Page "Irish dance" Paragraph 5

The dancing traditions of Ireland probably grew in close association with traditional Irish music.

Although its origins are unclear, Irish dancing was later influenced by dance forms from the Continent, especially the Quadrille.

Travelling dancing masters taught all over Ireland, as late as the 18th and early 19th centuries.

During this time, places for competitions and fairs were always small, so there was little room for the Dance Masters to perform.

They would dance on tabletops, sometimes even the top of a barrel!

Because of this, the dancing styles were very contained, with hands rigid at the sides, and a lack of arm movement and traveling across the stage.

As time went on, larger places for dance competitions and performances were found, so styles grew to include more movement, more dancing across the stage as seen, for example, in Riverdance.

Some attribute the rigid arms found in most forms of Irish Dancing to the oppressive ruling classes of 18th and 19th century Ireland, either the priests, who banned dancing for being unsavory, or the English landlords who sought to wholly eradicate Irish culture through policies that outlawed Irish games ( Hurling and Irish Football ), Language and Dance.