Speaking about the UK, we usually mean only English. But we

don’t pay much attention to other nations. Although

every nation has it’s own individuality and

special interest. So, we decided to raise

people’s awareness in learning other

cultures.So, now we are

going to make an excursion to the

culture of Ireland. Thus, we would like to

speak about Irish dances.

Irish dances can be divided into social dances and performance dances.

Social dances include ceili and sets of dances. Ceili are usually danced in pairs from 2 to 8 people. Irish solo dances refer to performance dances. The distinctive

feature of Irish step dances, which were popularized in 1994 by the world-famous show Riverdance, are quick and precise feet movements remaining motionless body and

hands.

The first references about Irish dances back to the XI century. Since then we have materials about the dance parties of the Irish peasants, which were called feis, but the description of the dances appeared only in the middle of the XVI century, and it was rather uncertain.

During the British colonization

persecution on all kinds of Irish

culture intensified. Punitive laws,

which were introduced by the

British in the middle of the XVII century, forbade

teaching Irish anything including music and dances. So, for more then

150 years Irish dances were taught

secretly. Mass dances were also

banned by Catholic priests who were very powerful in

this time.

The appearance of dance masters at the beginning of XVIII century established modern dance school. The best dancers began to create their own dance schools. The most famous were in Kerry, Cork and Limerick.

JigIt was firstly

mentioned in the materials of the

ancient history of Ireland. There are several variations of jigs: single (or soft), double jig,

treble jig and slip jig. The music size

of jig is 6/8.The dance

includes a lot of jumps, pirouettes

and swings. Several years ago only women have

danced slip jig. But now men also

participate in this kind of jig.

ReelReel arose in 50th

years of 18th century in Scotland. It is danced by both women and men. Women dance reel in soft shoes, men – in special “reel shoes” The music size or reel is 4/4.

Hornpipe It appeared about 1760

from the British miniatures. At first it was

danced exclusively by men in boots with stiff

soles, but now it is performed by men and

women. It is said that the first women to dance

hornpipe were from county Cork. The music

Hornpipe size is 4 / 4.

ShoesFootwear for the Irish dance is divided into two types:

soft shoes and hard shoes. Soft shoes (ghillies or pumps) are lightweight leather slippers with no heel, with long

laces. Slippers are usually the same for both legs. Usually they are black, but you can find a color pair for

performances. At Irish dance lessons it can be easily replaced by ballerinas. For better retention on legs they

have a leather strap.

Performance’s costume

Women’s costume for the Irish step

dance is often represented by a

short dress with a wide skirt because this form of dance

focuses on movements of the legs. The dress is

bright and multicolored,

decorated with Celtic designs. Men’s

costume for the Irish step dance is a

narrow trousers and shirt, often with large

sleeves. In modern Irish dance beginners

perform in the "clothes for the

trainings"- a black skirt and blouse with long sleeves for the

girls, trousers and shirt for boys.

Michael Ryan FlatleyMichael Ryan Flatley is an Irish-American dancer,

choreographer, musician and producer, known for staging dance show “Lord of the Dance” and “Feet of Flames”. He became a recordsman of Guinness’ book in 1989 and 1998

as the faster step-dancer in the world. His record is 35 beats per second. The legs of Michael Flatley are insured for 40

million dollars. Flatley lives in Fermoy, in the south of Ireland. He is married on Niamh O'Brien, his partner in

dancing and he has a son.

RiverdanceRiverdance

firstly appeared at Eurovision Song

Contest on 30 April, 1994. The

Irish dancing champions Jean

Butler and Michael Flatley participated in

this performance. The first

Riverdance show was held in Point

Theatre on 19 February,1995.

But soon Michael Flatley left

Riverdance and Colin Dunne

became a new main dancer.

Riverdance still perform all over the world, but in

reduced consistency.

Irish dances in RussiaAlthough, Irish dances are famous and popular in Russia,

not every city possesses opportunity for practicing in it. You can find schools, specialized in Irish dances, only in Moscow

and Saint-Petersburg. Besides, the trainings are too expensive. So, not every person in Russia can afford to study

it.Nevertheless, Irish step-shows usually visit our country and not only main cities. And they still have a great popularity

with Russian audience.

Making our project we become

especially interested in Irish

culture. So, we explored not only Irish dances, but also Irish music,

which you can hear during our speech. We were eager to

try Irish dances. So, we were looking for

special schools in our city. But, as you

can guess, the results of our

attempts were disappointing.

Nevertheless we are sure that if the opportunity will be, we‘ll generally try.