Irish Dance In Ireland In The 1800s

In Ireland in the 1800’s huge events that would affect the history of Ireland took place. In 1801 the “Act of Union” was formed, which lead to the Young Ireland Movement. Near the end of the Young Ireland Movement the Great Potato Famine took place. This lead to the formation of the Gaelic League, which protected the culture of Ireland, and the most popular part of the culture today is Irish Dancing. The “Act of Union” was an act formed in 1801 between the two countries of Ireland and England, this act was formed to join Ireland and England together. The first time this act was proposed was in 1798, but this act was not officially put into effect until 1801. Many reforms were put in place due to this act. One of the reforms was
and Irish dance is still popular today. Many Irish dancers practice for hours to participate in a Feis, which is a festival where people can come together in music, dance, sing, theatre, and sport, and these festivals are held year round. In the Feis there is a dance competition. In Feis competitions there are different levels, when a dancer wins first place in a few times they can move up a level. As a beginner and advanced beginner a dancer has to place a first, second, or third in all dances to move up levels. Once a dancer reaches novice they must place first in all dances to move up, from there on a dancer can only move up once they get first and this becomes harder as a dancer moves up levels. There is many different dances in irish dancing. There is the jig, the reel, the hornpipes, and set dances, there is also subcategories of the jig. The jig has many subcategories, such as the slip jig, single jig, hard jig, and the light jig. In light jig, dancers stop practicing at a certain level. Another important part of these dances is the type of shoe used for the dance. There is three different types of shoes. These would be Ghillies, hard shoes, and Reel shoes. Ghillies are soft shoes, similar to ballet flats, these shoes are made of leather and are tied with laces and these shoes are only worn by females. Ghillies are used in soft shoe dances, such as the light jig. The next shoe is the hard jig. The hard shoes, which are similar to tap shoes, are bulkier and heavier with the toes and heel made of fiberglass to make the clicks and taps needed in the dance. These shoes are worn by both genders and are used for hard shoe dances, like the hard jig. The next shoe is the Reel shoe, which are similar to jazz shoes but more flexible, these shoes are soft yet have a hard heel. These shoes are for boys and are worn for soft dances. Costumes are also a key component Irish dancing today. In the 1800’s and early