Transcript Eglish National School - Istituto Comprensivo Rignano Incisa

Eglish National School
This is our DVD about Irish music and dancing.
All of the music and dancing you see are performed in school by
Eglish pupils.
We hope you enjoy it.
The Beginning
The history of Irish dance begins with just a few
references in ancient texts. Evidence reveals that the
druids were among the first dancers in Ireland. Their
dances were an integral part of their religious rituals
honoring the sun and the oak tree. Remnants of these
early dances survive in the ring dances that are still
performed today.T
Ceili Dance
Traditional dances, or ceili dances, include sword
dances, round dances, line dances and progressive
line dances. The Normans are credited with bringing
the round dance to Ireland in the 12th century. The
Rince Fada or long dance is actually a family of line
dances that was brought by the Normans. The Carol
was another of these dances brought by the
Normans; when an Irish town was conquered, the
dance would be performed by the Norman invaders.
In this dance, the leader sang, and the dancers in a
ring around him sang the song back to him.
Dance Masters and Step Dancing
Dance masters were first mentioned in "A Tour in
Ireland, 1776-1779" written by Arthur Young. Each
dance master would travel to different houses in his
area teaching dances and steps to the local youth.
Dance masters standardized the solo steps for jigs,
reels, hornpipes and slipjigs. Step dances emerged in
the late 18th century, created by the dance masters.
These dances, along with the ceili dances, were often
performed at weddings, patron's and saint's days,
annual festivals and Sunday gatherings.
Set Dances
Set dances are a category of step dancing. These
dances evolved from quadrilles which came from the
French court. The dance masters changed them to fit
Irish music, and elaborated on the steps so that they
could showcase their dancing skills. Unlike ceili
dances, which have been made uniform throughout
the country, these dances have regional differences.
In 1936 the Catholic Church tried to wipe out these
dances using the Public Dance Hall Act, but they
survived in homes and at local gathering places
Dances Made Irish
There are several dances that do not have their
origins in Ireland but are now performed as
traditional Irish dances. Among these are couple's
dances and waltzes. The round dance and the
quadrille are also imports made Irish. "Shoe the
Donkey," "Stacks of Barley," the "Gay Gordons" and
"Schottische" are among the imports regularly
performed at ceilis. This amalgamation of dances
and styles has led to beautiful dances such as "St.
Margaret's Waltz" and the "Pride of Erin."
The Gaelic League
Due to the Public Dance Hall Act of 1936, traditional
dance was nearly lost. This act specified that all
dancing events had to be licensed. The Gaelic
League helped to save Ireland's tradition of dance as
part of the efforts to help restore the sense of Irish
national identity. In 1897 the League held their first
ceili in London. At this event there was Irish music
and singing, step dances and waltzes. After this
event the ceili spread to Ireland, and to Irish
communities globally. Ceili events have since
become a matter of national pride and identity.
Irish dances
The following are traditional Irish dances performed by pupils at
Eglish National School,
Ahascragh,
Ballinasloe,
Co. Galway
Ireland
Gay Gordons
Irish dance danced to any march. Left hand to left hand in front of
couple right hand of man to right of lady over her right shoulder.
Direction of dance counter clockwise around hall. Basically a
walking dance with four spins by lady.
1st Part
Start forward on left foot with left, right, left and then shift on with
walking backwards. Continuing in same direction (though walking
backwards) , with left, right, left, then shift on right and walk
forward with left, right, left, right.
2nd Part
Lady spins holding man's hand over head, right hand to right hand,
4 spins eight bars of music, two bars to each spin, ends with
weight of each on right foot. Start part 1 sequence again on left
foot.
Continue until music stops.
Shoe the Donkey
Shoe The Donkey
Lady on right. Holds left hand to left, right to
right in front direction counter clockwise
around floor. This is a forward, turn and
return dance. All action is on outside foot
(lifting and stamping). Inside foot hops
continually.
1st Part
Hop 2-3, hope 2-3, hop-turn-2-3 Stamp on 4
outside foot (note all hops are on inside
foot). Note, having turned, inside and
outside feet are now reversed. Repeat
sequence three times more. Total of four
turns. Total eight bars of music.
2nd Part
Hop-turn 2-3 stamp on 4 on outside foot.
This sequence is repeated seven more
times. total of eight turns. Total eight bars of
music.
Repeat part 1 and 2 until music stops
The Walls of Limerick.
The Walls of Limerick is a dance
commemorating the victory of the people of
Limerick over the forces of King William of
England in the 17th Century. The repulse of
William the Third from Limerick in 1690 is
one of the most treasured memories of the
Irish people; and is to this day continually
before them. Songs are still sung about the
famous victory, and orations delivered.
If you go to a céilí – an Irish evening of song
and dance and story-telling – you may
dance “The Walls of Limerick.”
The “Walls of Limerick is a dance
commemorating the siege of Limerick,
which took place in 1690.
Symbolically you will make the circuit of the
walls, passing from partner to fresh partner.
At the start, the dancers line up in couples,
girl on boy's right, each set of two couples
facing each other. It is danced to reel-time,
and consists of four movements as follows:
This is only the floor pattern walk only. Girl
on the right of boy. Walk forward, walk back
x 2. 2 opposite 2
Right shoulder leading in cross overs.
Ladies cross to each others place. Boys
cross to each others place. Walk with
opposite partner out to the sides and return.
Walk around with own partner.
Repeat formation using appropriate dance
steps.
Take right hand to the sides.
Walk a circle, anti-clockwise around
opposite circle.
Advance and retire using 1,2,3's. Cross
over using side step.
Out to sides using side step. Circle around
using 1,2,3's.
After circling, couples must finish up facing
the direction they started the dance in.
The Siege of Ennis
Background:
Ennis is a town in County Clare on the west side
of Ireland. This dance represents the battle when
Ennis was under siege. The dance is known as a
progressive dance because the dancers move
forward to meet a new line of dancers on each
repetition of the dance sequence.In the advance
and retreat(or retire) portion of the dance, one can
imagine a battle taking place, followed by a
rearrangement of forces, a confrontation or
struggle, then a moving on to begin again.
Formation: Lines of four dancers facing
each other. Dancers are organized in
partners standing side by side.
Irish songs and Ballads
Star of the County Down – love
at first sight
The Star of the County Down is a story of love at first sight
involving a young man who sees a beautiful young girl
while out walking.
He first sees her as she walks down a boreen – a small
country lane – one summer morning.
She has bare feet so she is a poor girl but that doesn’t
diminish her beauty.
In fact, she is so stunning that the singer has to shake
himself to make sure he is actually standing there and not
dreaming.
Óró Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile – Irish rallying
call
Óró Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile had been rallying call for
Irish nationalism for nearly 300 years. It was
widely used as a marching tune for Irish rebels
taking part in the 1916 Easter Rising and has
remained popular ever since.
In 2006, it was put before a worldwide audience
when it was featured in the misty, atmospheric
marching scene in the Ken Loach film, The Wind
That Shakes the Barley.
There are two versions of this song. The one
you are about to hear is the Padraig Pearse
version, and is sung by the pupils of Eglish
National School senior classes.
It sings of Granuaile, the famous pirate
queen, who became a symbol of Irish
rebellion against English rule.
The Bog Down In The Valley O’
(Also known as “The Rattlin Bog”, or “The
Rathlin Bog”)
This is an Irish folksong, played in this DVD
by Alana Mulry on the tin whistle.
The tin whistle is a traditional Irish instrument
and comes in the key of C or D
The Nightingale
The Nightingale
(A Traditional folk song)
Sung by Ciara Cusack
Galway Girl
“Galway Girl” or “The Galway Girl” is a song
written by Steve Earle and recorded with
Irish musician Sharon Shannon, which was
featured on Earle's 2000 album
Transcendental Blues. A cover version of
the song by Mundy and Shannon reached
number one and became the most
downloaded song of 2008 in Ireland.
On this DVD, “The Galway Girl” is sung by
Geraldine and Nora Corcoran
“The Dawning of the Day”
(Irish: Fáinne Geal an Lae, literally "The bright
ring of the day") is the name of two old Irish
airs. "Fáinne Geal an Lae" (sometimes
called "The Golden Star"), an air composed
by the harpist Thomas Connellan in the
17th Century.
The Irish-language lyrics of "Fáinne Geal an
Lae" describe an “Aisling” or vision poem,
(a poetic genre that developed during the
late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish
language poetry) where the poet
encounters a mysterious beautiful woman.
In this case, she upbraids him as a frivolous
rake and points to the approaching dawn.
On this DVD the melody of “The Dawning of
the Day” is played on the tin whistle by
Kevin Mulry
There is a booklet accompanying this DVD
which gives the history and other
information on all of the dances and pieces
of music mentioned in it.
It has been fun for us to put this together,
and we hope you enjoy watching our DVD
and reading the booklet.