34th Intemation

Congress on R rewrcOcto

CORD 2001MIGRATORY MOVES

HAL CIRCULATION

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Congress on Research in Dance

October 26 - 28,2001

CORD 2001TRANSMIGRATORY MOVES

DANCE IN GLOBAL CIRCULATION

Mission Statement

This year's conference explores the ways in which dance forms circulate across communities, re­gions and nations, acquiring new meanings as they travel. While the term "globalization" has gainedcurrency in scholarly debates of recent years, the dispersion of performance practices is hardly anew phenomenon. Thus, the conference includes both historical and contemporary analyses ofdances' migrations.

What happens when dances migrate? It is common knowledge that founding figures in Europeanand Euro-American modem dance appropriated Asian movement vocabularies in their choreogra­phies. But scholars are only beginning to examine the ways in which Latin American, African, andAsian "folkloric" dance convention has been inflected by European concert dance training andstage practice-as well as MTV choreographies. By focusing on the circulation of movement styles,pedagogies and performance conventions, we hope to trouble some of the categoric distinctionswhich have tended to divide dance research: between "Western" and "non-Western," "classical"and "folkloric," and "ritual," "social" and "theatrical" genres. Arguably, the histories of many con­temporary dance forms are more complex than such restrictive categories would admit. ..

New York UniversityNew York, New York

34th Annual CORD Conference

In Appreciation to the following

CORD 2001 Organizing Committee:Barbara Browning (Chair)

Miriam Berger . Uttara Asha CoorlawalaKay Cummings' Andre Lepecki

Julie Malnig . Carol MartinRandy Martin . Bella Mirabella . Cynthia Oliver

Conference Sponsors and VenuesThe Department of Perfonnance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts,

Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York UniversityJudson Memorial Church

The Kitchen, www.thekitchen.orgApple, 17 Waverly Place

CORD expresses its sincere gratitude to The Department of Performance Studies, Tisch School of theArts, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, The School of Education, and the Faculty of Arts andSciences, all of New York University, for their generous support of this conference. Our gratitude goes aswell to Judson Memorial Church, which graciously offered sanctuary for our plenary panel. We wouldalso like to thank the many student volunteers who have helped to make this event possible.

Proceedings EditorJanice LaPointe-Crump, member CORD Editorial Board

G.N. Crump and Lisa Niedermeier, assistants to the editorTexas Woman's University

Editor's NoticeThis collection of papers has been compiled from files provided by individual authors who wishedto contribute their papers as a record of the 2001 Congress on Research in Dance InternationalConference. The only changes made by the editor were to standardize format for page layout, font,titling, subtitling, references and endnotes.

PrinterTerrill Wheeler Printing Inc., Denton, TX

Copyright NoticeThe Proceedings is copyrighted in its entirety

© 2001, Congress on Research in Dance

NOTICE TO THE READER: Each author retains the copyright to her or his paper

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INVENTING TRADITION: THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT OF IRISH DANCE

Elizabeth Venable

Abstract

In the post-Riverdance era, Irish dance has expanded further out into the globe. Communities have developed andstrengthened in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and orth America, and they are changing the tone ofIrish dancing. The evolution of movement styles and costume styles has accelerated markedly since 1994. Such devel­opment, as well as a level of homogenization, have been spurred by the current commercial success ofIrish dance. Irishdance culture is now dealing with issues of race and new definitions of tradition.

Ever since 1994, the wave that is Riverdance has setand kept in motion an expansion of Irish dance of globalproportions. Irish dancing has traversed the planet, and,while doing so, it has intensified, become far stronger as awhole, and enveloped a whole new community of perform­ers. Traditions have been invented to fit the new modes ofthought within the expanding world-wide population ofIrish dancers.

A basic explanation of terms and organizations isneeded. An Coirnisiun Ie Rince Gaelacha (An Coimisiun)was created in 1929 by Conradh na Gaeilge, and has grownto be the largest worldwide Irish dancing organization. Theother main Irish dancing organization worldwide isComhdhail na Muinteoiri Ie Rince Gaelacha (AnComhdhail). It became an independent organization in1970 after dissent within An Coimisiun. Both AnCoimisiun and An Comhdhail have rigorous certificationexaminations. In both organizations, teachers are calledTCRGs, and certified adjudicators are ca11ed ADCRGs.Two other organizations are the Festival Irish dancers,which has little footing outside of Ireland, and ComhaltasCeolt6iri Eireann (CCE), an international set dancing or­ganization. A feis is a competition; "feiseanna" is the plu­ral. Riverdance was an extremely successful Irish dancingshow that premiered at Eurovision in 1994. The post­Riverdance era is the time since Riverdance's debut.

Recent increases in the numbers of certified anduncertified teachers have been notable. In 1997, the AnCoimisiun Liosta Oifigiuil (Official List of RegisteredAdjudicators and Tel\~hW-~SJ;0:isiun) listed 319ADCRGs and TCRGsJ1n three years, that number hadincreased to 377. In Canada, the numbers increased from50 to 55. In Australia, the increase was from 108 to 131registered teachers. New Zealand increased from 20 to 23teachers. In 1997, there was one (inactive) teacher listedin Kenya. By 2000, the number of teachers living in Af-

rica had increased to 21. The additional 20 are all newlyregistered "Associate" teachers. In 1997,there were noCoimisiun -certified teachers listed as living in Europe.Currently, there is one inactive teacher in Italy, and oneteacher living in the Netherlands, according to the list. Thisguide, however, may be incomplete, as Maria McAteer,who teaches in Germany, and is certified by An Coimisiunas a temporary TCRG, does not seem to be listed. Thereare also a fair number of Coimisiun teachers who live ineither England or Ireland and travel abroad to teach. Forexample, Caroline O'Toole lives in England, but holdsworkshops in Austria on a regular basis (O'Toole, 2001).There are non-resident Coimisiun teachers sponsoringclasses in, at the very least, Austria, Germany, and the

etherlands.

These numbers also do not reflect the growth of teach­ers registered by An Comhdhail, Festival, CCE, or ofuncertified teachers. For example, Comhdhaillists Slovakiaas a region, in the same manner and context as it does theUnited States (Comhdhail, 2000). Presumably there areactive Comhdhail-certified teachers in that area. However,Tine Tomazic suggests that only workshops have been heldin that country (Antonio Pacelli, 2001). Other, non­Coimisiun classes are currently being held in Belgium,France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain,Sweden, and Switzerland (Robinson, 2001). Russia hashosted master classes taught by "The Emerald Isle IrishDance Team" (Irish dance in Moscow, 2001) and is alsopermanent home to Iridan, which is an unregistered schoolin Moscow (Iridan, 2001). Japan is home to a CCE affili­ated set dance class and a few unregistered step danceteachers. CCE also has classes/groups in Australia, Italy,the United States and Canada (Comhaltas, 2000).

To accommodate for the demand for Irish dance classes,there has been a virtual explosion in the number of unaf­filiated and uncertified teachers that are holding classes

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all around the world. Some of these have actual, often pres­tigious and comprehensive, Irish Dance experience, andsimply have not proceeded through the certification pro­cess, some have experience, but are not trained to certifi­cation level, and some have simply studied or watched theinstructional or show rapes. These teachers offer every­thing from authentic ceili or set dancing and/or solo danc­ing, to "Riverdance-style" tap and "Irish" pseudo-ballet.Barbara Butkis, who teaches in the etherlands, remarkson the scarcity of qualified reachers to meet demand. "Atthis point, however, there is only one TC.R.G. in the wholecountry and three or four teachers with traditional back­ground beyond that. "Riverdance" courses are popping uphere and there as well" (Antonio Pacelli, 2(01). Fortu­nately, the popularity of "Irish-influenced" studio piecestaught by teachers almost completely untrained in the form,seems to be tapering off as interested students discoverthat they can study something other than a parody.

There is a large proliferation of teachers in Germany,some with impressive backgrounds. Maria McAleer, forexample, was originally taught by the Lindsay MonaghonSchool. During her competitive career, she placed first inthe All England Championships, second in the All IrelandChampionships, and fifth in the World Championships(Broring, 2(01). Mary Murray, who teaches Rince Tir NaNog, was part of a Farrelly ceili team that placed first inthe Worlds, and also qualified for' the Worlds as a solodancer (Sweeney, 2001). Anne Murphy was taught atCowie-Ryan. She won the first Worlds in her age group atage of 12, and has been teaching the Emerald Dancers since1989 (Murphy, 2(01). There are over 20 teachers and stu­dios offering types of Irish dance in Germany.

Many performance shows, including To Dance on theMoon, Magic of the Dance, and Gaelforce, either begantheir tours in Germany or devoted large time allotments tothe country. Celtic Life, a new show that is choreographedby Maria McAteer, Alex de Fohs, and Rachel Jackson,premiered in May of 2001 in Haldensleben, Germany(Celtic Life, 2(01). Robert Gabriell Homeier, who hadpreviously choreographed for Magic of the Dance. is cur­rently managing another show, Fairy Tree, which he haschoreographed and currently dances in (Riedl, 2001). In­cidentally, Magic of the Dance, which has a Slovenianproducer (Jaka Bizilj) and an extensive German develop­ment period, now stars a Gennan, Tanja Szewczenco, whois a former figure skating champion. However, the bulk ofthe main performers are Irish (Star Entertainment Interna­tional,200I).

With few fully certified teachers working in Europe.and students who have been training for only a few years,

the competition strllc[Ure is much less stratified and moreinclusive. Any student at any school may participate inmost feiseanna, regardless of the status of their teachers.An example of a typical European feis might be the Inter­national Benelux Feis (2001), which was hosted (in its sixthyear) by the Luxembourg CCE. All types of schools wereallowed to participate, ranging from Rince Tir Na Nag toTap Show Company to Vlaams Caledonische Society.There was one "real" adjudicator, Tony Nolan, ADCRG,and two competition levels, Beginner and Primaty, as wellas a number of"Championships", which are probably sinti­lar to "Specials" in the United States- dances where onecompetes simply for the prize, and not for any sort of ad­vancement (Combaltas, 2001). As of yet, there are few tono examples of championship-level dancers. No continen­tal Europeans are listed in the results from the first AnnualEuropean championships, which were held in 2001, inSpain (Kennedy, 2(01).

Irish dancing in South Africa is less well developedthan in Europe. Physical distance between it and any Irish"center" (Ireland or Australia) makes it difficult to accessqualified teachers and witness styles other than those onvideotapes. Spirit of the Dance and Lord of the Dance bothtoured South Africa, and Feet of Flames aired on SouthAfrican Television. Otherwise, the exposure to Irish danceseems to be limited. However, Dr. John (Sean) Cullinane,ADCRG of Ireland, taught master classes there, and thereare 20 Coimisiun Associate Teachers, some with elabo­rate backgrounds in other forms of dance, but, generally,without extensive training (up to championship-level) inIrish. According to Elinor Boyes (Coimisiun AssociateTeacher), "Irish Dancing competition in South Africa hasonly recently been launched (since 1999) and dancers upto xxx Beginners compete. With time our dancers willprogress up to the more advanced and Championship sec­tions of competition dancing and competitions held inSouth Africa will accommodate them accordingly" (Boyes,2001).

Spirit of the Dance has lOured Venezuela, Turkey, Ko­rea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico(Spirit of the Dance, 2(01). Trinity Irish Dance Companyis scheduled to tour Thailand in Fall of2001 (Trinity IrishDance Company, 200 1). Perhaps children in these coun­tries will develop an interest in Irish dancing, though mostwill not have access to any sort of teacher. Tapes of begin­ner lessons, and instructions for set and ceili dances, havebecome vety popular in areas with little access. The mostreferenced of these are made by Olive Hurley (ADCRG)or Colin Dunne. There are also several Irish dancing les­sons to be found on the internet, including an "Ooroki [Les­son] Irish Dance" for Russians (Celtic Dance, 200 I), which

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teaches "jump-overs", "treble hop back", "half click","high click", "cut, tip down", "box", and a "slide". Thissite, while useful, is hardly a complete guide to Irish danc­ing, but it and mhers are allowing students in remote areasan entrance into the world of Irish dancing. Irish dancediscussion lists have also become very popular over thepast few years They are now being monitored by (at least)the Western United States Region (Coimisiun), which isnow disciplining those who post negative comments aboutIrish dancing or any groups, teachers, or adjudicators onthe Internet.

There are, of course, regions of the world that had alongstanding Irish dance community before Riverdance.These countries generally experienced high rates of Irishcolonization, and the Irish dancing communities followedand developed within these emigre groups. These coun­tries have certainly been touched by the "Riverdance" phe­nomenon. They may be experiencing the most dramaticand pennanent increases and changes.

Irish dancing in New Zealand was established by 1910,although Irish dancing in the country may date from ear­lier times. Most of the structures, including the NewZealand Dancing Board, that paved the way to the con­temporary structure of Irish dance in New Zealand origi­nated in the 1950s and have developed since (Cullinane,1987). Most current teachers are certified by An Coimisiunand belong to the Irish Dancing Teachers Association ofNew Zealand (I.D.T.A.N.Z.). The first of these teachers tobe certified generally took their examinations in Austra­lia, after 1969. Almost all of the about 23 registered teach­ers live near Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch. Someclasses are very small, such as the Tralee Dancers, whichhas about 20 students, ages 5 through 15. The Kildunneand the Connolly Schools each have between 70 and 80students (New Zealand Irish Directory, 2001). From thesenumbers, it does not seem that New Zealand has experi­enced quite the boom that Australia and North Americahave seen, but this may be a misconception. However, ifthis is true, it may be due to several factors, mainly basedupon geography-proximity to Ireland, smailiand/popu­lation base, etc. These factors have not necessarily affectedthe quality of the dancing; for example, Oliver Sach, whodances in Auckland, was able to place second in the 2001North American Championships (Sach, 2001). The lim­ited number of placements around the world by NewZealanders is probably due to a smaller competitor baseand prohibitively expensive travel costs. The 50th anni­versary of the New Zealand National Irish Dancing Cham­pionships (originally the Christchurch Feis), in 2000 hadabout 430 competitors, approximately 40 of whom wereAustralian (Sach, 2001).

Irish dancing in Australia proba ~

middle of the 1800s, and there are records oi :..:..-..-.. 0","=;;teachers from around 1900. One of the first Irnu ­bodies in Australia was the Irish National DancingNational Dress Promoters Association ofVictona, foundedin 1932. In 1946, the Irish Dancing Teachers' Associationwas founded (Cullinane, 1987). The main contemporaryorganization in Australia is the Australian Irish DanceAssociation (AIDA), which was founded in 1968, and isregistered with An Coimisiun (AIDA, 2001). There aresix branches ofAIDA-Australian Capital Territory, NewSouth Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, andWestern Australia. There are over 130 registered reachers.Probably because of the expense of flying to anywhere inthe Northern Hemisphere from Australia, Australians havenot placed as highly on the "world stage" as they might. In1996, Conar Hayes was the first Australian man to win aworld championship, (Cullinane, 1997). He became thefirst Australian to perform with Riverdance (Riverdance,2001). One of the most notable post-Riverdance shows,Gaelforce, is from Australia. All three of its original SlarS,

who toured the world and brought it to its popularity,Timmy Manners, James Devine, and Fiona McIIkenny,were Australian (Celtic Cafe, 2001).

Kate McAleer, ADCRG, reports from Australia, "Inmy school I have dancers from over sixty different ethnicbackgrounds, including indigenous aboriginal and Maoribackground dancers. In some cases one of their parents isIrish born or has Irish Descent but wherever they comefrom they embrace the dance style enthusiastically. Dueto Australia's long term diversity, many of our finest Teach­ers are from Non- Irish backgrounds for example,Queensland's Cheryl Chang Watson, third generation Chi­nese Australian, Melbourne's Anna Rabusin, Italian back­ground, and Margaret Lahl, German Australian backgroundteacher in Tasmania.. The large number of people teach­ing Irish Dancing in non-English speaking areas of Eu­rope and Africa has proved the popularity of our dancestyle is not limited to Ireland". According to McAleer, in1993 there were less than 200 students in the Victoria re­gion. In comparison, in 2001 there were 1200 registereddancers (McAleer, 2001). In a move somewhat counter tothe general trend of expansion, Australia has closed itsChampionships to the rest of the World, apparently due tohigh rates of participation. Many New Zealanders, how­ever. find this move to be unfortunate because of the diffi­culty of traveling to other championships around the world.

Canada and the United States are best discussed to­gether. The main step dance governing bodies (NorthAmerican Feis Commission [dating from 1968]- NAFCand the Irish Dancing Teachers Association of North

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America [founded in 1964] -IDTANA, are both affiliatedwith An Coimisiun. An Comhdhail also lists a North Ameri­can region, but it is not very strong on this continent. Thereare even schools (Comerford, Butler, etc.) which have stu­dents and teachers in both countries. There are seven NorthAmerican regions (East, Mid-West, New England, West­ern US, Southern, Eastern Canada, and Western Canada).The Southern Region was created in 1996 to accommo­date the post-Riverdance influx of dancers in that area.Each region has its own Oireachtas ("Regionals"), and canthus qualify dancers for the World Championships. Thereis also a North American Championship ("Nationals"). AllNAFe feiseanna are closed to non-Coirnisiun dancers, andthere are stringent requirements for who may compete inany particular level. There are generally six levels- Be­ginnerlBeginner 1, Beginner 2/Advanced Beginner, Nov­ice, Prizewinner/Open, Preliminary Champion, and OpenChampion. In some of the regions, the advanced beginnercategory, and new rules surrounding advancement into it,have been added recently, possibly to accommodate de­mand, or to extend the competitive system so as to pro­duce better dancers at the top. According to the NorthAmerican Feis Commission schedule for 2001, 147feiseanna were scheduled in the United States, and 25 werescheduled in Canada. The majority of Canadian feiseannawere held in Ontario. American feiseanna are well distrib­uted around the country but concentrated on the coastsand in parts of the Midwest (NAFC, 2(01).

There are an immense number of shows that have beendeveloped in North America. Nearly every school (accred­ited or not) perfonns, and there are many professional tour­ing shows of North American origin. These include, butare not limited to Mark Howard's Trinity Irish Dance Com­pany (Chicago), Liam Hamey's Waves and CelticFusion(California), Needfire (Canada), and Dancing on CommonGround (United States). There are also a significant num­ber of Canadians and Americans in each of the major tour­ing shows (Lord of the Dance, Riverdance, etc.). Thesegroups have been helped by the IDTANA ruling (in 1997)that made it legal to compete in NAPC feiseanna whileperfonning in a show. Previously, "professional" dancerswere not allowed to compete, but now the rule has beenmore explicitly defined (IDTANA, 1998). Teachers can­not compete.

In the early 1980's, Ruth Garrett became the first NorthAmerican woman to win a World Championship(Cullinane, 1997). Until 1997, when Therese O'Sullivanwon, there were no other female American World Cham­pions. Since then, however, Noelle Curran has been Worldchampion twice (in 1998 and 1999), and Amy Siegel won

in 1999. The last two dancers, both taught by Peter Smithin New Jersey. have the distinction of having won theWorlds, the All Irelands, and the (North American) Na­tionals in one year (Cicalese, 2(01).

Ever since Michael Flatley, in 1974, and then TimO'Hare, in both 1976 and 1977, won their World Champi­onships, there has been a steady (if light) stream of NorthAmerican male first placements. The early 1980s saw suchnotables as Liam Hamey, in 1984, and Brian Grant, a three­time winner (1983, 1985, 1986) (Grant, 2001). Just priorto the birth of Riverdance in 1994, John Timm and StephenMcAteer won their Worlds (Cullinane, 1997). Recently.Darren Smith won in 1997, Michael Belvich, won in 1998and 1999, and Paul Cusick won in 1998. In total, II NorthAmerican men have won the World Championships. MOSL

if not all of these men danced in some of the highest agegroups; it seems that North America has yet to produce achild World champion. North Americans do, however.commonly place in the top ten in all age categories.

Irish dance competition is generally very globalized..as dancers fly from competition to competition. World­wide placements are still unequally distributed, but areexpanding slowly. In the case of Australia and NewZealand, dancers may not be able to afford to travel so fareven one time a year, but, generally, the so-called "'Emer­ald Barrier" is being broken, slowly but surely. In the 1996Worlds, there were only 8 North American, and once Aus­tralia?, placements in the top three in all dances, out of atotal of60 placements (Conner, 1996). The total non-IrisblBritish Isles placement rate was at 14.9%. In the 2001 AllIrelands (Coimisiun), (the Worlds were cancelled in 2(01).there were a total of 15 placements in the top three, out of71 available (Coimisiun, 2(01). The placement rate jumpedto 21.1 %.

The world seems to be seeing a crowd of winners whotravel to every competition. Out of 63 placements of fe­male competitors in the 2000 North American Irish Danc­ing Championships (the top three dancers in each of 21competitions), 25 of the dancers were American, 4 of thedancers were Canadian, 16 were English. 17 were Irish..and 1 was from New Zealand (Western U.S. Region, 2(00)­Out of 69 placements of female competitors in the 2001North American Championships (the top three dancers ineach of 23 competitions), 18 of the dancers were Ameri­can, 6 were Canadian, 23 were English, 21 were Irish, and1 was Australian (Nationals, 2001). One might sunnisethat that the high number of foreign placements in the onhAmerican Championships is due to a lower standard ofdancing in the US, which might leave the Irish and &1-

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glish a free zone to collect awards. However, one mightalso, alternately, note that these numbers are fairly similarto those for the All Irelands, 2001. There is heavy cross­over between the highest placements in both competitions.It seems very likely that once a dancer achieves that kindof dancing skill, there is heavy incentive to travel to everychampionship possible. The number of Irish and Englishcompetitors was higher in 2001 than in previous years,primarily because both the World Championships and theAll Scotland Championships were cancelled, the formerdue to the foot and mouth disease epidemic and the latterdue to a problem with location booking. The 2001 All Ire­land Championships (An Comhdhail) were also postponedbecause of the foot and mouth epidemic. These distur­bances perhaps illustrate the truly international nature ofIrish dance. Were the competitors for the major Irish dancecompetitions primarily Irish in nationality, there wouldhardly have been a reason to halt any of the competitions.

For the first time, An Coimisiun is officially recogniz­ing the extent of its globalization through competition; the2002 Worlds are scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scot­land (Coimisiun, 2001). In the future, the Irish DancingWorlds might be held anywhere with a firm base of com­petitors; perhaps Canada, the United States, England, evenNew Zealand or Australia. Such a rolling base might helpto eliminate the "home court" advantage currently enjoyedby those of Irish or British nationality.

Having noted the immense global growth oflrish dancein the post-Riverdance era, and the prior expansion in NorthAmerica, Australia, and New Zealand, one may discussthe effects of this growth, and its causes- namely popu­larization and commer-cialization. Shows such asRiverdance and media sources have increased exposure toIrish dance. These shows have immense popularity, as il­lustrated by the number of world-tours and stays on Broad­way. These shows in tum sustain the form's position withinthe world of popular culture. As most of these shows, andtheir offshoots, such as TV commercials, are for-profitventures, and, as these shows are highly influential, so thetone of Irish dance has changed over the years. The showshave also very heavily indirectly influenced the nature ofIrish dancing, through the immense increases in demandfor both teachers and dancers.

Irish dance is generally an evolving form, in terms ofmovement itself. Dances which are constant and (relatively)unchanging are in the minority. The few explicitly per­petuated solo dances, aside from beginner dances (whichrarely vary from year to year, and are very similar acrossschool lines) are called traditional set dances, are performed

to very specific tunes, in generally universal speeds. Thesedances (the Blackbird, the Garden of Daisies, the Job ofJourneywork, and the St. Patrick's' Day are the Coimisiunchoices; Comhdhail apparently has others as well) helpmaintain traditional stylistic roots. However, they are notthe focal point of Irish dance competition, are not per­formed in the highest levels, and are rarely featured inperformance. Also, these dances may have been stylizedover time, so what is accepted as "traditional," such asperhaps clicking one's heels during the skipping in the setof the St. Patrick's Day, may be a recent fabrication.

Other solo dances have a tendency to evolve quickly.Special movements and styles often go in and out of voguewith attempts to find a "winning style". There are oldermovements, such as cross-keys, in which the feet are heldclose together on the ground, and one foot is turned in­ward and outward again as it passes backwards to end be­hind the other foot, which are not common, even with at­tempts towards revival. Certain styles are seldom seen any­more, on a global scale. More rare and dated movementsinclude bent-kneejumps and side clicks. McAleerremem­bers "a type of jig in hard shoes, like the Light Jig but allon the one spot" (McAleer, 2001). Apparently, this usedto be the first dance taught to beginners in Australia. Newmovements, often elaborations or combinations of preex­isting steps tend to emerge quickly in the world of Irishdance. Dancers and teachers constantly try to push the lim­its of possibility. For example, one might turn a doubleclick of the heels into a quadruple click, or merging a but­terfly, similar to a cross-key, but as a jump, with a cut orsome other ending. Some of these stunts penneate the gen­eral technique, and some remain isolated, but they seemto be the fodder for the constant evolution of Irish. In cur­rent vogue in both Australia and North America are toestands/walks, and variations that include gestures of theleg while on the tip of the fiberglass toe. Sue Brotherton,TCRG, notes the lifting of legs above the waist (very highleaps and kicks) itself as being new (Brotherton, 2001).Past trends included the introduction of an extreme num­ber of clicks in to dancing in the 80s, especially after theintroduction of bubble heels, which were later banned byAn Coimisiun. Clicks are now seen as slightly common­place and are not currently overemphasized. Their rise andfall shows the envelopment of a fad by the general tech­nique. In the beginning of the century, steps were some­times extremely constrained to fit small dancing areas.Dancers once were specifically commended for fitting inthe smallest area possible (Cullinane, 1987). Currently, asstages have moved from the backs of trucks to larger, sohas the scope of the dancing expanded. Dancers who lackthe ability to "trave}" around the platform are now gener-

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ally not awarded placements. Within this century, the com­munity has seen the shift of one of the only currently gen­der-identified dances, the slip jig, from a strictly mascu­line dance to a feminine dance.

One of the most ironic aspects of Irish dance is thecontinual redefinition of the word "traditional," especiallywhere movement is concerned, and even in reference tocostume. Almost anything created by a qualified Irish danceteacher has the potential of entering the "traditional" vo­cabulary, save, perhaps, hand motions or floor work. Whilethere are certain directions and limits upon what may beclassified as Irish dance (including being fairly limited tothe frontal plane, the bodily rigidity, turned out feet, stand­ing on the tips of the toes, etc.), almost any movement thatsurvives longer than lO years is generally enveloped bythe "traditional" moniker.

There is becoming more of an acceptance for move­ments developed by North Americans and others who cho­reograph outside of Ireland, as these dancers are more andmore often being seen as something other than auxiliarycomponents of the Irish dance system.

The character oflrish dance has been observed to havechanged, in some cases dramatically, in only the past fewyears. Donna Smith-Home, a parent of dancers, observedthat, "I think the dancing style has become more athleticas a result of the popularization. I think that there previ­ously was more of an emphasis on grace and beauty ofmovement. Now it seems that even in the traditional la­dies dances, ie. slip jig, that the steps involve more techni­cally difficult steps that give it an overall athletic look ratherthan a smooth, elegant 100k."(Smith-Home, 2(01) Othershave commented on the growing athleticism of Irish dance;higher leaps, stronger trebles, and more lift during jumpsare all ideals that Irish dancers strive for. Brothenon com­mented that, "Dance styles for both boys and girls areoften more aggressive, with emphasis on covering the stage,sharpness, almost a driven quality. Watching a tape of aworld champion from the late eighties the other day, I wasstruck by the thought that, although she showed a comfonand mastery of the movements, there was almost a morelaid back quality to her dancing. Precision and skill wereapparent, and she "sold" her dance well, but she did nothave the attack that I see, and that many teachers empha­size. I think this comes from the push to "sell" your pack­age to the judges! whether it's a costume or a step"(Brothenon, 200 I). This "push" and "drive" may be seeneither in a negative or positive light, but certainly the toneand character of the dance is impacted by it. Although Irish

dancers are still consumed by being light, by never lettingtheir weight lapse down into the floor, by almost floatingabove the stage, sometimes there cannOt be a compromisebetween this ideal and the number of difficult jumps onecan insert into a step.

Television is the format in which Irish dance is mostbroadly seen. Television demands flashiness, stars, andboth of these are exemplified in many of the videos mostcommonly broadcasted. The media also sets standards forbody type. This has had an impact upon the minds of youngdancers as welL In its previous incarnation in the UnitedStates, for example, Irish dance. as a strictly cultural en­deavor, welcomed dancers of all shapes and sizes. Now,however, although the body ideal is cenainly not as strictas in, for example, ballet. there seems to be far less varia­tion. Those larger dancers that do compete seem to winless often, and there seem to be fewer and fewer heavydancers competing in championships. The cast ofRiverdance has become noticeably thinner over the years.However, it is very difficult to be extremely thin and havethe power required for even the lightshoe dancing, at themost advanced stages. Many Irish dancers have very welldeveloped (and large) calves. It will be interesting to seehow the body ideal develops within the next few years.

Although, in many places around the world, beforeRiverdance, there were adult competitors, Irish dance hascenainly expanded within that demographic. Obviously,children were not the only ones witnessing Irish dance ontelevision and in the touring shows. Where in the past,Irish dancers generally either began and stopped withinthe span of childhood, or began at the same time as theirchildren, and generally studied in a less than serious man­ner, today many adults are taking up Irish dancing for thepleasure of the style itself. Many of these new participantsbegin in their twenties, and many study the fonn seriously,some achieving a level of technique that rivals children.Some of these dancers took lessons as children, and findthemselves reviving their former imerest. Although thesedancers are nor allowed to compete in more "serious" solocompetitions, such as championships, nationals, and theWorlds, they are allowed to compete on ceili tearns in manyregional championships, and in most feiseanna. Althoughthere are few all-adult schools in North America, manyschools in Europe, such as the nne run by Barbara Butkis,are composed entirely of adults. Ashley Middleton, adancer, notes that the idea of Irish dance as a span of chil­dren alone is also fairly new. In the distant past, most danc­ers were adults, and it has been only recently (within thepast 70 years or so) that the shift to primarily adolescent

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dancers has taken place (Middleton, 2001). Such a shiftaway from the teenage group. then, while it may seem anti­traditional, may in facl be a rerum 1O historical custom.

Another phenomenon that has developed within the pastfew years is the emergence of Irish dancing summer camps,such as Gaelic Roots and Camp Rince Ceol, both in theEastern United States. Such camps allow students accessto either a large number of experts in various fields, or,alternately, to celebrity dancers from the shows. Also, moreschools are beginning to offer their own in-school work­shops, featuring successful teachers from around the worldwho may help with technique and steps This allow stu­dents access to levels of training beyond what their teachermight be able to provide. It can also encourage a stylisticstandardization, and homogenization (towards a mor~ de­sirable fonn) ofIrish dance around the world. When teach­ers go beyond the level of sharing, to either paying for, orco-opting (through observation) a style, instead of creat­ing their own variation, there is less from which to as­semble future developments. McAleer noted that shedoesn't "approve of the mass production world wide ofwhat teachers believe will be winning steps, often ema­nating from the same teacher based in Ireland or the UKand available to the highest bidder. Those who don't haveconfidence in their own abilities to create dance steps needto go back to the basics and develop from the earliest gradesa particular "Look" for their school" (Middleton, 2001).Although there is certainly nothing wrong with the trans­mission of certain aesthetics, it is when variation is dis­couraged that the form is slowly diminished. Variation isfuel for change, and Irish dance is a style that thrives onconstant transformation.

The effects of Riverdance and the other shows can alsoeasily be seen in the development of costumes. Recent rulesof An Coimisiun attempt to control the burgeoning diver­sity. It is currently "illegal" to have a costume without afull front or back section, not of traditional (heavy) mate­rials, with a skirt further than 4 inches above the middle ofthe knee, or bearing a neckline that reveals the collarbone.Irish dancers must also wear "appropriate" underwear(Antonio Pacelli, 2001). "Dancewear", such as leotards,is also prohibited in several regions, but this rule is morecommonly broken than most, perhaps because a unifonnconsisting of a leotard and a skirt is far more financiallyaccessible to most beginners than the average class cos­tume. Such rules as these indicate the immense numbersof dancers "experimenting" with costume in the post­Riverdance era. Although obviously not viewed highly byAn Coimisiun, the idea of dancers expanding commonnotions about Irish dance on their own in not absolutely a

"bad" notion. A fonn that thrives on change should possi­bly see fodder for the future in even the most superficialalterations.

In many ways, the Irish dancing lifestyle has becomeprohibitively expensive. The Irish dancing (competitive)aesthetic has become ever flashier, neon, glittery, stiff, andgraphic. Students are expected, at least when they move tothe highest level of dancing, to compete many times a year,in many locations, wearing ever more expensive garments(over-$1000 dresses) and shoes (softshoes are priced atabout $40, and hardshoes range from $100 to $150), aswell as numerous accessories, including, but not limitedto, tiaras, wigs, stick on jewels, and rhinestoned socks.Although nOl all championship dancers fulfill this over­blown stereotype, the dancer who wears a simple costumeand/or rarely competes is something of a rarity. There wasa small movement to make competitive outfits resemblethose of Jean Butler or Bernadette Flynn. but it has notbeen well received. While in the past, as recently as themid-nineties (in North America), mothers were generallyexpected to either make their daughters' solo costumes andschool costumes by hand, or hire someone to do so, this isnot often the case anymore. Such a tradition obviously lim­ited the complexity of Irish dancing costume to what themothers were willing to, or skilled enough to, create. Erst­while dancers were also often expected to "earn" their solocostumes (by achieving status) in many places around theworld (although not in Ireland, where solo costumes havebeen worn by even beginning dancers for a longer periodof time). Now, however, there is beginning to be a shiftmore towards the Irish mode. More North American teach­ers are allowing their dancers to obtain elaborate dressesin levels as low as Novice. The increased number offeiseanna in any given area increases the amount of feisfees, and also, possibly, of travel costs to "close" (withindriving or short flying range) feiseanna.McAleer reflected,"I think that the cost of having students taught Irish Danc­ing is for the most part reasonable. It is the cost of theassociated products, which add up. Locally there is a trendfor families to opt not to stay in the Feis Cycle with everincreasing entry fees, new shoes, unrealistically expensiveand elaborate costumes plus all the accessories that go withit. To assist families to stay involved I carry out the IrishDancing Commission Examinations, set tuition fees ac­cording to family size and income and aim to keep coststo a minimum. We also offer children the opportunity toperform at Community Festivals and other events. It is alltoo easy for teachers and pupils to get caught up in thewhole commercial aspect of Irish Dancing and this is caus­ing many families to turn away from the dance style"(McAleer, 2001). These examinations, while popular

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throughout the world, are not normally offered in NorthAmerica. Brotherton noted, "Many schools and teachersrecycle shoes (thank god kids generally outgrow them be­fore they get worn out), so this can help defray some costs.School costumes, and sometimes even fancier costumes,may be purchased by the teacher and then rented to stu­dents" (Brotherton, 200 I). Certainly, there are other meansof lowering costs, such as repairing shoes and buying usedsolo dresses, but these practices do not entirely alleviatethe expense.

The idea that current Irish dance costume is "tradi­tional" is also an invention. Knot work, which remains onsome dresses, but has rapidly diminished since Riverdance.In its place in designs are everything from literary charac­ters, to abstract and geometric designs, to cartoon depic­tions of leprechauns and fast food. The bright colors thatdominate the dresses are far from "traditional"; the earlierIrish hardly had access to neon satin. The practice of stiff­ening the dresses so that they stick out to the side washardly ever seen until the beginning of the 1990s_ In theearly 1900s, kilts were rare and were not considered to beauthentically traditional. However, by the mid 1900s, theyhad become a standard part of Irish dancing costume. SinceRiverdance, the use of kilts has virtually disappeared. TheIrish are not known for their historic use of diamantes,crystals, rhinestones, sequins, or metallic fabrics. All ofthese are recent adaptations to the culture (many havingbeen made extreme only in the post-Riverdance era). Theyhave all been encompassed within the common ideas about"traditional" Irish dancing costume, and fit the guidelinesthat "authentic Gaelic dress is desired", and yet they areall extremely recent conventions and additions.

After Riverdance, there was, of course, more exposureto people not of Irish descent, and also (obviously) topeople not of European descent at all. Although it is diffi­cult to gauge the historic ethnic diversity of participants, itdoes seem to several observers that Irish dance is becom­ing more varied. More and more, dancers of Chicana/o,African, Asian, and many other heritages are being seenon competition floors. In some countries (such as Ger­many), there are very few new participants who are of Irishheritage; the new Irish dancers are not necessarily spring­ing from Irish emigre communities. Brotherton describedsome negative reactions to the growing cultural and racialdiversity of Irish step dance. "I had an African-Americangirl (very dark skinned) compete recently (I was notpresent), and other parents told me they felt my Mrican­American girl and her parents were "watched", and thatthe girl was perhaps discriminated against in the competi­tion. This girl has won in a competition, although, before

this happened, I had worried about the possibility of dis­crimination. As a teacher of Asian, Hispanic, and mixedrace kids, it's something I think about. Very sadly, oneextremely prominent Irish teacher (students in starring rolesin major shows) said that, one year, backstage at the worlds,he heard another well-known Belfast-based Irish dancepersonality say "it's an abomination", referring to the mar­riage of an Irish woman with a Japanese man (a union thatproduced two daughters, one a chorus member ofRiverdance, and the other a top ten world champion)"(Brotherton, 2001). Maria McAteer, who originally hailsfrom Scotland, but whose father was from Trinidad, re­members being something of an oddity, that she waswatched more closely than the others. "Probably half thereason the audience went quiet when I stepped on stagewas because I looked so different, they were probablythinking, "What's that brown girl doing in an Irish dancecompetition?" I never thought about this at the time, Ijustloved the silence before the music started, then I wouldtake off and dance" (www.antoniopacelli.com).Obviously.there are both sensitive and racist people in all disciplines,but Irish dance is one form that has been, until the recentpast, and even into the present, almost entirely performedand studied by people of European descent. When theseissues come to the fore, as more and more ethnically di­verse people are attracted to the style, new conflicts mayarise. Thankfully, such opinions do not seem to be veryoften vocalized. Unfortunately, though, there is, in Irishdance, a theoretical opportunity for dancers to be silentlydiscriminated against via adjudication. There might, obvi­ously, be linle means to counter such discrimination, asidefrom instituting nebulous and possibly unenforceable regu­lations. Hopefully, this is not and will never be a commonproblem for dancers to face.

Certainly the new popularity ofIrish dance has been afinancial boost for instructors. Also, the new financial suc­cess of performances gives dancers an incentive to com­pete and study longer, with the hopes of possibly beingaccepted to one of the major traveling shows. This helpsto strengthen the competitive system itself, and to produce"better", more skilled, dancers. In the past, in areas out­side of Ireland and the British Isles, there seemed to bemore of an emphasis on culture, on history, on commu­nity, as opposed to flashiness and modernity. The dancingwas perhaps less well developed, but there was also not asmuch pressure to fit into a commercial or competitive ideal,especially during performances. Several dancers have com­mented that they feel expected to perform references toRiverdance within their choreographies. Dancers come intothe form expecting a certain aesthetic, and the public alsoexpects a similar set of themes. The immense number of

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new dancers is probably more than enough compensationfor having to accommodate the audience's new percep­tion of the fonn. The fact that the audience now has somelimited idea of what is supposed to be occurring on thestage might also be a positive change. Teachers must re­main "exciting", and this forces to consider performingworks they might never have tried in the past: it forces to"push the envelope". Alternately, because there is moreaccess of students (0 examples of "standards", teachersmust also make sure they are teaching "valid" or "cur­rent". Thus there may be less teacher choice in terms ofstyle, because ofchecks made by students. Positive or nega­tive, more innovation has probably come from this thanstandardized stagnation, but the trends are generally aimedin one direction, and that is not the direction of softness orsimplicity.

Irish dancing has progressed dramatically since 1994.Many changes have accompanied this expansion. How­ever, this seems to be the path of Irish dance. Irish dance isalways fluctuating, reinventing itself to serve a larger au­dience. Irish dancers are continuing to, and have always."invented tradition".

References

AIDA (2ooI). Australian Irish Dancing Association-AIDAhttp://aida.rr.nu/

Antonio Pacelli (2ooI). Antonio Pacelli Irish Dance http:!/www.antoniopacelli.co.ukl

Boyes, Elinor (200 I). Celtic Dance Factory http://www.geocities.comlroboyeslCDFlnfo.htm

Brtiring, Nadine (2001). An Rein Rinceoir http://www.rinceoir.com

Brotherton, Sue (2ooI). Re: Research Presentation in NYC;Help Needed! Fri, 27 Jul 2oo!. email.

Butkus, Barbara (2oo I). The Lenihan School ofIrish Dancehttp://www.butkus.demon.nUindex.htm

Celtic Cafe (2001). Gaelforce Dance http://www.celticcafe.comlShowslgdhnnJ

Celtic Life (2ool). CELTIC LIFE - Irish Dance and Scot­tish Rhythm http://www.celtic-Iife.de

Celtic Dance (2ool). Ooroki (lesson)Irish Dance http://celticdance.narod.ruJdancellessions8.htm

Cicalese J (200 I). The Official Peter Smith School of IrishDance of New Jersey Web Site http://members.home.nelljpcicaleselPeterpage I.htm

An Coimisiun Ie Rince Gaelacha, 1997. Liosta Oifigiuilna Moltoiri Claraithe Agus na Muinteoiri CIaraithe.Dulin.

An Coimisiun Ie Rince Gaelacha, 2000. Liosta Oifigiuilna Moltoiri Claraithe Agus na Muinteoiri Claraithe.Dulin.

An Coimisiun Ie Rind Gaelacha (2001). An Coimisiun IeRind Gaelacha /Irish Dancing Commission 200 1http://www.clrg.iel

An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha (2oo I). Oireachtas Rincena hEireann 2001 http://www.clrg.ie/resultsorhe2oo!.htm

An Comhdhail na Muinteoiri Ie Rinci Gaelacha (2oo I).An Conthdhail- The Congress of Irish Dance Teach­ers. http://www.irishdancing.org

Conthaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann (2000). Conthalta

Ceolt6irf Eireann Home Page http://www.comhaltas.coml

Conthallas Ceolt6irf Eireann (2oo I). 6th InternationalBenelux Feis 2oo1 http://I94.l54.2oo.198/conthaJtasIbackground.shtml

Conner, Dave (1996).1996 Oireachtas Rince Na Cruinnehttp://www.broesler.com/96reslt.html

Cullinane, J.P., 1987. Aspects of the History of Irish Danc­ing. Cork City.

Cullinane, J.P., 1990. Further Aspects of the History ofIrish Dancing. Cork City.

Cullinane, J.P., 1997. Aspects of the History oflrish Danc­ing in North America. Cork City.

Cullinane, J.P., 1996. Irish Dancing Costumes, Cork CityIridan (2ool). Iridan Irish Dancing School. http://iridan.msk.ru1

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