Irish Step Dancing

The defining feature is the still upper body with arms held at the sides while the feet do everything, and explanations for it - a priest's ban on immodesty, dancing in confined cottage spaces, a doorway used as a stage - are all folklore rather than documented. Two shoe types divide the form: soft shoes for reel, slip jig and light jig, and hard shoes for hornpipe, treble jig and traditional sets, where the sound is part of the performance. The Gaelic League codified it from the 1890s and the competition system, the feis, drove it toward extreme technical difficulty, elaborate costumes and, since the 1980s, wigs. Riverdance in 1994 took it worldwide in seven minutes of Eurovision interval and changed the economics of the whole field. World championships draw thousands of competitors from dozens of countries. Watching a feis is free or cheap and is quite unlike watching a show.

Highlights

• The still upper body - arms at the sides while the feet carry everything.
• The two shoe types - soft for reels and jigs, hard for percussive work.
• The feis - the competition system that shaped the modern form.
• The Riverdance effect - the 1994 performance that globalised it.

When to go

Any time; feiseanna run through spring and summer, with regional and world championships in the spring. Commercial shows run year-round in Dublin and tourist centres.

Practical notes

Competitions are long days in halls with a lot of waiting between rounds. Commercial shows are polished but far from a feis. Costumes and wigs are a real expense that surprises parents entering the world.

Nearby

Schools and feiseanna run in every county; shows are concentrated in Dublin.