Classes will be resuming in a little over a week, so this post is going to share a bit of the history behind the steps we will be learning this fall.
The steps we are working this fall come from Dance Masters, who are important figures in the history of Irish dance. As I continue to learn and grow my repertoire, I am inspired to learn more about the Dance Masters. In this respect, I am committed to preserving the names and the stories of the people who created these old-Style Irish dances and the pathways by which they came to me.
Dancers coming from the competitive Irish dance tradition might have learned some of the dances classified as “traditional set dances.” These are dances coming from the old-style tradition, that have been included in the modern repertoire as part of the preservation process in each of the Irish dance associations. There are many more versions even than those preserved in the dance associations! So, beware of the idea that there is a “right” version – the Dance Masters all had their own. We will be dancing Jockey to The Fair this fall. The first version I learned Jockey to the Fair was from Cora Somerville during a workshop in the summer of 2013. She taught one step and a set. Michael Tubridy has included this dance in his collection, but with an additional step and set. Michael learned his version from Margaret Wray at the Willie Clancy Summer School and Margaret in turn learned this step from Franky Roddy, of County Derry. This version is nearly identical to the one I learned from Cora.
One of my favourite dances in the old-style repertoire is from Donegal. When I learned this dance from Aoife McGarry, she referred to is as the Mazurka – taking its name from the 3/4 tune type to which it is danced. Aoife learned the step from Joe McGuiggan. I’m less clear on from whom Joe learned it. Joe is a dancer from South Derry. He grew up dancing competitively under the tutelage of May Allen who lived across the river in County Antrim. In time, Joe stopped dancing competitively and embraced more of the old-style. For more than thirty years, Joe has worked on collecting, dancing, and teaching a wide repertoire of old-style dance teachers, including repertoire from Joe O’Donovan, Céline & Michael Tubridy, Tony McNulty, and Frankie Roddy. He has also travelled across Ulster province collecting repertoire specifically considered part of an Ulster-Scots dancing tradition. The Mazurka is part of this tradition. A version of this dancing is also included as part of Michael Tubridy’s collection under the name “The Little Dutch Dance.” The steps are virtually the same, but Michael repeats the opening steps as a chorus between, where Joe does not.
The beginner class will be working on Miss O’Keefe’s Easy Reel which is preserved in the Dan Furey repertoire. Miss O’Keefe was a dancing teacher from Kilkee who taught in schools in Labasheeda, County Clare in the 1920s, which is where Dan Furey learned this dance. Dan Furey (1910-1994) became a dancing master. He brought his fiddle with him whenever he taught so he could play the tunes. The pairing of the music to the steps was very important in the old style – it ensured that the steps and the music were tied together from the start.
The last dance we’ll be working on is Céline Tubridy’s hornpipe, preserved in Michael Tubridy’s collection. Céline, Michael’s late wife, learned this dance as a child in Gortahork, County Donegal in the 1930s from Derry-based dancing teacher Séamus Kerrigan. Séamus taught under the auspices of Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League), which had launched An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission) in 1927, whose was the preservation and promotion of Irish dance. Céline continued to dance throughout her life, including teaching her husband in his fifties, preserving steps from her own childhood in this way. When I first saw a video of Céline dancing at the 2005 Willie Clancy Week. I was inspired that a woman of her age (my guess is around 70 at the time) was able to dance a traditional set with three steps and two sets, which created new life goals for myself.
I’m excited to share these steps with dancers this fall and I sincerely hope that, together, we’re able to keep the steps and their stories alive.