"Irish dance is now synonymous with glamour and is a passport to world fame," concludes Helen Brennan in her recently published book The Story of Irish Dance. The fact that such a statement is unlikely to cause many raised eyebrows is a testimony to the transformation in the status of the art in the past decade.
Helen's book is the first full account of the phenomenon of Irish dance. She traces the story from medieval times to Riverdance. She relates colourful anecdotes which bring to life the strong conflicts which dancing aroused: conflicts with church leaders; between traditional dancers and bureaucratic instructors; and over which constituted "real" Irish dancing.
The story should fascinate audiences at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, where Helen has been taking part in "Island: Arts from Ireland", a festival of Irish music, dance, theatre, film, literature and visual arts, which opened on May 13th and ends next Saturday.
Jean Kennedy-Smith
The festival is aided by the Irish Government, the Northern Ireland administration, commercial companies and private donors. The driving force behind it is Jean Kennedy Smith, who has spent the past two years organising it. In her five years here as US ambassador she enjoyed at first hand this country's vibrant arts and culture scene.
Performers in Washington include the Riverdance company, De Dannan, Seamus Heaney, Liam Og Flynn, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. There are be evenings with writers and poets such as Jennifer Johnston, William Kennedy, Frank McCourt, John McGahan, Eavan Boland, Paul Durcan, Michael Longley and Nuala Ni Dhomnaill. Fintan O'Toole of The Irish Times is chairing a discussion on theatre and history in contemporary Ireland.
Helen Brennan's involvement takes the form of a workshop on dance. She is accompanied by Mairtin Mac Donnacha, an Oireachtas-winning seannos dancer from Rath Cairn, Co Meath. They will demonstrate traditional dance-steps and Helen will deliver a lecture based on her book. She became interested in traditional dancing in the 1970s as a young teacher in Spanish Point, Co Clare. The folklorist Breandan Breathnach was working on his book Folk Music and Dances of Ireland and he asked her to provide him with details of some dance terms.
Jimmy Ward
He suggested that she call to see a local musician, Jimmy Ward, who played in the Kilfenora Ceili Band. Jimmy intrigued Helen with his stories of dancing in the area. He told her of a dance in the 1930s when the gardai raided the house and kicked and punched dancers while ejecting them from the premises - an incident which happened because of the recently enacted Public Dance Hall Act (1935) which banned dances in private houses. He also gave her the information Breandan Breathnach needed and explained dance terms such as "puzzle shuffle"`, "drum", and "rising step". She had conducted her first interview and the idea of a book came into being.
It has obviously been a labour of love. Her research is meticulous and while there is plenty of information on steps and styles in traditional dance, she has focused on aspects of interest to a general reader. She is particularly interesting on the vital role of dance in the formation of national culture. She details the strong conflicts which arose, particularly with the clergy. The Catholic bishops issued a statement on the "evils of dancing" in October 1925. They advocated the strict supervision of dancing and warned of night dances as an "occasion of sin".
An Irish Times Editorial of March 2nd, 1929 echoed the bishops' statement: "The clergy, the judges and the police are in agreement concerning the baleful affects of drink and low dancing upon rural morals. Further restrictions on the sale of drinks, a remorseless war on the poteen industry, the strict supervision of dance halls and the banning (by law if need be) of all night dances would abolish many inducements to sexual vice."
Spanish Point
As Helen travelled around the country meeting traditional dancers she became aware of how important it was to document what was left of the old-style dance of the various regions. "In 1976 a friend of mine, Roy Esmonde, had just a bought a video camera, which was a new-fangled device at that time. I arranged for him to film three dancers in Spanish Point."
John Joe Moroney, Jimmo Sexton and Jimmy Quin had been taught their steps by dancing masters at the turn of the century. "Jimmo Sexton skipped around the floor like a two-year-old. He danced a sprightly, puckish reel. John Joe Moroney danced a jig and the `Job of Journeywork.'". That black-and-white footage will be shown at the workshop on dance at the Kennedy Centre.
However, if you can't make Washington for "Island: Arts from Ireland", you will be able to hear Helen talk about her book when she takes part in a seminar on traditional dance at this year's Willie Clancy Summer School in early July.