Irish Dance Paper

I started dancing when I was 8 years old with the Shanahan School of Irish Dance in Columbus, Ohio. Peggy Shanahan, my first teacher her son played baseball with my brother, so when my she and my parents became friends and she asked if I wanted to start dance lessons, free for boys for a year, my response was Dzsure!dzI had at the time absolutely no knowledge of what Irish dance was, and at the time questioned it as to how or why it was even a thing. My first class, I heard Peggy shout out DzGood Myles that’s itdz while we learned skip 2, 3s. I didn’t even know I was doing all that good, but hearing Peggy say that made me know I wanted to never stop hearing that from anybody in any situation. Over the years I would have two boys with me in class, both older and both at different stages of my dance career. They weren’t really

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

There are many different “worlds” on this planet we live on called Earth. Everyone alive lives in some kind of little “world” of their own. There is the celebrity world, the “Disney” World, “Wally-world”, lots of different sports worlds, scholastic worlds, and so many others. There is a particular world that some live in, and that is the World of Dance. When you are a part of that world, you literally live and breathe it. Every aspect of the dance culture is wrapped up in that world. To those looking in from the outside it is beautiful, filled with lights, lovely costumes, mesmerizing music, and graceful movements.

Dance has been around for a long time, it is older than many other popular sports we have. It takes on the physical capacity to be labeled as a sport, and yet in most cases, it is not. It is one of the few activities that is both a sport and an art, but it is given very little respect as a sport. Dance has evolved in a number of ways throughout time, but it has always been through a meaning. Whether that be dancing for love or faith, or dancing for first place.

Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000).

They have really cool sports, but their sports are similar to the U.S. Irish hurling is really a combination of the sports we know as baseball, field hockey, rugby, and soccer. Hurling is an ancient game and one of the national sports of Ireland. It’s widely considered to be the fastest game on grass. Oh the holidays, I love the holidays, especially Christmas. Ireland has as many of the same holidays as we do. As it said in the Irish book some of their major holidays are “New Years, St. Patrick’s Day, St. Bridget’s Day, Shrove Tuesday (the day before Lent), and Easter.” “Irish culture is also reflected in a diversity of films such as The Quiet Man, My Left Foot, Michael Collins, The Commitments, and Waking Ned Devine,” says the Irish book. Most of these cultural (norms) are like some of our cultural

A common theme to their dances was society’s affinity with the Earth. The most common step in African dancing, which would later become the most basic step in tap dancing, was an example of this symbiotic relationship. In order to stay connected with the power of the Earth, dancers would keep their feet close to the dirt. Flatfootedness created steps that consisted of dragging, gliding, and shuffling step(Knowles). Today’s tap clearly resembles African dance because it often utilizes drags, slides, and

Something I found interesting is that Ballet was actually FIRST introduced during the Renaissance time and Modern dance history in Europe actually started with Renaissance (http://www.ducksters.com). There were also several new dances that were invented at the time (http://www.dancefacts.net). Music and dance were actually the main forms of entertainment (http://www.ducksters.com). However, dance quickly rose to importance among art and science (https://socialdance.stanford.edu). Unfortunately, no choreographic descriptions of the dances survived from the 14th century, the Renaissance time (https://socialdance.stanford.edu).Most dances were actually a passionate form of flirting. The actual true purpose of the dance steps were flirtations (http://dance.lovetoknow.com). Dance was considered as much a part of education as reading or eating with a knife or fork (http://dance.lovetoknow.com). Dance was mainly to socialise (http://www.streetswing.com). These are some interesting facts I learned about the past of Renaissance

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

Dancing is a recreational activity that has been enjoyed by millions of people for centuries. There have been countless styles of dance and thousands of memorized steps that have been performed in front of people or even just simply enjoyed alone without and audience. When a handful those thousands of steps come together, it creates a routine. Even though there are countless dancers that are breathtaking when they perform the routine in front of and audience, most dancers cannot be proficient without someone to assemble those countless steps together to create something awe inspiring, beautiful, and entertaining to watch. Dance is a world of constant change due to the want of awe, the need to produce something unique, and the necessity to catch the audience’s attention. Although many people believe some dance styles have not changed for centuries, innovative choreographers flip dance styles upside down with their unique approaches.

This essay will compare and contrast the dance styles of the European Americans and the Native Americans that were born from the cultural beliefs and expression that shaped how dance played a role in both cultures. The dancing styles of the Native Americans had ritual and spiritual meaning to the people of the tribes, who believed that certain spirits could be contacted through these dances, which would lead of a bountiful hunting trip or help protect warriors in a coming battle (Overture Center, 2010). The dancing styles of the European Americans were very formal and structured dances that were performed in many social occasions as courtship rituals between a man and a woman, but often would see partners shifting and moving around the room

Ever since I was three years old, Irish Dancing was a part of my life. Whether it be rigorous practices or just showing my friends an interesting talent, I can not remember a day that Irish Dancing was not a part of my life. To be an Irish Dancer, the student has to be a dedicated individual not afraid of failure. Countless times you both literally, and figuratively get knocked down and have to keep moving forward. To be an Irish Dancer is to be able to work as a strong team but an even stronger individual. In 2008, I won my first First Place medal for a dance called the Jig. Years and years of practice paid off and all you receive is one little medal. While working on something you really love, it is not the prize awarded at the end that truly matters. But the struggle and

Dance is said to have existed prior to the invention of written languages, and was perhaps an essential aspect of storytelling for the passing of knowledge and information from generation to generation. And it has been, since time immemorial, a part of every culture and religion as a means of self and collective expression.

The history of choreography is also very important Any choreography that seems new, fresh and different is usually a variation of something that has been done before. As long as men and women have lived upon this earth, they have danced. The art of movement is among the oldest of the arts.

These dances eventually evolved to include praise songs and myths that were enacted by trained dancers and actors. By the end of the 5th century BC, these dance dramas were part of entertainment and provided social and political commentary on the times. Amongst the Romans, dance waxed and waned in acceptance by the powers that ruled. Until 200 BC, dance brought life to Roman processions, festivals and celebrations. However, in 150 BC all of the dancing schools were closed as Roman nobility considered dance as suspicious and even dangerous activity of the masses. Dancing has come a long way since ancient times. But there are still some similarities. When people thought up these dances they were trying to express themselves, their emotions, their problems and beliefs. Today we do the same thing. We make up dances according to our attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. The future will also contain dances that will reflect that society. There are many different kinds of dances. There is ballet, line dancing, slow dancing, the list goes on and on. Some of these dances are slow. Some of them are fast. They all use different type of instruments. Each dance representing a time, an event, an expression or feeling. Each dance expressing something different. Dances will never die. They are too interconnected in the