Irish Dancing

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Irish Dance is a group of traditional dance forms originating in Ireland which can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances.  Irish social dances can be divided further into ceili and set dancing.

Irish performance dancing is traditionally referred to as stepdance.  Irish stepdance, popularized in 1994 by the world-famous show "Riverdance" is notable for its rapid leg movements, body and arms being kept stationary.

Most competitive stepdances are solo dances, though many stepdancers also perform and compete using ceili dances.  The solo stepdance is generally characterized by a controlled but not rigid upper body, straight arms and quick, precise movements of the feet.

The solo dances can either be in "soft shoe" or "hard shoe".

Step Dancing

Step dancing as a modern form is descended directly from the old-style step dancing.  There are several different forms of stepdancing in Ireland, but the style most familiar to the public is the Munster, or southern form which has been formalised by An Coimisium le Rinci Gaelacha - the Irish Dancing Commission.

Soft shoe dances include the reel, slip jig, light jig and single jig.

Hard shoe dances include the hornpipe, hard jig (also called the treble jig), the treble reel and traditional sets.  The traditional sets are a group of 36 dances with set music and steps.  Many traditional sets have irregular musical phrasing and there are also more advanced "non-traditional sets" performed by more advanced dancers.  These have set music, but not set steps.

Ceili Dancing

The ceili dances used in competitions are more precise versions of those danced in less formal settings.  There is a list of 32 ceili dances which have been standardized and published in An Coimisium Ar Rinncidhe Foirne as examples of typical Irish Folk Dances.

Competition Structure

An organized step dance competition is referred to as a feis.  The word feis means "festival" in Irish.  Dance competitions are divided by age and levels of expertise.  Competitions are held throughout Far North Queensland including the North Queensland Irish Premierships held annually on the Queen's Birthday Weekend.  The Premierships are conducted by the Australian Irish Dancing Association North Queensland Sub-Committee and rotate between the cities of Mackay, Ayr, Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa.

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