Set dancing

The Set Dance ( Irish seitrince, damhsa leithleach ) is the most popular form of the Irish folk dance that is at least 150 years. Tracking the social set dances through the Church, and thus by the Irish state until the 1970s meant that many sets were forgotten and the set dance itself was very unpopular. In the 1980s, launched a revival in particular by the dancer Connie Ryan and many sets that had not danced for 40 years, were again reconstructed and choreographed new dances. Today, there is a rich dance scene not only in Ireland and the other countries of the Commonwealth, but also in many other countries.

The sets are based on the French quadrille, which was brought to Ireland by the British Army in the 19th century. Irish dancers adapted the characters to their own music and steps ( Steps) to dances with great speed and fun, so from the baroque court dance a unique form of rural dance culture was.

List

The Set Dance is a fast dance, which is often accompanied by rhythmic tap steps ( battering ). In general, the foot is doing relatively flat moves, jumps, etc. can be avoided.

In general, four couples in a square set at (exception: Half sets, which are danced with 2 pairs ). Both all eight participating dancers and the dance itself is referred to as a set. The dance then consists of a specific choreographic sequence of three up to six dancers with a short break in between. The set, the pair is referred to with his back to tape ( music) traditionally considered Tops First and the opposing pair as second tops. In most cases the couple is left of the ridge tops as First Sides designating him as a second pair of opposing Sides. These terms are also used outside of Ireland so.

Set Dance is rarely danced to reels, jigs, polkas, hornpipes to Mazurkas.

There are many regional variations in the set dance, such as the South Galway Set and the Clare set. Sets from an area usually have similar elements. For instance, sets from the Connemara region (such as the Connemara Reel Set, the South Galway Reel Set and the Claddagh Set) First Sides right of the First Tops. Sets from the Clare region emphasize the footwork more ( battering ).

From the Square Dance and Round Dance the Dance set usually differs by the lack of caller (or Cuer ), which specifies the particular dance. If you still get called, it is to be understood only as an aid for beginners or less experienced dancers. The order of the figures is not - determined by the caller - such as the square dance. They are established from the outset.

The dances are mostly regional dances and often bear the names of cities or regions in Ireland and are referred to as a set: Aran, Ardgroom, Armagh, Auban Ballyvourney Jig, Ballyvourney Reel, Ballinascarty Half, Ballycommon, Black Valley Jig, Borlin, Caledonian, Caragh Lake Jig, Cashel, Cavan Reel, Clare Lancers, Clare Orange and Green, Connemara, Corofin Plain, Derradda, Lancers down, Down Quadrilles, Dublin, Dunmanway, Durrow Threshing, Fermanagh, Fermanagh Quadrilles, Frères Nantais, Gillen, Glencar polka, Jenny Lind, Keadue Lancers, Kenmare polka, Kildare, Kilkenny Lancers, Kilkenny Quadrilles, Labasheeda Reel, Leitrim, Limerick Orange and Green, Longford, mazurka, Melleray Lancers, Monaghan, Newmarket Meserts, Newmarket Plain, Newport, North Kerry, Paris, Plain polka, Plain, Portmagee Meserts, Roscommon Lancers, Shramore, Skibbereen, Sliabh gCua, Sliabh Luachra, South Galway Reel, South Kerry, South Sligo Lancers, Televara, Tipperary Lancers, Tory Iceland Lancers, Tubbercurry Lancers, Valentia Right and Left, Waltz Cotillion, West Kerry.

Solo dances

As for the solo dances at the Dance set, so there are still four solo set dances that are danced with hard shoes in competitions or as Vorführtänze and step dances. These are very old and you can not dance to a different music also. The choreographies are set, but there are still regional variations of individual steps. The solo Settänze as well as the Ceili dances are heavily commercialized by the strict regulations. The most famous is the " St. Patrick's Day ( in the Morning ) ", but the other dances ( " Blackbird ", " Garden of Daisies" and "Job of Journey Work" ) are very common. More Settänze (or O'Keeffe & O'Brien ( 1934) also Figure dances called ) are:

Rub the Bag, The Stucaire, Funny Tailor, The Downfall of Paris, Bonaparte 's Retreat, Rodney 's Glory, The Three Sea Captains, The Jockey through the Fair, The Blackthorn Stick, The Killiecrankie, Lady Cucool, Rocky Road to Dublin, The Girl I Left Behind Me, Ace and Deuce of Pipering, Drops of Brandy, Cover the Buckle, Double Short ( County Cork), single, Maggie Pickins ( County Donegal), My Love She's but a Lassie yet (Donegal).

Scene

Set Dance meetings are as Céilí (pronounced Keeli ) refers. The word Céilí is the actual dance evening with set dancing or Céilí Dancing, or even both. Sometimes doing other dances such as the waltz, quickstep and jive are danced. " Céilí and old time" is a mixture of sets, Céilí dances and waltzes.

Such Céilithe are taking place across Europe regularly. They are usually organized by local dance groups set, often organize and annual workshops in which Irish Set Dance teachers teach selected sets. Such workshops take several days, and Céilithe find again in its frame instead.

The biggest Set Dance Convention is the annually from the first Saturday in July, held Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, County Clare in Ireland. There, a week long morning teaching sets, afternoon and evening are at different places in the area major Céilithe performed with live bands.