Festival dance is a form of

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

traditionally associated with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It separated from the "

feis A () or () is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are () and (). The term is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Scotland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional musi ...

" movement in stepdancing in the mid-20th century and became stylistically and administratively distinct. The form is practised competitively in Northern Ireland,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and parts of mainland

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

History

In the early 20th century, the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

, an organisation devoted to the promotion of the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, established An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) to standardise and promote traditional Irish dance, as part of a broader

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

cause. However, the organisation was criticised for its emphasis on certain regional styles and traditions at the expense of others. In 1951 dance teacher Patricia Mulholland was suspended from teaching by CLRG for six months after participating in a dance event where the British national anthem was played. Mulholland decided to leave CLRG and create a new form of Irish dance, described as a form of "folk ballet", in order to appeal to

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

heritages. A group of dancing teachers from Northern Ireland met in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1971 and formed a new organisation, initially known as An Comgall, but later renamed to the Nine Glens Association. The Association hosted various annual competitions, and became the Festival Dance Teachers Association in 2003.

Style

There are stylistic differences between festival dance and modern stepdance as the predominating forms of solo Irish dance. Teachers of festival dance emphasise the importance of individualism in performance, and encourage storytelling in the interpretations of each dancer. It is described as less rigid, and proponents highlight the "art and personal expression" involved. Set dances, which are standardised by An Coimisiún and other stepdance organisations, are originally composed for individual festival dancers. In competition, festival dancers depart from the highly embellished costumes that became prominent in An Coimisiún competitions after the debut of

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Competitors do not wear

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

s, and

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and fake tan are frequently prohibited. Costumes for girls are typically free-flowing

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

dresses, which create a perception of fluid movement in the style of the dance. Hard shoes are worn which resemble those of stepdancers, but ghillies (soft shoes) are made of canvas and are closer in construction to ballet slippers.

Organisation

The Festival Dance Teachers Association (FDTA) promotes and coordinates Irish festival dance, predominantly in Northern Ireland. The FDTA describes the Ulster Championships as its most significant competition. Competitions are held for both solo and team dances. The Festival Irish Dance Teachers Association (F.I.D.T,A.) promotes and teaches Festival Irish Dancing in Somerset, U.K. The Association was formed by Catherine Bartlett in 2000. They have welcomed schools from Northern Ireland to their Irish Dance competitions in Somerset alongside other styles and Associations. They have hosted The European Championship giving dancers from Northern Ireland the opportunity to compete against the rest of the world whilst maintaining Festival style and traditions.

Notes

References

{{Irish dance Irish dance