What is the origin of the Irish dance?
The roots of Irish dancing come from the Celts and the druids who roamed the island before the onset of Christianity and outside influences came along. Many of the druids’ religious rituals involved dancing, usually in a circular fashion around sacred trees. Dancing was an integral part of the feis.
What is feis in Irish dancing?
“FEIS” (pronounced FESH) is a Gaelic word that means festival. Many years ago in Ireland, the local towns would hold a Feis where the community would gather–Many entered contests to show their baking, music, dance and art skills. We keep these traditions alive today!
Why don’t you move your arms in Irish dancing?
So they made the dancer carry a heavy stone in both hands so that they had to keep them by their sides when dancing with the opposite sex as to prevent them from holding hands during the dances.
Why do Irish dancers dance with their arms down?
What is the festival Irish Dance Teachers Association?
The Festival Irish Dance Teachers Association (F.I.D.T,A.) promotes and teaches Festival Irish Dancing in Somerset, U.K. The Association was formed by Catherine Bartlett in 2000. They have welcomed schools from Northern Ireland to their Irish Dance competitions in Somerset alongside other styles and Associations.
What is the history of Irish dance in Ireland?
In the early 20th century, the Gaelic League, an organisation devoted to the promotion of the Irish language in Ireland, established An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) to standardise and promote traditional Irish dance, as part of a broader Irish nationalist cause.
What does the FDTA do?
The Festival Dance Teachers Association (FDTA) promotes and coordinates Irish festival dance, predominantly in Northern Ireland. The FDTA describes the Ulster Championships as its most significant competition. Competitions are held for both solo and team dances.
What happened to the Gaelic dancing League?
The year of 1897 marks the first ever public Ceílí which took place ironically, in London’s Bloomsbury Hall, organised by the Gaelic league, at which sets, quadrilles and waltzes were danced to Irish music. This year saw the formation of the Gaelic Dancing League which endeavoured to resurrect some of the dances they had caused to disappear.