wishes for him...
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