What is céilí dance?
Normally when people think of Irish dancing they think of leaping little girls with curly wigs and tiny dresses. Or of Michael Flatley and Riverdance. Or clogging.
Céilí dancing is related to all three of those things, but it's a different branch on the Irish dance tree. Céilí (pronounced "kay-lee") is the folk dance branch. It's what you'd do if you wanted to get together with some friends and dance in someone's barn or kitchen. Some of the best descriptions that we've come up with are that it's an Irish version of square/contra dancing; or that it's similar to the kind of dancing you'd see in a Jane Austen movie, but sped up and danced to Irish music.
Céilí dancing is related to all three of those things, but it's a different branch on the Irish dance tree. Céilí (pronounced "kay-lee") is the folk dance branch. It's what you'd do if you wanted to get together with some friends and dance in someone's barn or kitchen. Some of the best descriptions that we've come up with are that it's an Irish version of square/contra dancing; or that it's similar to the kind of dancing you'd see in a Jane Austen movie, but sped up and danced to Irish music.
Céilí Versus Set Dancing
Céilí dances come in a variety of formations including two long lines or big circles. They can also be progressive--meaning the group or person you're dancing with may change as you move around the dance hall.
Set dances are based on the French Quadrille formation, which is four couples arranged in a square. Each dance has multiple figures like reels, jigs, slides or hornpipes. A set dance does not progress. The same group of eight people does the whole set of dances together.
There is apparently a lot of argument over whether céilí or set dances are more Irish. Some people argue that set dances can't be Irish because they're based off of a French formation. Others point out that some of the céilí formations may have come from Norse dances. Honestly, Griff and I don't care. As long as it's danced to Irish music, it's Irish enough for us. We do both set and céilí dancing because both are fun.
For more information about different types of Irish dance, start here.
Set dances are based on the French Quadrille formation, which is four couples arranged in a square. Each dance has multiple figures like reels, jigs, slides or hornpipes. A set dance does not progress. The same group of eight people does the whole set of dances together.
There is apparently a lot of argument over whether céilí or set dances are more Irish. Some people argue that set dances can't be Irish because they're based off of a French formation. Others point out that some of the céilí formations may have come from Norse dances. Honestly, Griff and I don't care. As long as it's danced to Irish music, it's Irish enough for us. We do both set and céilí dancing because both are fun.
For more information about different types of Irish dance, start here.
A Little Bit of History
In a lot of ways the history of Irish dance is the history of Ireland, and it's been under siege for a long, long time. We don't have much record of what Irish dancing looked like before the 1400s or so. At that point it was already changing anyway thanks to invasions by, and then assimilation of, some Vikings and some Normans. In the 1700s the English started legislating against Irish culture and religion, which drove the dancing underground, but didn't quite kill it off.
Then, in 1922, Ireland finally got its independence. In 1923, the Gaelic League formed. Its purpose was to revive Irish culture, but also to establish a separate and unique culture. This led them to chuck set dances and establish céilí dances as the only "real" Irish dances.
People were dancing their céilí dances at their houses, in barns, or at crossroads until 1935 when the Catholic Church decided it had had enough and got the Public Dance Halls Act passed. The Public Dance Halls Act made it so that dancing had to be done in a licensed public place. This effectively killed the crossroads and house party dances and also continued the decline of set dancing. It also made it easier for Irish dancing to be supplanted by foreign music and dance styles.
The decline of Irish dancing in general worried people in Ireland so they set out to revive it in the 1960s. Both céilí and set dances were included. Since then both styles have cycled through being more popular. We're equal opportunity dancers here in Oregon though, so we do a little bit of both.
Then, in 1922, Ireland finally got its independence. In 1923, the Gaelic League formed. Its purpose was to revive Irish culture, but also to establish a separate and unique culture. This led them to chuck set dances and establish céilí dances as the only "real" Irish dances.
People were dancing their céilí dances at their houses, in barns, or at crossroads until 1935 when the Catholic Church decided it had had enough and got the Public Dance Halls Act passed. The Public Dance Halls Act made it so that dancing had to be done in a licensed public place. This effectively killed the crossroads and house party dances and also continued the decline of set dancing. It also made it easier for Irish dancing to be supplanted by foreign music and dance styles.
The decline of Irish dancing in general worried people in Ireland so they set out to revive it in the 1960s. Both céilí and set dances were included. Since then both styles have cycled through being more popular. We're equal opportunity dancers here in Oregon though, so we do a little bit of both.
