Irish Dance Research Paper

Irish Step Dance is not only a form of art, but is also a form of history and a sport. Irish dance started as early as 400 AD. Throughout history this type of dance changed with each generation. Historians believe that the Druids were the first group of people to perform this type of dance. Many people believe that Irish Dance has changed greatly over the last hundred years while others believe that it has stayed the same. As time elapsed, Irish dance evolved to what it is today. When most people today hear the words “Irish Step Dance” they think of Riverdance or Lord of the Dance or some show involving Irish Dance. Those types of shows are similar to Irish dance but, at the same time they are different. Old Irish Dance and modern Irish Dance
Most of these dances were created by invaders of the 1600’s. An example is the Trenchmore. The Trenchmore is an old Irish peasant dance. After this dance was created, another dance which originated from this it was called The Hay. In The Hay, the female dancers would dance around the male dance in a fashion similar to the current day reel dance. The Reel is upbeat it is played in 4/4 time and cut time. This means that it is fast which means the dancer has to move fast as well. In the 1800’s, there was a group of dance teachers called the Dance Master’s. They arrived at Ireland, going village to village to teach the peasants to dance. Each master had their own village or town to teach. These masters were outgoing and wore bright colors. The peasants did not know the difference between their left and right feet so the master called their left foot, “lift hay foot” and the right foot, “lift straw foot”. Solo dancing also occurred. Only the good dancers got to do solos. In most cases, the doors would be taken off of their hinges for the dancers to perform on. Each Dancing Master had their own district and he or she would have to stay in their own territory or else they would be a risk of being kidnapped. When the