Céilí dances

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Céilí dances are traditional dances that are danced at a céilí . The term was coined in the London branch of the Gaelic League . The League sought to promote Irish national identity and pride at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The use of the Irish language was expected during a Fíor Céilís ( Real Céilí ) . The London branch of the Gaelic League was extremely active and made significant contributions to Irish dance culture:

  • they fixed and promoted the Kerry figure dances (Céilí dances)
  • they published the first collections of Irish figure dances
  • they held St. Patrick's Day concerts and founded the London Feis in 1904 .

Seán Ó Ceallaigh was the first to use the term "Céilí dances" when he published the descriptions of some figure dances in a Dublin weekly. Earlier authors (O'Keeffe and O'Brien, 1902; Sheehan, 1902) did not use this term.

The term Céilí dances has two different meanings:

1. The Irish Dance Commission "An Coimisiún" uses the term for the dances listed in "Ár Rinci Fóirne - Thirty Popular Céilí Dances":

  • Volume 1 (1939): The Walls of Limerick , The Four-Hand Reel, Eight-Hand Reel, Morris Reel, High-Caul (ed) Cap, Sixteen- Hand Reel, Humours of Bandon , Eight-Hand Jig, Siege of Ennis , Harvest-Time Jig.
  • Volume 2 (1943): Long Dance (Rince Fada), The Bridge of Athlone , Haste to the Wedding, The Siege of Carrick, Antrim Reel, Glencar Reel, The Three Tunes, St. Patrick's Day, Trip to the Cottage, An Rince Mór (The Great Dance)
  • Volume 3 (1969): Haymakers Jig, The Fairy Reel, The Duke Reel, Lannigan's Ball, The Cross Reel, The Waves of Tory , The Rakes of Mallow , The Gates of Derry , The Sweets of May, Bonfire Dance.

2. In daily usage, the term refers to the dances regularly listed at dance events ( Céilí ), in particular the 4-hand, 8-hand, 16-hand reels and jigs as well as the Walls of Limerick, Siege of Ennis, Haymakers Jig, Bridge of Athlone etc.

However, Cullinane and other authors (de Roiste, 1927) explicitly state that the Céilí dances are not the traditional Irish dances (these are the set dances ), but rather "art dances ", which were hardly danced by the Irish and also not mastered. Roche (P. de Roiste 1927) stated in his book Collection of Irish Airs, Marches and Dance Tunes, Vol 3 : “… in recreating an Irish Ireland the work of reviving our old national dances unfortunately largely fell to those who were but poorly equipped for the task, they were lacking in insight and a due appretiation of the pure old style and had as it appears but a slender knowledge of the old repertoire. "

literature

  • Helen Brennan: The Story of Irish Dancing . Mount Eagle / Brandon, Dingle 1999, ISBN 0-86322-244-7
  • To Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (ed.): Ár Rincí Fóirne - Thirty Popular Céilí Dances . Westside Press, 2003
  • John Cullinane: Aspects of the History of Irish Céilí Dancing . The Central Remedial Clinic, Clontarf, Dublin 1998, ISBN 0-9527952-2-1
  • JG O'Keeffe, Art O'Brien: A Handbook of Irish Dances, 5th Edition . Gill & Son, 1934
  • Wiltrud Werner, Dances from Ireland , Dieter Balsies Verlag Kiel 1997, ISBN 3-925594-47-7
  • Frank Whelan: The Complete Guide to Irish Dance , Appletree Press, Belfast 2000, ISBN 0-86281-805-2

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