TRADITIONAL IRISH DANCE
Step dancing, set dancing, and dancing at céilís remains popular not only in Ireland but in all corners of the world, wherever you find an Irish descendant or two.

Dancing at the Crossroads

The above photo, known at least locally as "Dancing At The Crossroads" represents a time in Irish history when dancing was prohibited by the English. The Irish would meet on country roads, often where the roads crossed, bring food, drink, and music, while watching out for British soldiers. They danced their country dances, the ceili dances and set dances we dance now.

The History of Irish Dance (a ThinkQuest.org award-winning website) talks about crossroads dancing and tells another story about a time in Ireland when dancing was prohibited by the clergy for its "immorality"

During the 16th and 17th centuries “crossroads dancing” became very popular. The clergy condemned “crossroads dancing” so the Gaelic League introduced the first Ceili in 1697. This let dancers dance indoors under supervision. The Ceili was not held in Ireland but in London. Traditional Irish culture continued in secrecy until the 1700s. Around 1750 less strict attitudes allowed Irish dance to flourish.

The website, created by three young dancers from California, also includes a section on types of dances

An excellent source of information on the history of Irish Dance is the article on Irish Step Dancing
A Brief History [excerpt below] by Don Haurin & Ann Richens at the Richens Academy of Irish Dancing (Ohio)

"Attempts by the parish priests to suppress dancing were frequent, but appear to have been mostly ineffective."

Irish House Dances

Before leaving the topic of the history of old traditional style Irish dancing, it is important to point out that dancing is still being done in homes today, although not so often as in days gone by. In this Irish House Dance video your host talks about the house dances he remembers in the home of his youth.

Here's another Irish House Dance video clip from 1987.

From Traditional to Modern

While commercial shows are responsible for spreading appreciation - Irish dance within the last ten years, traditionally the agent of transmission was the traveling dance master. Such a teacher would move from village to village, teaching dance, music, and ettiquette to local children in exchange for room and board. Dance was social in function and participatory in nature. Neighbors would gather in the evening for a ceili, or house party, featuring music, group dances, songs, and storytelling. In the summer months, the barn door would be taken off its hinges to provide a hard surface for stepping upon, or neighbors would gather at a crossroads for an all night party. [Darrah Carr Dance on Irish Dance Insights, October 31, 2007]

Dancers like Darrah Carr, Kieran Jordan and, of course, Michael Flatley, are taking the dance in new directions while respecting the old traditions. Darrah Carr Dance blends tradiltional Irish step with modern dance. Kieran follows her heart with sean-nós style Irish dancing, as shown in this dancing workshop video in NorthTexas in 2008 and this quick demo of "and-one-and-two-and-three-and-tap" along with a unique 'improv' style. Michael Flatley creates extravaganza Irish dance shows that will mark another era in Irish dancing. At 17 years of age Michael became the first American to bring the title of All-World Irish Dancing Champion to the US

Special Step Dancing Chimps Video

Enjoy this humerous re-mix of the Arby's Riverdance chimps commercial. Great fun! Here's the original commercial as seen on TV. And here is the real Riverdance step dancers. The music is that of Lord of the Dance [listend to the hymn Lord of the Dance by The Ennis Sisters at a somewhat slower pace. ]

Irish Step Dancing
Irish step dancing classes teach mostly young girls and some boys to dance reels, jigs and hornpipes in lively skip, hop, jumps in a group or chorus line, featuring one or another of them in special steps,similar to how the jazz musicians play solo to show off their instruments. Modern step dancing is more than just an invigorating and enjoyable pastime; students are expected to compete for recognition at competitions near and far and dance costumes are elaborate and expensive. [Click on image above for a larger image of Siobhan, dancing for an appreciative audience including her family and some well-know Irish musicians.] Read more about Irish Step Dancing >>

NEW!
View instructions and videos of set dances below. There are several set dances on videos and some figures by themselves. Along with the "study notes" or instructions, and a few lessons, you can learn some new set dancing "figgers."

Irish Set Dancing
Irish set dancing contains many of the same jig, reel, and hornpipe steps (and variations) done in step dancing, but the dances are done in "sets" of eight dancers, traditionally four couples, usually facing each other in "squares," as in American square dancing. There is much shuffling, hopping, and twirling (from an observers viewpoint). The couples dance together within the group and with opposite couples or move on within the dance to dance with all the other dancers of the opposite gender. It tends to be done more by an older crowd as opposed to the mostly youthful step dancers. It tends to be less vigorous than step dancing, but you couldn't convince some of that after dancing the polka step for several minutes.

The Los Angeles Irish Set Dancers website describes "Irish "Set" dancing is the "other" Irish dance – Irish Country Dancing. It is a form of social dancing, which has been enjoyed in Ireland for over 150 years and has seen a large-scale revival in the 1980s and 1990s; it is very popular today in Ireland and in Irish communities throughout the world."

The history of Irish dance as described on the Ireland's Eye website is a great summary and is an extract from the book Irish Dance (Appletree Press).

"...there is evidence that among its first practitioners were the Druids, who danced in religious rituals honouring the oak tree and the sun. Traces of their circular dances survive in the ring dances of today."

A Brief History of Set Dance
By Maldon Meehan, 1999

This article is an expert from Maldon’s unpublished masters thesis entitled “Communitas, Transmission and the ‘Urban Set Dance Revival’ Case study Limerick City, Ireland, 1998-1999”. The complete work is held at the Irish Academy of Music and Dance, University Limerick, Ireland.

What is Irish Dance?

Ceili dancing involves large group .. Set dances are usually danced by four couples, forming a square ... from the Ceola website

Set dancing is good exercise, but it's a social activity as well. The focus in on fun, more so than the fancy footwork. Classes are formed in communities in social halls or sometimes in pubs. It's challenging to learn all the steps, but sometimes a "caller" will call out the steps so even the beginners can complete a complicated set without much trouble.

There's nothing like seeing for yourself. There are some wonderful video clips (Chapter 1 - not recommended for dial-up connections) of live set dancing on Set Dance Week showing a variety of dances. It's lively and it's fun. And the music is great.

Céilí Dancing
Céilí dancing (pronounced kay-lee) is different from set dancing in that a céilí is a dance, as in the event. It is a social, friendly gathering of folks, both young and old, where everyone dances (often with no "caller"). A céilí is a festive occasion that includes music making, (fiddle, box, flute, tin whistle, whatever) singing, reciting a favorite meaningful poem, telling a story or showing off your steps. It definitely includes a little food and a bit of drink. And you can usually find a cup of tea and some Irish Bread.

One of the first ceili dances I learned as a child was a two-hand dance called Shoe the Donkey (instructions),also known as the Verse of Vienna, danced to a polka, with 2 people kicking up their heels in front as they hop, step and turn to the music. In order to keep time to the beat of the music, we sang, "Shoe the don-key, shoe the don-key, shoe the don-key, hee-haw" turning with each hee-haw. Here's the sheet music, in case you want to try the tune on your tin whistle or recorder.

Set dancers practice for months learning various dances and celebrate with a céilí or a "hooley" (a traditional Irish evening of music, song and dance). The picture here to the right (click on it for more photos of the event) is from the Danvers Irish Set Dancers Christmas Céilí December 2004.

Ooh La La! Céilí or set?
There are those who make a distinction between céilí and set dancing, saying that céilí dances are the original folk dances of Ireland, whereas the set dances are derived from the French quadrille folk dances put to Irish music. It appears that they are historically correct. However many of the original céilí dances were lost due to the years of British rule in Ireland during which they discouraged all things Irish. The Irish Dancing Commission has been involved in reviving the original céilí dances and adding to them. They are done more often in lines or circles and may be considered a little less complicated than set dances. But it's all fun and set dancers do céilí dances and vice versa. Et voila!

Sean-Nós Dancing

Sean-Nós, litterally meaning old style, dancing has its roots in the Connemara region in the west of Ireland. To Americans it may appear like tap dancing. It's not the rigid, high-stepping style of step dancing; it is a freestyle, rhythmic dance that is low to the ground and highly improvisational. Since you can do this all by yourself or with another one or two dancers, you can hardly go wrong because you pretty much make it up yourself. There are some "battering" steps that are typical and a bit of arm swinging and a few other basic bits of footwork to learn and then just take it from there.

View a demo of Sean-Nos Dancing on YouTube nicely done by The Harp Set Dancers.

Our local Sean-Nos dancing guru is Kieran Jordan of Boston, who performs and hold Sean-Nos workshops. Maldon Meehan and Ronan Regan from Seattle also teach Sean-Nos dance steps and have a DVD video available for sale. Watch this video of Karan Jordan dancing with Tryptich

NEW! Study Notes and Video to aid in learning sets

SET DANCING INSTRUCTIONS, STUDY NOTES, & DEMO VIDEOS

Links to study notes and videos for some of the set dances: (the collection is growing))

The various regions of Ireland have different styles of set dancing. Some prefer to dance to jigs and another may like more polkas. The dances below ar broken down by regions or counties and the dances are listed alphabetically within. You'll find the music or tunes for the reels, jigs, polkas, slides, etc. on this Session Tunes Set website. A particular tune type, generally a reel (4/4), jig (6/8), slide (12/8), polka (2/4) or hornpipe (2/4 or 4/4) accompanies each figure. They are listed with each figure - if it's not there yet, it will be soon.

If the instructions are unfamiliar to you, refer to the selected set and two hand dance terms. There are illustratins of dance positions and explanations for hte basic steps.

See a list of links to Study Notes from Brooks Adademy and Joe O'Hara in alphabetical order >>

• Antrim Sets:
  • The Antrim Square Set
    Antrim Square Study Notes [Larry E. Taylor]
    

• Clare Sets:
  
  
  • The Caledonian Set
    Caledonean Study Notes [Set Dancing News]
    Caledonean Study Notes [San Francisco's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE]
    Caledonean Study Notes [Seacoast Irish Cultural Association]
    [6 figures: all reels except 4th jig; 6th hornpipe]
    Figure 1 -House Across (Reels) Demo: First Figure on You Tube
    Figure 2 - House Around (Reels) Demo: Second Figure on You Tube
    Figure 3 - Home & Across (Reels) Demo: Third Figure on You Tube watch this!
    Figure 4 - House Opposite (Jigs)
    Figure 5 - House All the Ladies (Reels)
    Figure 6 - Hornpipe
    
    Demo: View a couple of figures on YouTube video of the Caledonean; the video is from Willie Clancy's School
    
    
  • The Mazurka Set
    Mazurka Set Study Notes
    [6 figures: all reels]
    Figure 1 - Little Christmas
    Figure 2 - Advance & Retire
    Figure 3 - High Gates Demo: View the 3rd Figure of the Mazurka
    Figure 4 - Swing
    Figure 5 - Chain Demo: View the 5th Figure of the Mazurka (Clare Myserks)
    Figure 6 - Face The Wall
    
    
    
  • The Plain Set - also known as The Plain Clare Set
    Plain Clare Study Notes [Set Dancing News]
    The Plain Set Sutdy Notes [San Francisco's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE]
    [6 figures: all reels except jig fifth figure]
    Figure 1 - Pass Through (Reels)
    Figure 2 - Turn the Ladies (Reels)
    Figure 3 - Chase the Ladies (Reels)
    Figure 4 - Three and One (Reels)
    Figure 5 - The Gallop (Jigs)
    Figure 6 - Ladies In (Reels)
    
    
    
  • The Labasheeda Reel Set
    
    
  • The Clare Lancers Set
    Clare Lancers Study Notes [Set Dancing News]
    The Clare Lancers Study Notes [San Francisco's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE]
    [5 figures: all reels]
    Instructions for the Clare Lancers on the Portland (Oregon) Ceili Socity's website
    Demo: The Clare Lancers 4th Figure
    
    
  • The Corofin Plain Set
    Corofin Plain Set Study Notes Bill Lynch's Set Dancing News Study Notes
    Corofin Plain Seet Study Notes a shortened version from The Irish Seacoast Cultural Association
    Figure 1 - Crossover (Reels)
    Figure 2 - Advance & Retire (Jigs)
    Figure 3 - The Line (Reels)
    Figure 4 - Three and One (Jigs)
    Figure 5 - Double Slide with Ladies Chain (Reels)
    Figure 6 - The Polka - ladies move on
    
    
    
  • The Kilfenora Set
    Kilfenora Study Notes
    [6 figures: quadrille/reel, jig, reel, reel, jig, Quadrille/ fast hornpipe/ slow reel]
    Figure 1 -The Square (Quadrilles/Reels)
    Figure 2 - Crossover (Jigs)
    Figure 3 -The Line (Reels)
    Figure 4 - Three-and-One (Reels)
    Figure 5 - Change Places (Jigs)
    Figure 6 - Quadrilles/ fast hornpipe/ slow reels
    
    Demo: View YouTube videos of the Kilfenora
    • 1st figure of the Kilfenora (quadrille/reel) on You Tube ~ this is a popular set danced by many beginners as well as seasoned dancers. This is a good quality home video
      
    Kilfenora Slide Set sample musicby the Ennis Seisiún group
    
    
  • The Paris Set
    Paris Set Study Notes
    [5 figures: reel, reel, reel, jig, hornpipe/march]
    Figure 1 - Set Left and Right (Reels)
    Figure 2 - The Clap (Reels)
    Figure 3 - House All Around (Reels)
    Figure 4 - Ladies Chain (Jigs)
    Figure 5 - House and Line-up (Hornpipes/March)
    
    
  Cork/Kerry Sets:
  
  
  • The Ballyvourney Jig Set
    Cork/Kerry Set
    Ballyvourney Study Notes [Set Dancing News]
    Ballyvourney - or The Baile Bhúirne Jig Set [Seacoast Irish Cultural Association]
    The Baile Bhúirne Jig Set Study Notes [San Francisco's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE]
    Ballyvourney Study Notes [Brooks Academy on setdance.com]
    [5 figures: all slides ~ no stopping between figures]
    Figure 1 - Swing Your Own (Slides)
    Figure 2 - Swing Opposites (Slides)
    Figure 3 - Swing Four in the Middle "long basket in the middle" (Slides)
    Figure 4 - Swing all the Ladies in Clockwise Direction - " men go left" (Slides)
    Figure 5 - Reverse Half-Chain in Anti-Colckwise Direction "go around the other way - reverse chain to the other side - go right" (Slides)
    
    To sum up my "cheat-sheet" comments, remember a direcitional hint for each figure::
    "1 - home, 2 - opposite, 3 - middle, 4 - men go left, 5 - reverse chain to the right"
    (Pointing yourfinger in the appropriate direction as you say this, with the circular motions for 4 and 5 - clockwise and anti-clockwise, helps. There's not much time to think or review the steps in this dance, so the shortcuts help).
    The Ballyvourney is a very popular quick last dance.
    View demo of The Ballyvourney and
    another demo of The Ballyvourney and
    The Heidelberg Irish Set Dancers rehearsing the Baile Bhuirne Jig Set (Ballyvourney Jig Set); this one is especially good as you see all seven minutes of the dance from beginning to end.
    Note:The figures are normally danced one right after the other, for approximately seven minutes. It's tons of fun to dance.
    
    
  • The Black Valley Jig Set also known as The Kenmare Square Set
    Cork/Kerry Set
    Black Valley Study Notes
    [5 figures: jig, jig, jig,jig/slide, reel]
    Figure 1 - The Star (Jigs)
    Figure 2 - Swing Opposites (Jigs)
    Figure 3 - Swing Three Ladies (Jigs)
    Figure 4 - The Slide ~ or "wheel" (Jigs/Slides)
    Figure 5 -The Floating Reel ~ or "sevens" (Reels)
    
    
    
  • The Borlin Valley Polka Set
    Cork/Kerry Set
    [6 figures: polka, polka, polka, slide,hornpipe, hornpipe]
    Borlin Valley Study Notes
    [6 figures: all reels]
    Figure 1 - Ladies Chain (Polkas)
    Figure 2 - Two Squares (Polkas)
    Figure 3 - Advance and Retire (Polkas)
    Figure 4 - Four Squares (Slides)
    Figure 5 - The Hornpipe (Traditional)
    Figure 6 - The Barndance (Hornpipes)
    
    Demos:
    First Figure - 2007 workshop in Vienna
    Second Figure - 2007 workshop in Vienna
    Third Figure - danced in Moscow, Russia in February, 2007
    Fourth Figure - (searching for it)
    Fifth Figure - 2007 workshop in Vienna
    
    

• The Dunmanway Set, also known as The Dunmanway Polka Set
  Cork/Kerry Set
  Dunmanway Study Notes
  [5 figures: polka, slide, polka, slide, polka]
  Figure 1 - House-Chain-Swing (Polkas)
  Figure 2 - House-Slide-Dance at Home (Slides)
  Figure 3 - Little Christmas (Polkas)
  Figure 4 - Pinwheel (Slides)
  Figure 5 - Lead Around - Pinwheel (polka)
  
  
• The North Kerry Set
  Cork/Kerry Set
  North Kerry Study Notes
  [5 figures: polka, polka, jig, polka, slide, hornpipe]
  Figure 1 - The Star (Polkas)
  Figure 2 - Show the Lady (Polkas)
  Figure 3 - Balance and change (Polkas)
  Figure 4 - Ladies Chain (Polkas)
  Figure 5 -The Hornpipe
  
  
  
• The Sliabh Luachra Set
  Cork/Kerry Set
  Sliabh Luachra Study Notes
  [6 figures: polka, polka, polka, polka, hornpipe]
  Figure 1 - Ladies Chain (Polkas)
  Figure 2 - Show the Lady (Polkas)
  Figure 3 - In Out and Roundabout (Jigs)
  Figure 4 - Round the House and Mind the Dresser (Polkas)
  Figure 5 - The Full Slide ~ House Around Each Other / Slide & Change (Slides)
  Figure 6 - The Hornpipe ~ Ladies Move On (Hornpipes)
  
  
• The West Kerry Set
  Cork/Kerry Set
  West Kerry Study Notes
  [6 figures: polka, polka, slide, polka, slide, hornpipe]
  Figure 1 - Ladies Chain (Polkas)
  Figure 2 - First Show (Polkas)
  Figure 3 - The Slide (Slides)
  Figure 4 - Second Show (Polkas)
  Figure 5 - Ladies Move On (Slides)
  Figure 6 -The Hornpipe (Hornpipes)
  
  

Fermanagh Sets:

• The Fermanagh Quadrilles Set
  a Fermanagh Set
  Fermanagh Set Study Notes
  [6 figures: reel, jig, reel jig, jig]
  Figure 1 - Ladies & Gents Cross Over / Ceili Swing (reels)
  Figure 2 - Face-In, Face-Out, Face-In, Sweetheart Stroll-Over (jigs)
  Figure 3 - Change Places / Left Hook - Right hook / Ceili Swing (reels)
  Figure 4 - Ladies Face Out / Sweetheart Trio / Little Christmas (jigs)
  Figure 5 - Ladies Move-On / Crossed-Hands Christmas (jigs)
  
  

Tipperary Sets:

• The Cashel Set, also known as The Castle Se
  a Tipperary Set
  The Cashel Set Study Notes [Set Dancing News Study Notes]
  The Cashel set Study Notes [San Francisco's Cooley-Keegan Branch CCE
  [6 figures: slide/polka, polka, polka, hornpipe, polka, polka/slide]
  Figure 1 - House Around & Pass Through (slides/polkas)
  Figure 2 - Wheel in Line (polkas)
  Figure 3 - Ladies Chain - singles & trios (polkas)
  Figure 4 - House & Hop, Clap & Stamp (hornpipe)
  Figure 5 - Batter-House-Slide&Change-House-Chain (polkas)
  Figure 6 -Chase the Bus (polkas/slides)
  
  
  

Galway/Meath Sets:

• The Claddagh Set
  a Galway Set
  Claddagh Study Notes [Newcastle Irish Set Dancers]
  [4 figures: reel, reel, reel, jig]
  Figure 1 - Dance Around & Swing - Push-Pull (Reels)
  Figure 2 - (Reels)
  Figure 3 - (Reels)
  Figure 4 - (Jigs)
  
  It helps to see this danced; there is such a variety of steps.
  Demo: View The Claddagh Set (YouTube) Kilkoo Ladies
  Demo: What it Usually Looks Like (YouTube)- 1st Figure
  
  
• The Connemara Set
  a Galway Set
  Connemara Study Notes
  [4 figures: reel, reel, reel, polka]
  Figure 1 - Ladies Chain (Reels)
  Figure 2 - Back-to-Back (Reels)
  Figure 3 - an Gairdin Beag ~ Circle / Little Christmas (Reels)
  Figure 4 - Maggie in the Woods (Polka)
  
  Demo: View YouTube videos of the Connema
  • 1st figure of the Connemara (reel)
  • 2nd figure of the Connemara (reel)
  • 3rd figure of the Connemara (reel)
  • 4th figure of the Connemara (polka)
    
    Many thanks to willi171258 for the great set dancing videos!
  
  
  
• The South Galway Set
  
  

• The Williamstown Set
  a Galway Set
  Williamstown Study Notes
  [5 figures: reel, reel, reel, jig, polka]
  Figure 1 - Wheel - Ladies Turn Under (4 times) (Reels)
  Figure 2 - Swing Corners / Adv-Retire Turn The Ladies (Reels)
  Figure 3 - Ladies Double-Turn / Back to Back (Reels)
  Figure 4 - House Around Each Other (Jig)
  Figure 5 - Circle / Lace the Shoe (Polka)

• Connemara Study Notes

See a list of links to Study Notes from Brooks Adademy and Joe O'Hara in alphabetical order >>

View more video samples of set dancing, ceili dancing, step dancing, and Sean-Nós dancing compiled by Hoiland's Seattle website.

There are some wonderful video clips (Chapter 1 - not recommended for dial-up connections) of live set dancing on Set Dance Week showing a variety of dances. It's lively and it's fun. And the music is great.

Here are a few home videos found on You Tube of set dances done in Ireland at Kilrush in 2004:

• Irish Set Dancing at Kilrush 2004 (video 5)
• Irish Set Dancing at Kilrush 2004 - Clare Lancers (Video 2)
• Irish Set Dancing at Kilrush 2004 - Clare Lancers (Video 5)
• Irish Set Dancing at Kilrush 2004 - Cashel Set (Video 3)
• Irish Set Dancing at Kilrush 2004 - Cashel Set (Video 2)

The quality isn't the best and they are without the music, but seeing set dancing videos helps in remembering the figures.

Bil Lynch has listed some video and radio links on his site Set Dancing News, for example Dancilla's The Claddah Set Figure 1

Learn to Dance at Home

Pat Murphy from Westport Ireland demonstrates set dancing footwork for many sets. You can try this at home