www.irelandsdance.com

Irish dance became widely known to those of both Irish and non-Irish descent through a few amazing and highly-polished stage performances. But at its root, Irish dance is a social activity performed by everyday people. At any social gathering featuring a fiddle and bodhran, you may see dancers step up to volunteer a few reel or jig steps. Many Irish festivals end the evening with a gathering where dancers and non-dancers alike can learn a few steps and then join together in a large ceili dance. Children as young as three and four years old get their start in step dance classes in everyday places like church basements and small studios tucked between dry cleaning shops and corner hardware stores.

While Irish dance is for everyday people, it comes along with some of its own social customs. Even the feis, an Irish dance competition, has developed its own culture. Simple A-line dresses embroidered with knots taken from the Book of Kells have given way to shiny satin dresses featuring neon curlicues. Female dancers bounce around in curly wigs and puffy white socks. The flurry of energy and curls and colors at a feis is something that truly must be seen to be believed, and it is part of what makes Irish dance such an amazing and fun family and social activity.

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