No one is surprised and everyone is shocked about the cheating allegations in Irish dancing. But this could be a pivotal point for the dance form — if it’s used for transformation rather than cancellation.
The focus at the moment is on the outcome of the investigation by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG). That internal investigation is important but it’s doubtful that it’ll reveal much more than what we already know. While the remit of the CLRG investigation isn’t public, the likely outcomes are the determination of sanctions for the individuals involved — if the allegations are found to be true — and organisational reform to safeguard against such behaviour in the future.
Everyone with an interest in Irish dancing wants to see the issue addressed; however, there’s much more that this moment could mean for Irish dancing.
The stakes of competitive Irish dance are high — high in terms of dedication to training, high in terms of costs and high in terms of the status that winning imbues. Some commentary has adopted a bemused tone regarding the levels to which people chase trophies and titles — but it’s very similar to the fervour involved in competitive GAA.
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Competitive Irish dancing is a kind of world apart. Sue Bourne’s 2011 feature film, Jig, is one of the most in-depth publicly available sources on that world. In promotional interviews, Bourne explains the effort invested in gaining the trust of the dance world over the two-year filming process. The cheating allegations have blown open the doors of this closed world in an unparalleled way — and that’s allowed for a questioning of the scene from inside and outside the dance world.
Though many dance insiders aren’t surprised by the controversy — the fact it became a major news story was surprising. On anonymous online forums, where much of the information for this story originated, parents of dancers discuss how to deal with the revelations.
One option available to dancers is to switch organisations. While CLRG is the main Irish dance body worldwide, in 1970 a split took place with a group of teachers starting An Chomhdháil. In some parts of Ireland, and some overseas territories, An Chomhdháil is more active than CLRG. Since then a number of other organisations have formed. Each organisation has a different organisational ethos, but in general the competitive culture dominates the dance form.
Some parents are contemplating leaving Irish dancing. Others say that they’ve already left after coming to the understanding that the scene was rigged. But many speak of how they, and their children, simply love Irish dancing. That love of Irish dancing has to be the focus.
When the cheating allegations broke it attracted comments from many politicians and other holders of public office
It’s so rare for Irish dancing to hit the headlines in any substantive way. Irish dancing trends annually on St Patrick’s Day and regionally when a big competition comes to a particular city. That coverage tends to be pretty one-dimensional and almost identical each year. When the cheating allegations broke it attracted comments from many politicians and other holders of public office. It also struck a chord with the many people who danced as children — for however brief a time. It hinted at a valuation of Irish dance within the Irish psyche as something still culturally important. .
By coincidence, or perhaps by fate, the story broke the same week that The Arts Council launched its new dance strategy, Advancing Dance 2022-2025. That strategy highlights the dependence on the private commercial sector for the development of dance. When we talk about a private commercial sector, we’re really talking about relatively small-scale dance schools — most of the people involved have dedicated their lives to dance.
The fact that Irish dancing mainly operates commercially competitively leaves it broadly outside the scope of the major state bodies for arts and culture. Instead, its guardianship has largely been left to organisations like CLRG. The big opportunity this moment offers is a strengthening of the ecosystem for Irish dancing in an artistic and cultural sense. To develop more alternatives to the dominance of competitive Irish dancing.
Last week’s dance strategy discussed how the development of dance straddles multiple government departments
Alternatives to that hypercompetitive environment could take many forms, and involve many partners. Former CLRG teacher and adjudicator Cora Summerville has spoken publicly about the need for wide-reaching changes from the protection of dancers from over-training to reform in Irish dance education.
It’s hard not to see a larger role for the State to play in the development of Irish dancing. Last week’s dance strategy discussed how the development of dance straddles multiple government departments. It pointed to the Music Generation model — alluding that something similar could be replicated in dance. If we consider Irish dancing as a cultural asset, it’s difficult not to draw comparisons between it and the GAA. It’s difficult not to dream about what Irish dancing could be with a fraction of the resourcing available to that organisation.
This is a moment of reckoning for Irish dancing — but this controversy could be the best thing to happen to it since Riverdance. Rather than turning away from the dance form — this is a time to turn towards it. It’s a time to ask what Irish dancing really means to us. It’s a time to look at ways to support it. It’s time to begin again.
- Gráinne Conroy is a writer and a former Arts Education programme manager. She danced for more than 10 years with An Chomhdháil dance school.