Irish Dancing in Sydney: Global Patterns, Local Practices

ABSTRACT

Irish dancing has undergone global dissemination in a pattern which mirrors the dissipation of Irish citizens to multiple diasporic locations. As was the case in Ireland itself, practices of Irish dancing are grounded in localised contexts: historical, political, economic and social. In Australia, Irish immigrants have a long settlement history, were eventually absorbed into the white majority population, and currently enjoy economic comfort. Irish step dancing became enfranchised through fusion with other genres and the global influence of electronic media. The effects of this positional change were felt not only in Ireland but throughout the world, including Sydney Australia. This paper draws on ethnographic data collected in Sydney to contextualise current Irish dancing practices there. Irish dancing is prominent in the amateur performance arena and is valued by its practitioners for the personal and social benefits it provides. Yet it is firmly situated within the majority populace of white Australians. Studies of Irish dancing practices reflect the social situation of both the dancing itself and the participants who dance it and thus engage with discourses concerning diaspora, community and performance studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Irish dancing
• diaspora
• whiteness
• transnationalism
• performance
• migration
• performance studies
• dance studies

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful remarks, the editorial board for kindly allowing revisions to be made to the original version of this article and the many friends she has made during more than two decades of personal involvement with Irish dancing in Sydney.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jeanette Mollenhauer is a recreational folk dance teacher and the current President of Folk Dance Australia. Having worked in social policy research, she welcomed the opportunity to combine doctoral studies with her passion for traditional dance. Her research interests are the role of traditional dance in formation of cultural identity, modes of representation in performances of traditional dance in multicultural Australia and transnational dance practices.

Notes

1 In this paper, diaspora is understood to include all geographical locations in which groups of Irish emigrants and their descendants are living.

2 Irish traditional music and dancing is defined here as that which has emanated from Ireland itself. This paper is not concerned with Irish people (in Ireland or elsewhere) who practice other dance genres.

3 The name used for the first flotilla of ships to arrive in Sydney (January 1788), carrying condemned prisoners (most of whom were Irish), their English guards and some administrative and scientific personnel.

4 Doctoral research at The University of Sydney, Sydney. Ethics Approval Number 2013/895.

5 The video is available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPOQgikkijA.

6  The term ‘set’ has multiple meanings in Irish dancing. Here, it does not refer to a dance for eight people but a solo dance where the steps are already ‘set’; every dancer performs the same steps to the same piece of music. In contrast, other dances may be individually choreographed by each teacher.

7 Step dancers also have team sections, in which a dance from a selection of céilí dances prescribed by the IDC is performed.

8 The Hunter Valley region begins on the coast approximately 100 km north of Sydney and extends for a further 200 km.

9 The price of a dress was given by informants; other prices are taken from http://www.irishdancediva.com/ and http://www.prodigyperformance.com.au/. Accessed 1 August 2016.

10 Both kinds of shoes are required by all dancers beyond beginner level.