SETDANCE.NET

You know you're a set dancer when...

You're obsessed by wooden floors and say things like: "Hmm, I wonder if it's sprung?" or "You know, if we pushed the furniture back, we'd have room for a set
You've two shoe collections: one for every day, one for dancing. Same with clothes
You tap out rythms while waiting at elevators or standing at the photocopier (Yes, you do! Admit it!)
You've seen every corner of Ireland - from the inside of church halls and communitiy centres, that is.
You've set dancing friends from across the world - but do you know what any of them do for living?
You think nothing of flying to another country for the weekend, only to spend it indoors (This one truly baffers your non-set dancing friends)
You mention Pat, Mick and Aidan and expect everyone to know who you mean
Toss the Feathers is your other bible
Setdancing News is your holiday planner

by Elisabeth MacDonald
Set Dance Instructor of the Irish Club
of Belgium

Irish Set Dancing

Set dancing is a form of social dancing which has been popular in Ireland for over 150 years. Sets are danced by four couples in a square, and usually consist of three to six figures with a short pause between each. They are descended from the French quadrilles, which were brought to Ireland by the British army in the nineteenth century. Irish dancers adapted the figures to their own music and steps to form dances with great drive and enjoyment. After a period of decline in the fifties and sixties, sets are very popular today in Ireland and in Irish communities throughout the world.

An excellent book describing the history of set dancing, the steps, the terminology and 64 of the most commonly danced sets is Toss the Feathers by Pat Murphy, published by Mercier Press. Refer to www.SetDancingNews.net for more information.

Note that set dancing is not the same as step dancing. Step dancing is the competitive solo form of Irish dancing now very popular because of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. If you want to dance like Michael Flatley, this web page is not going to help. To find a step dancing instructor near you, take a look at Ann's Irish Dance Page. On the other hand, if you're looking for good music, fun and friends resulting in the kind of joy you probably haven't experienced since childhood, read on.

Another form of Irish social dance is ceili dancing. This is a different, separate repertoire of dances which are commonly danced in Northern Ireland, England, America and Australia, but uncommon in the south of Ireland. The dances are in many forms, for couples or threesomes, in lines, squares and circles, including several in four-couple sets. They are danced to steps which are similar to those used in modern step dancing and unlike those for set dancing. While sets traditionally were passed on informally at home, ceili dances were taught formally by dancing teachers. The dances were introduced around the turn of the twentieth century.

The word céilí refers to an Irish social dance event with set dancing or ceili dancing or both, and possibly other types of dance such as the waltz, quickstep and jive.