The Irish Dance
1. Irish dance may have started as early as 1600 B.C.
While there isn’t much documentary evidence of Irish culture prior to the 17th century, due to Viking invasion. It is believed that these early tribal dances were accompanied by the music of the Tuatha de Danaan, or "skilled workers."
2. Irish dancers actually did “Take the Cake”
The phrase “takes the cake” has been found to be used as far back as the 5th century. Before those traditions, Irish dancers actually held “cake dances”! The cake would be put in the middle of a field, and they would hold a dance competition for the opportunity to take the cake home.
3. Irish dancers may have started holding their arms straight to fool the Brits.
Of course, not all Irish dances involve still arms. So why is it a common practice today? Riverdance definitely popularized the still arm style in the 90s, but even before that there may have been any number of reasons. Here are a few hypothesis:
- Religious reasons, perhaps the church didn’t want boys and girls holding hands.
- Proper manners, etiquette may have dictated that still arms were more proper.
- Lack of space. pubs were tight spaces, so maybe they had to keep their arms still.
- And lastly, the English had forbidden the Irish from singing or dancing or celebrating their culture, so parents started teaching their children to dance with their arms down.
4. Irish dance culture is now a global tradition.
Today Irish dance is taught all over the world. Championships are held in Dublin every Easter for competitors from around the globe. And some traditional dances, such as, the Feis (feast dances) and Ceilis (small group dances) are still held by Irish and Irish dance lovers alike.

Tilda Publishing

Tilda Publishing

Tilda Publishing