Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
On an earlier posting I asked, in the middle of another discussion, if there was ever any Irish Ritual Dancing, in the same way as Morris Dancing in England, and got no replies.
Well, was there ?
Importing bits of the English tradition to Ireland does not count.
Did something go on, probably at a specific time of year and locality, that wasn't just a hooly or a party, but actually had a form that was repeated every time it was done, usually, as Thomas Hardy once defined but not in his words, being performed without apparent enjoyment, as if it was an obligation?
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
Ritual Dance, as in the Morris, for instance, where there may have been older and deeper meanings to what is performed nowadays chiefly as a display, but was customarily, in times of yore, single-sex, although perhaps the majority of sides these days are co-ed, and long may that continue; as opposed to Social Dancing, barn dances, country dances, square dances, circle dances, contra dances, where the object of the evening is to get close to members of the opposite sex as a prelude to even more fun.
King of the Fairies is of course a set dance, and defining the difference between a set dance and a ritual dance is a good poser; after all the set dance should be done as exactly as it is defined, with less opportunity for social congress, yes ? But there probably aren't proscribed times of year when it should happen, unlike much Morris.
Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
On an earlier posting I asked, in the middle of another discussion, if there was ever any Irish Ritual Dancing, in the same way as Morris Dancing in England, and got no replies.
Well, was there ?
Importing bits of the English tradition to Ireland does not count.
Did something go on, probably at a specific time of year and locality, that wasn't just a hooly or a party, but actually had a form that was repeated every time it was done, usually, as Thomas Hardy once defined but not in his words, being performed without apparent enjoyment, as if it was an obligation?
# Posted on April 6th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
A video about mumming and wintertime customs in Ireland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eruiBsmyuQ8&feature=channel_page
# Posted on April 6th 2009 by kuec
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
Song and plays, but I guess a bit less dancing.
No one knows what the link between the play and the dance in the English tradition was, as the play side of things has mostly been forgotten.
# Posted on April 11th 2009 by geoffwright
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
King of the Faeries has a tune and a specific dance. but Ritual?
# Posted on April 11th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
Ritual Dance, as in the Morris, for instance, where there may have been older and deeper meanings to what is performed nowadays chiefly as a display, but was customarily, in times of yore, single-sex, although perhaps the majority of sides these days are co-ed, and long may that continue; as opposed to Social Dancing, barn dances, country dances, square dances, circle dances, contra dances, where the object of the evening is to get close to members of the opposite sex as a prelude to even more fun.
King of the Fairies is of course a set dance, and defining the difference between a set dance and a ritual dance is a good poser; after all the set dance should be done as exactly as it is defined, with less opportunity for social congress, yes ? But there probably aren't proscribed times of year when it should happen, unlike much Morris.
# Posted on April 12th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Irish Ritual Dance - and the music that went with it ?
What about the Haymakers' Jig? - a social dance obviously associated with the harvest time. The ritual is in the movements of the dance.
# Posted on April 14th 2009 by Kerryman