Irish Ceili

Come participate in or watch this lively entertainment.  Newcomers are welcome, and you do not need to have any prior experience to have a great time.   Although many of the dances involve a partner, there is no need to bring one.  There is no cover charge and food and drinks are available for purchase.

Ceili (kay-lee, meaning party) and set dancing are two forms of Irish social dancing. They are very much like Irish square dances or like Contra dancing, except with more complex footwork: there are a few basic steps in ceili dancing, and each dance combines these steps in different ways with a caller and Irish music. This is the sort of dancing you may have seen in the movie The Titanic. Many dances involve a partner, or are in groups of three or four. Some dances are in a large circle, some in lines with couples facing, some in groups of three or four. Set dancing is almost always done in "sets" of four couples in a square.

dance videos
http://www.geocities.com/ceilis_twincities/whatisbody.html

dance steps
http://www.angelfire.com/on2/ceili/ 

sample music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR7eFnFfWPo

 History: Ceili dances represent an informal tradition of dance that is common to much of humanity since prehistory.  Many are structured as sword dances, round dances, line dances, and progressive line dances.  The Normans have been credited for introducing the round dance into Ireland around the 12th century.  The "rince fada" [long dance] is actually a family of dances, one of which was described in the end of the 17th century as performed by "three persons moving abreast, each of which held the end of a white handkerchief, followed by the rest of the dancers in pairs".  The Gaelic Revival in Ireland in the late 19th century destroyed the practice of dancing these dances so effectively that when the Gaelic League decided to resurrect them in the 1920's, they had generally been lost and new dances had to be codified to write the "Ár Rinncidhe Fóirne".  Many of the modern ceili dances have known authors.  For example, the "Fairy Reel" was composed by An t-Athair Ó Flannagáin around 1930, to a tune written by Neil Gow for the Fife Hunt Ball in Scotland in 1802.

Structure: The modern Ceili dance form was codified early in this century by the Gaelic League who were simultaneously establishing the form to be used for step-dancing competitions.  As well as the often noted "hands at the sides" aspect, ceili dance today emphasizes the height, turn-out, dancing on the toes [not the same as the ballet stance], extension of leg and foot, long reach and quick movements seen in the step dances as well, but tends to de-emphasize the use of battering and foot percussion.

(from http://www.albee.org/celticdance/irishdance.htm) 

Céilidh (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

A céilidh (Irish pronunciation: [ˈceːlʲiː], Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈcʰeːli], English pronunciation: /ˈkeɪli/) (in modern usage) is a traditional Gaelic social dance originating in Ireland and Scotland, but now common throughout the Celtic diaspora. Other spellings encountered are ceilidh, céilí (Irish reformed spelling) and cèilidh (Scottish Gaelic reformed spelling). Before discos and nightclubs, there were céilidhs in most town and village halls on Friday or Saturday nights; they are still common today.

History

Originally, a ceilidh was a social gathering of any sort, and did not necessarily involve dancing.

The 'ceilidh' is a literary entertainment where stories and tales, poems and ballads, are rehearsed and recited, and songs are sung, conundrums are put, proverbs are quoted, and many other literary matters are related and discussed

—Carmichael, Alexander, Carmina Gadelica, 1900, tome I, p. xxviii.[1].

 The ceilidh of the Western Hebrides corresponds to the veillée of Lower Brittany […], and to similar story-telling festivals which formerly flourished among all the Celtic peoples

—Wentz, W. Y. Evans, The Fairy-faith in Celtic countries, Oxford University Press, 1911, p.32.

In more recent decades, the dancing portion of the event has usurped the older meanings of the term.

Modern ceilidhs

Céilidhs facilitated courting and prospects of marriage for young people and, although discos and nightclubs have displaced céilidhs to a considerable extent, they are still an important and popular social outlet in rural parts of Ireland and Scotland, especially in the Gaelic-speaking regions. Céilidhs are sometimes held on a smaller scale in private or public houses, for example in remote rural hinterlands and during busy festivals. It is common for some clubs and institutions such as sports clubs, schools and universities and even employers to arrange céilidhs on a regular or at least annual basis. The formality of these can vary. Some mix modern pop music with a Scottish country dancing band and dress codes range from compulsory highland dress to informal. Knowledge and use of the basic dance steps is not always strictly necessary, and dances often alternate with songs, poetry recitals, story telling and other types of "party pieces".

Céilidh music may be provided by an assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán, and in more recent times also drums and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively, and the basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself. In Ireland the first céilidh band was put together in 1926 by Séamus Clandillon, Radio Éireann's director of Music, in order to have dance music for his studio-based programmes.^[1]

Dancing at céilidhe is usually in the form of céilidh dances, set dances or couple dances. A "Set" consists of four couples, with each pair of couples facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music.

However, about half of the dances in the modern Scots céilidh are couple dances performed in a ring. These can be performed by fixed couples or in the more sociable "progressive" manner, with the lady moving to the next gentleman in the ring at or near the end of each repetition of the steps. In Ireland, the similar style of dance is called céili dance or fíor (true) céili dance. Some of the dances are named after famous historical battles and events, others after items of daily rural life. The "Siege of Ennis", "The Walls of Limerick" and "The Stack of Barley" are popular dances in this genre.

Step dancing is another form of dancing often performed at céilidhs, the form that was popularised in the 1990s by the world-famous Riverdance ensemble. Whereas Set dancing involves all present, whatever their skill, Step dancing is usually reserved for show, being performed only by the most talented of dancers.

The céilidh has been internationalised by the Scottish and Irish diasporas in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where local céilidhs and traditional music competitions are held. In recent years, céilidh and traditional music competitions have been frequently won by descendants of emigrants.

Modern Scottish cèilidh

Privately organised cèilidhs (or 'céilidhs' in Irish - note the change in accent over the 'e') are now extremely common in Scotland, where bands are hired, usually for evening entertainment for a wedding, birthday party or other celebratory event. These bands vary in size, although are commonly made up of between 2 and 6 players. The appeal of the Scottish cèilidh is by no means limited to the younger generation, and dances vary in speed and complexity in order to accommodate most age groups and levels of ability.

Public céilidhs are also held. Universities in Scotland hold regular cèilidhs, with the University of Edinburgh providing a number of ones for students throughout each term, especially the long-running Highland Annual, the oldest cèilidh in Edinburgh, organized by the Highland Society.

Some cèilidh bands intersperse cèilidh dancing with a DJ playing disco music in order to broaden the appeal of the evening's entertainment.

English ceilidh

What is now called English ceilidh (sometimes abbreviated to eCeilidh) has many things in common with the Scottish/Irish social dance traditions and can be considered part of English Country Dance and thus related to Contra, which often has a similar high-energy feel. The dance figures are similar but tunes used tend to be slower and accentuate the beat, so dancers will often use a skip, step hop or rant step (hop on left twice, step on right, hop on right twice, step on left) rather than the smoother motion seen in Ireland and Scotland, or the walking in Contra. There is often a 'spot' halfway through the evening to give the band a rest, often involving the local Morris side. Like barn dances, English ceilidhs always use a caller who calls the dance figures the dancers need to make. Callers and Bands are often booked independent of each other, usually the caller choosing which dances fit best with the bands repertoire of music and in consideration of the occasion and experience level of the dancers. Most of the dances involve couples staying together for the whole dance, though people often change partners after every one or two dances.

At English ceilidh events you'll find bands making the most of the English tradition (Old Swan Band for example) but also many bands picking up strong influences from other forms of music, for example ska for Whapweasel, French traditional for Token Women, Welsh traditional for Twm Twp, Jazz for Chalktown, Funk Fusion for Ceilidhography, Rock for Peeping Tom, Aardvark Ceilidh Band and Tickled Pink, West African and Indian for Boka Halat and self-penned material for Climax Ceilidh Band.