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What’s the next step for the Irish dancing phenomenon?
 Night
after night in Scout huts, church halls and a collection of other assorted
buildings up and down the country, groups of parents drop off their children
for lessons in a cultural art form that quickly expanded to become a global
brand.
Irish dancing has escalated in popularity with classes being staged across
the whole of Europe, throughout North and South America, South Africa,
Australasia and the Far East.
Several of these locations around the globe contain large Irish Diasporas
which could explain how something with its roots firmly lodged in the
Emerald Isle continues to flourish.
But it required something far more significant to extend the appeal beyond
the natural catchment.
On Saturday, April 30, 1994 veteran Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan was probably
unaware that he was about to utter perhaps the four most significant words
during his lengthy career: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Riverdance.”
On paper the 2FM disc jockey
co-presenting that year’s Eurovision Song Contest was merely announcing
the
mid-competition entertainment during which juries from the competing nations
decide which songs pick up their allocation of votes.
And the Clontarf-born Trinity College law graduate should have been aware
that the interval is not a simple time-filler when Ireland plays host
to Eurovision — six years earlier Hothouse Flowers used the 1988
event as a vehicle for international fame when they performed during the
break.
But their success — reflected in countless sales of albums and singles
all over the world — could not be deemed as significant as the impact
made by that troupe of Irish dancers.
Bill Whelan who composed the music expanded it into a full score for the
stage production that opened at The Point in Dublin in February 1995 before
gaining the same level of acclaim and success on Broadway, London’s
West End and throughout Europe.
The two stars — Michael Flatley and Jean Butler — quickly
became hot property and even Marks and Spencer linked themselves with
the lively limbs of the female cast to sell their range of tights and
stockings.
Riverdance marked a turning point for Irish dancing by transforming it
from a hobby into a means of earning a living — very few people
could fill a wage packet from dancing jigs and reels prior to 1994 when
the professional era began.
It also placed Irish dancing on a par with other dance forms like ballet
and tap — the grounding for most professional dancers that followed
study at recognised academies and schools all over the world where a career
could be gained for the chosen few.
Riverdance is still on the road with three companies: Foyle in Ireland,
Corrib covering Great Britain and Europe and Boyne in North America.
And almost 19million have paid at the box office to see the show —
a similar number to the album sales of the soundtrack.
The Broadway and West End runs have long since ended and the touring productions
now contain smaller companies.
Flatley — and more particularly Butler as girls made up the vast
majority of pupils — prompted Irish dancing schools to be inundated
with wide-eyed hopefuls seeking to emulate the stars they had seen on
either television or the stage.
But with the two principal dancers no longer involved — both went
on to pursue other projects with Flatley propelled towards multi-millionaire
status and Butler attaching herself to the National University of Ireland
— there has to be other factors to account for the continued popularity.
More than 12 years have elapsed since Riverdance took to the stage and
became the hot ticket across virtually every continent.
But that kind of momentum cannot be easily sustained.
The shelf life for Riverdance — and other subsequent stage shows
with Irish dancing at the core — has not yet reached the sell-by
date but it cannot be viewed in the same way it was a decade ago.
The Moloney School in Swindon typifies Irish dancing with around 60 or
so pupils on the books.
Teacher Sarah Moloney is a former Southern Counties champion and has a
collection of dancers at all competition levels — ranging from raw
beginners to those with a sideboard full of trophies.
When the school gathered for its in-house competition the average age
was under 10 years.
So this was an event where most of the participants had not even been
born when Michael Flatley exploded onto the scene.
Talking to the current crop of young dancers very few cite the Riverdance
effect as the reason for wanting to take up Irish dancing.
Some might have seen the show or watched the performance on video or DVD
but other explanations were offered as to why they started lessons.
In some cases it was the continuation of a family tradition as daughters
slipped on the shoes to follow in their mothers’ footsteps.
By the same token younger siblings tag on to elder sisters and learn to
dance.
But what makes the dance classes of today different from those of 20 years
ago is the fact that Irish dancing is no longer an exclusively Irish activity.
Sarah explained: “When I first started dancing all of the pupils
were first or second-generation Irish and nearly all of them came from
the Catholic primary schools in the town.
“That is no longer the case — a sizeable number have no connection
with the Emerald Isle and they come from a variety of schools all over
the town.
“The attraction is often passed on by word of mouth one girl comes
along for a lesson and then tells her friends about it.
“Some are more dedicated than others and inevitably the class attendance
can drop when the GCSEs or other exams are approaching.
“Others can drop out for a while and then come back to lessons
we always leave the door open for them.”
Nine-year-old Shannon Garvey was prompted to take up Irish dancing after
wandering along to a carnival with her parents.
Her second-generation Irish mum Deborah said: “Shannon was about
six years old and she spotted a float with Irish dancers performing a
jig on the back of a lorry.
“She could not stop talking about it and so we set about finding
a school where she could learn the steps.
“At the time there were lessons in nearby Trowbridge so that is
where we went but those classes ended after a while.”
Now the Garvey family make a round trip of 70 miles to take Shannon
to her lessons the dedication seems to have reaped dividends with Shannon
coming top of her group category at the Class Feis.
And what the dancers wear when they take to the stage has also changed
over the decades.
Veteran Irish Post and award-winning photographer Brendan Farrell recalls:
“Schools used to have their own distinctive dress the colour and
pattern would identify where the dancer came from.”
But that no longer seems to be the case with a variety of costumes adding
to the colourful tapestry of the modern-day Irish dancing event.
However individuality comes at a price and there seems to be no upper
limit on the price tag for a new dress the needlework is decorative and
intricate and of course that costs money.
Even second-hand dresses change hands for several hundreds of pounds
go to any Feis and you will witness the evidence of the re-cycling that
takes place when a child grows too large for that very expensive costume.
Curly wigs or hair pieces seem to be obligatory and each dancer needs
two pairs of shoes light and heavy dependent on which dance is being performed
to further add to the cost incurred by the parents.
So the opportunity to sell on these items to help defray the initial
outlay or offset the cost of newer items in a larger size is readily embraced.
Every woman likes to look a million dollars and it is a habit they are
able to acquire from an early age Irish dancing offers this window of
opportunity but that is not the main reason for its attraction.
If you wander along to any one of the nightly classes staged up and down
the country you will notice that jeans and T-shirts are the order of the
day.
And when you question the adjudicator the expense of the costume is not
a factor taken into account.
Michelle Lowrie was a member of the Kelly School in Swindon alongside
Sarah Moloney and explained what catches her eye.
“Good footwork and nice pointed toes are the essentials to look
out for when judging a competition,” she said.
“You are looking for a dancer with the correct approach and who
looks as though they are really enjoying what they are doing.
“A Class Feis is more relaxed than an Open competition and you
are conscious of the fact that this is the first time that some of the
dancers have ever performed in public so that has to be taken into account
especially with the youngest of the children.
“Everyone is guaranteed a medal or a trophy and that helps them
with their confidence for the future.”
Two of those displaying their skills on the stage for the first time in
Swindon were Emily Ougan and Georgina Squires.
Eight-year-old Emily attended her first lesson four months before and
it was a proud day for the whole family.
Her grandmother Nellie bought the dress and her mother Theresa explained:
“She kept asking me about doing Irish dancing so we took her along
to a lesson and she was immediately hooked.
“It was important that it was her decision and hers alone.”
Nine-year-old Georgina seemed to have been thrown in at the deep end having
only had her first lesson a few weeks before.
She said: “Some of my friends had started Irish dancing and said
it was great fun, so after going along I was able to agree with them.”
Both girls were proud of the medals they acquired and were looking forward
to taking part in more competitions in the future.
A Class Feis is an intimate affair several of the parents will have
been at school together and the trophies being competed for have links
with the immediate locality.
Irish Post Pride of Ireland Award winner Patsy Moloney who helped co-ordinate
the event explained: “Several of the cups have been donated by families
in memory of a deceased relative.
“And the fact that the trophy remains within the school is important
to them the donor knows that the cup is not leaving the town and will
be competed for again the following year.”
And that was aptly illustrated when a new trophy was unveiled at the
Moloney Class Feis named after a close friend of Patsy.
Eilish Lynch was crowned overall champion and became the first recipient
of the Justin Ryan Memorial trophy.
Justin’s son named after his father was on hand to present the
award at the end of the competition.
Irish dancing has come in for more than its fair share of criticism
the letters page in this newspaper is often used to voice an opinion on
the subject one way or the other.
And the direction it takes in the next decade remains an unknown.
But the smiles on the young faces leaving the Feis in Swindon gave every
indication that the youngsters had enjoyed themselves and would be back
for more — that is something that bodes well for the future of this
activity.
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