written by Lexi MondotThe Black Arts movement, however, did not stem out of King’s movement, but it sprouted from the Black Power movement and Black Panther militant vision. Dreamt up by people such as Malcom X and Muhammed, Black Power saw a nation within a nation, a place where African American culture could manifest without the infection of the white gaze. New Orleans’s unique and diverse background began upon it’s foundation. French ‘criminals,’ prostitutes, ‘lewd’ women, and other outcasts were sent from Europe to what is known today as the French Quarter. There was a large intermingling of races, thus a large percentage of mixed race families, including African American, Indian, French, German, Spanish and ‘Creole’ inhabitants. The attraction of the city began in the late 1800s and early 1900s with, not the legalization of prostitution, but a designated quarter in which prostitution was ‘ignored’ by the law. This developed the early economic standing of the city, as these women brought in an estimated 15 million per year (Rose 31) from which realtors, police, tax collectors, etc., all profited. Tourism was big business, and New Orleans became well known for exploitation. This exploitation de-mingled the races, as segregation in New Orleans became more strict than other places in the South. New laws were being enforced that prohibited all non-white races to live outside their designated quarter; even non-white, or mixed race prostitutes were segregated into special houses of their own. This segregation increased the ‘othering’ of non-white races in New Orleans, and turned their heritage into a spectacle to be exploited.
By the 1950s and 60s, civil rights activists in the city were working hard towards de-segregating the city. The city’s movement is marked by the large number of interracial peoples, who appeared white, but carried no more rights than the freed African Americans. This large group was very influential in fighting the white supremacists of the city, as other whites had “fewer prejudices against interracial unions” (Lacey). The dense diversity in the city, along with the peaceful efforts of the civil rights movement, lead to a revolutionary theatrical movement, pioneered by the Dashiki Theatre. The Dashiki Project Theatre was very unique in its efforts, on account of being the only black theatre to grow out of the peculiar New Orleans. The black Free Southern Theatre claims New Orleans as its home, but it was not born there. Founded in Mississippi, it later moved to Louisiana. Dashiki’s unequaled mission also stems from its individualized participation in the Black Arts Movement. It was influenced the Black Arts Movement, and vice versa, but it’s vision was global, leading it to be one of the more successful and effective advocators of Black Theatre. Although we rarely hear about this group in the history books, it was one of the most revolutionary theaters the south has seen, thanks to the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of their stances. Their effective activism in advancing civil rights ideals can be seen in the way they represented and related to race politics, gender, and the South. The Dashiki Project Theater’s political stance is part of what separates it from other Black Arts at the time. The project owes its political positioning to its origin, chosen aesthetic and location. The project was mounted by Dillard University students under the guidance of Theodore Guilliam. This university was one of the first black universities to offer a degree in theatre. With many of the students involved in non-violent sit-ins aimed towards integration, historically black southern universities were identified as a “ground zero of the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s”(Smethurst 319). To understand why it was important to Dashiki’s mission that these students began as civil rights activists, and not black arts participants, one must examine their histories and missions. The Civil Rights movement stemmed out of Rosa Park’s efforts to be equally integrated; to end separation on busses, at water-fountains, in parks, etc. Martin Luther King was a non-violent leader using silent sit-ins and calm protest to raise awareness of segregation and the harm it was doing to African Americans. He proved that separate was, in fact, not equal. The Black Arts movement, however, did not stem out of King’s movement, but it sprouted from the Black Power movement and Black Panther militant vision. Dreamt up by people such as Malcom X and Muhammed, Black Power saw a nation within a nation, a place where African American culture could manifest without the infection of the white gaze. A civil rights activist fights for integration, while the extreme black power activist fights for separation and improvement of the black experience. Beginning in a learning environment with a civil rights background, the Dashiki Project Theater differs enormously from theaters such as the Free Southern Theater. The Free Southern Theatre originated from the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) thus “it is not surprising that the mission... was political in scope”(Coleman 9). Black Arts Theaters fought for an all black theatre, including production crew, writers, and audience. A ‘for us by us’ mentality that excluded all non-blacks from its membership. Therefore, the components that make up the Dashiki Project allowed room for a more advanced vision, because its students were more concentrated on civil integration than black power. Launching a company from a university, also contributed to Dashiki’s distinct situation because although young students are more eager to work for free than older professional artists; the collection of students in the project had to be driven by a sincere and enormous amount of passion in order to put in the amount of work they did to run a professional theater. In conclusion, the make up of the Dashiki Project included well-trained, and learned black men and women who were motivated enough to spend their spare time on creating an integrated aesthetic for their community. This history is important to understanding Dashiki’s choice of aesthetic. Using theatre as a means to advance a political agenda, was at the root of the Black Arts Movement. The movement began in literature, but since “Black literature circulated in a closed circuit...The theatre was alive and so much more immediate and accessible to blacks”(Coleman 97). The inherent accessibility of drama made Dashiki’s voice political, however, its goal wasn’t to advance the black power fight, but to make high quality art. Instead of fighting for an all-black theatre, like Ed Bullins of the National Black Theater in Harlem, LeRoi Jones, and Woodie King Jr. of New Federal Theater of New York City, the Dashiki project included other races in its personnel, artists, and producers. The Dashiki project fought for a sophisticated theatre that originated under Black Artists, giving room for their aesthetic to be seen, and yet, was not racially exclusive. It focused on choosing high quality drama they could study and rehearse; and mounting performances of high caliber that could impress. Gilliam believed that the “power and potential of theatre [can] transcend any particular ethnic agenda”(Coleman 91). This philosophy served the theatre in a positive way, because it eroded rumors of reverse racism, allowed for a wider repertoire of plays, and enhanced the ability to obtain government funding. To Dashiki, the benefits of integrating the theatre for a global vision of ethnic compatibility outweighed the risk of losing black heritage. Black Arts Theaters looked down upon Dashiki’s inclusion of white plays in their repertoire such as Jean Genet’s The Blacks, Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, and Jean Racine’s Phaedra. Black Power activists believed that the ‘white experience’ can never be ‘black experience,’ and that representation of blacks had been unbalanced for centuries. They had no interest in allowing whites to write for or participate in the formulation of black identity in the arts. No white should write their dialogue, or direct their movement... for it will always be a white construct of the black minstrel. This attitude towards whites is well merited, as whites had up to that point abused the image of the black citizen. However, excluding all whites can also be a problem because according to Coleman, the skilled black artists in these theatres were too few in number, and those who had some theatrical and playwriting training were deficient in many other areas. In reality black playwrights were too few in number for such groups to consider only black plays for production. And there were even fewer black directors or producers. The black theatres that were part of this movement performed only plays written by blacks, portraying the black experience. Yet such plays often were the plays of the black revolutionary period, and they were aesthetically confusing and inadequate (99). The Dashiki Project allowed room for compromise, and although it enabled the influence of other cultures, they were still a primarily black organization. By opening up their political stance and actively challenging the minstrel stereotype, Dashiki made sophisticated black theatre appealing to mix-raced peoples outside of the black community. Theatre is the largest source of the black stereotypes, as it often ridicules black characters by always placing them in the role of the mammie, the Uncle Tom, the joker, the ‘Puck,’ or the Minstrel. The best way to hit the public where it hurts, is to not only show Black artists perform new original black work, but to show them in roles of Kings and Queens in classical works... and to play them with a well-trained cast and crew. Dashiki created an artistic outlet which does not ignore the white experience, but provides “a corrective to all the misrepresentations of the past that are persisting in the present, all the better to create the drama of men whose color is not the only measure of their humanity” (Black Theatre 5) (Coleman 100). It is difficult for victims of violence and oppression to find affective ways of getting their voices heard. Any type of accusations, although justified, against the oppressor always becomes backlash with accusations of ‘reverse oppression,’ in this case, reverse racism. Although the Black Arts Movement is by all means justified in its vision, and one of the most significant movements in the history of American art, it did receive large amounts of resistance and backlash because of its radical point of view. Using integration and inclusion of all races, makes Dashiki’s mission more palpable, which allows for those whites who have a lot of power and money... to help them. This philosophy also avoided accusation of extreme leftism, which after 1948’s Wallace Campaign was grounds for expulsion or loss of jobs. The most effective, yet difficult way to oppose oppression, is for the oppressed to succeed at the oppressor’s game. The Dashiki Project understood from square one, that if they were to advance black image, it would be through proving their artistic integrity and sophistication, not through violence, or vengeful blaming of the other. During this period, and even today, there is an imbalance of power, money and representation, so for Dashiki to have whites on their side, meant more than a warm-fuzzy feeling of acceptance. It also meant money. It meant white board members who had money and power, wanted to speak on Dashiki’s behalf. It meant white reporters wanted to provide free publicity and enlarge the theatre’s public by appeal to even race-conscious whites of the time. The Black Arts movement chose a more militant approach, which would have seen the Dashiki approach as weak, by ‘giving in’ to white influence. The militant attitude of the Black Power Movement fought to establish a Black Identity through abrupt and sometimes violent militancy to re-establish the strength and agency of the black man. As a result of black power, The Black Arts movement in effect fought for black male identity while oppressing the identities of black women, gays and lesbians. The Black Arts movement decided that after 300 years of emasculating the black male, it was time to decolonize the body. The female body, however, is forgotten.. it continues unheard in this battle. The largest part of a power struggle is silencing, and black women today are still battling the silenced female perspective. Even contemporary writers, in 2003 speak of the black struggle from a primarily male perspective. For example, Coleman (as cited in this paper) addresses to a large extent the gender aesthetic of Dashiki, and explains how men were the primary leaders of the Black Arts Movement. He points out how black women were often disrespected, and derogatory statements were made about them in many Black Arts works. But then he reasons the advocation of re-claiming manhood by stating it “is not difficult to understand in the light of how slavery emasculated the black male in the United States and problematized issues of masculinity.” If a movement is looking to advance thought, why should it examine how slavery emasculated men, but omit the de-feminization of women? In essence, the Black Arts Movement fights against the emasculation of black men, and not the dehumanization of black people. This alienation of oppressed groups from other oppressed groups, expands complication and tension, which is why the Dashiki Project Theatre’s inclusiveness was so innovative. In a movement that “empowered black males at the expense of black females,” (Coleman 96) it was hard to find a theatre that represented the female identity, let alone in a positive non-victimized light. The Dashiki Theatre included women in its founding personnel, and also made a point to include female perspective in its repertoire. Jean Genet, and Ntozake Shange’s works were both put on the Dashiki’s production list, which truly rounded the expansive nature of the Dashiki perspective. Genet’s work is a white female’s perspective of racism in France. Extremely innovative to put this into the hands of a black director to express female sentiments of a male-dominated fight. The next piece, Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Ever Considered Suicide when the Rainbow Was Enuf, is very unique in its perspective as a multimedia performance; it includes prose, dance, music, video, and lighting to propose new ways of telling a story or depicting life. She chose nameless characters, representing each color of the rainbow in order to deconstruct the standard male/female or black/white diaspora. All of the characters were on the same plane, the same level of power, and with the same amount of time allotted to speak. They begin by stating all the different cities they’re from, globalizing the ability to identify with the piece. The prose is full of analogies, and no part is spoken the way we normally communicate. Her deconstruction of words and reality, works to demonstrate a consciousness particular to the black female experience. Something that can’t necessarily be expressed in the typical three act structure and sensical dialogue. In a way her piece can be linked to the Theatre of Cruelty, in that it overwhelms all the senses and all reasoning. It is the result of a generation of women who have been fighting a war in silence, and fighting to have something to live for, as the Lady in Brown says, “we gotta dance to keep from dyin”(Shange 7). As Todd has stated in class, “women enjoy character development driven plots, while men prefer linear climactic plots”(Ristau 9/5/11). It’s a shame that this type of episodic and character driven plot is rare, because fifty percent of the audience (women) relate better to this type of drama. Dashiki’s recognition of the lack of female representation in the movement, allowed them to be more innovative, by providing performances that could also appeal to the female aesthetic. Dashiki’s innovation in race and gender could be considered more impressive than the innovation in theatres found in cities such as New York, Detroit, or Chicago. The participation of the South in the Black Arts Movement differed greatly from that in the North, Midwest, or West. The North has an industrial history that put blacks in a less segregated atmosphere. In the agricultural south, the presence of white supremacists was somewhat more significant, as white’s economic dependence on slaves before the civil war was crucial to their survival. Thus the Black Arts Movement in the south had more agency because it was in a densely racist area; but it had less recognition, because in those agricultural communities, local publishers were scant. Theaters, too, were sparse in the South. Located in either residential areas, or on the campus of a historically black university, Southern Theaters functioned on a local level, targeting and specifying their social or political goals to tight knit communities. Local attention, however doesn’t prevent global influence; because a strong influence on an individual affects American society more than a mild influence on a large group. In order to change the world, one must change themselves, and their community first. Dashiki’s influence resonated because of its local specificity to the New Orleans community. Influence travels fast, however, the chance that the Dashiki Project’s plays would make it out of New Orleans was rather small. The students of Dillard University, come from all over the states, and brought their philosophies and experiences home with them, but none of those experiences included full-fledged productions or publications of the Dashiki repertoire. Editors and publishers were more readily available to the Black Arts Movement theatres in New York, than in New Orleans. This is why New York takes up most of the space in history books as being prominent in the Black Arts Movement, when Smethurst would argue that “while Black Arts institutions of the South often had difficulty attracting attention beyond the region, nonetheless the South was far more crucial symbolically and practically to the development of the Black Arts and Black Power movements as national phenomena than has sometimes been acknowledged”(320). The south was biting bigger bullets, so their success within small communities deserves to be noted. Personal communication and a communal environment is a more practical way to reach people and to change their ideals. This is why Smethurst argues that the specificity of Southern theaters to their individual neighborhoods was a more practical and radical change than that of Northern non-personal publication and production. The Dashiki Project avoided the shortcomings and challenges faced by other theaters in the movement by “remaining essentially a collaboration of theatre artists indigenous to and in the area—permanently and continuously rejuvenated by the wealth of talent and inspiration in generations now growing up in the area.” (5)(Coleman 101). The power of the Dashiki project to radically change perspective of racial and gender identities, one small audience at a time was strong, but highly unrecognized because of its Southern location. The only publications, texts, and histories that include Dashiki, do not serve its reputation well, because they speak solely of the only published play that came out of the theatre, El Hajj Malik, by N.R. Davidson. (Aside from the dissertation done by a master student from Louisiana University: Coleman). This play was centered around the life of Malcom X, a revolutionist of the Black Power Movement. Although it is a well-written play, it does not have the ability to stand single-handedly for the philosophy of the Dashiki Project. This is why, as a Southern Theater, Dashiki’s important influence has been left out of written scholarly history, thought it deserves recognition as successful in radically changing the lives of many during the Black Arts Movement era. Dashiki succeeded in integrating the arts world and allowing the black identity to be seen. It was exciting to have integration in the south at this time, as it was highly segregated. Dashiki still maintained its status as a Black Theatre, in that it welcomed integration, but still had a strong stance towards representing both male and female African American identities on stage. Just as Hollins is a primarily female theater, the fact that it includes men in productions doesn’t change the importance of it being a primarily female theatre. It remains a theatre that gives opportunities for women to learn by experience in roles they would’ve never had otherwise, and it offers a perspective that will never degrade the identity of women. This is revolutionary, as was the Dashiki Project Theatre for Black Identity in the United States. Works Cited Baraka, Imamu Amiri. "Jazz Criticism and Ideology." Libertarian 8 12 (1964): 28-30. Clark, Kenneth B. "The Dilemma of the Negro." Unpublished Papers of Kenneth B. Clark in the Manuscripts Division at the Library of Congress (2004). Abstract. The 1969 Haynes Foundation Lecture Series (1969). Coleman, Stanley R. Dashiki Project Theatre: Black Identity and beyond. Diss. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 2003. Davidson Jr., N. R. El Hajj Malik. New Plays from the Black Theatre; an Anthology. Ed. Ed Bullins. New York: Bantam, 1969. Elam, Harry Justin., and David Krasner. African-American Performance and Theater History: a Critical Reader. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2001. Gilliam, Ted. "Black Theatre in New Orleans, 1978-79: A Report." Callaloo 4 (1978): 165-69. JSTOR. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. "Historical Background of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) - Series." THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Online: The Career Site for African-American College Students. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. <http://www.black-collegian.com/african/bam1_200.shtml>. Lester, Julius. "Beep! Beep! Bang! Bang! Umgawa! Black Power!" Look Out Whitey, Black Power's Gon' Get Your Mama. New York, NY: Dial, 1968. 97-107. Magill, Frank N. Masterpieces of African-American Literature. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992. Peterson, Rachel. "Teaching Beyond Tolerance." The Radical Teacher 2007: 39-43. JSTOR. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. Rogers, Kim Lacy. Righteous Live: Narrative Of The New Orleans Civil Rights Movement. New York University Press, 1993. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 Dec. 2011. Romaine, Suzanne. Communicating Gender. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1999. Print. Rose, Al. Storyville, New Orleans, Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-light District. University: University of Alabama, 1974. Sell, Mike. Avant-garde Performance & the Limits of Criticism: Approaching the Living Theatre, Happenings/Fluxus, and the Black Arts Movement. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2005. Shange, Ntozake. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow Is Enuf: A Choreopoem. New York: MacMillion, 1977. Smethurst, James Edward. The Black Arts Movement: Literary Nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2005.
0 Comments
written by Lexi MondotThe Luck of the Irish
If you happened to turn on your television and catch a glimpse of Riverdance, I’m certain the step dancers’ rapid feet would astonish you. Rooted in Irish culture, step dancing as seen today is poles apart from the ancient dance forms that crafted it. Since the early development of this art form, Ireland has undergone multiple cultural alterations and to think the ‘traditional’ style admired today is analogous to its original form is pure folly. It is likely that the Druids, the very first practitioners of Irish Dance, wouldn’t even be acquainted with the Irish dance form of modern times. Viewing dance as a religious dedication to the oak tree and the sun, the Druids danced rituals containing circular formations that still survive in today’s ring dances. The Druids only maintained this style until 200 BC when the Celtics, known as the Gaels, established small kingdoms all over western Europe, including 150 in Ireland. The Romans and Germanics conquered all of the Gaels territories… except the ones in Ireland. Because Gaelic culture was preserved in Ireland at that time, Ireland and her dances are notorious for their Celtic influences. The alteration process of Irish dance had just begun and by 400 AD it transformed again due to St. Patrick’s introduction of Christianity to Ireland. This changed the art of Irish dance because some of the most impressive Celtic Christian art, produced from late 7th century to early 8th century, left its mark on the Irish costume. Consisting of complex, geometric shapes, large stone crosses and carved ceremonial religious objects, the designs that adorned the costumes embellished manuscripts of books of the Bible through intricate designs and decorative borders. Although the costumes had quickly changed, the dance form itself had not. Foreign influence was already weakening the traditional arts of Ireland, but it wasn’t until the Anglo-Norman conquest during the 12th century that Irish dance took its first large turn. Norman dance began to be performed in conquered Irish towns, replacing the presence of Celtic tradition. For the next 200 years the conquerors were becoming more and more familiar with Irish culture. With a fear of cultural diffusion, Parliament decided to pass the Statute of Kilkenny in 1366 that decreed excommunication and strict penalties for those who practiced Irish customs or desired an ally of native Ireland. The pressure to eradicate old Irish tradition, including that of Irish dance was unfortunate not just because of the change in culture, but because of the lack of records that commemorate the classic traditions. There are no written records of Irish dance until the 16th century when Sir Henry Sydney commemorated an Irish dance performance in a letter to Queen Elizabeth. Also during this time, dances such as the Irish Hey, Rinnce Fada, and the Trenchmore were written about often, but any documentation formed between the 12th and 16th century was destroyed. Viking raiders destroyed most books from the period leaving no written documentation of these traditional dances. This meant it was up to the people to keep tradition going by passing it from generation to generation, and this is exactly what the people did. During the 16th century, King James reclaimed Ireland and was welcomed with dancing and music of increased tempo. Dances were performed in great halls of newly built castles and in a slowly changing trade fair called Feisianna that included music, crafts, dance and trade. Dances done at this time included the Rinnce Fada, the Irish Hey, Jigs, Trenchmores and sword dances. It was unclear who influenced who between the French, English and Irish, but quick tempo and side steps were indicative of Irish dance. English invaders of the time even adapted the dances to take back to Queen Elizabeth, and it wasn’t long before England decided to stick their nose even further into Irish culture. England suppressed the Irish art form by banning piping and arresting pipers. During the 17th century the power struggles between the two countries continued until England put the Penal Laws in place crushing Irish commerce and industries. These laws banned the education of Catholic children which led to secretive education and preservation of Irish roots. Irish step dancing was practiced in secrecy causing the art form to loose some of the social aspects that which it was initially intended. At this time, a child might use dance while on the lookout for secretive meetings or masses. He would create a particular tempo in order to warn the other members of an incoming soldier. Also, to prevent getting the attention of parish priests, dances developed stiffened arms and hands. Country dancing, the only publicly acceptable dance of the time, influenced what was left of the classic form of Irish dance. By the 1700’s country dancing was openly used for holidays, weddings, christenings and wakes, even though the Church still condemned it. Irish dance changed monumentally in 1750 when Dance Masters began to take an active role in spreading Irish dance throughout the country. Adorned in bright colors, these flamboyant characters traveled from village to village within a district, to teach peasants to dance. They each had their own repertoire and created new steps over time. A “step” was considered eight measures or bars of music, hence the name ‘stepdancing.’ Masters claimed certain districts and never crossed over to teach in a district that was claimed by another teacher, leading to a wide range of styles and teaching techniques. Starting the first official schools in Irish dance, Dance Masters trained dancers to be more precise and more concerned about the performance aspect as opposed to the social aspect of the dance. The best schools were located in Kerry, Cork and Limerick. Because of the sudden increase in training and technical ability, competitions and contests grew in popularity. The Feisianna was a popular place for multiple dance masters to battle each other and the first to collapse from fatigue was declared the loser. This is the time when this dance form began to change from a social art to a performance art. It was growing in popularity and intensity while competition increased along with their technical abilities. This competitive attitude still thrives in Irish Step Dancing today, which produces extremely impressive performances. The art form we recognize as Irish step Dancing today gained most of its characteristics from the Gaelic League of 1893. The Gaelic League was created to encourage the revival of an Irish culture that had been oppressed by England for centuries. The form today is a combination of a few historically cultural traditions that survived and a lot of historically predicted traditions that fill the gap created by undocumented art forms. The 20th Century changed the art form in three extreme ways: location, costumes and technique. During the time of the masters, tops of barrels, half doors, crossroads and table tops were used to dance on. The modern stage changed this dance in two ways: First, movement of dances across a larger area increased and second, dance steps that require substantial space became possible. Location changed from the outdoors in barns and flatbed trucks to hotels, schools and fairgrounds. Instruction also began at a younger age and students changed from primary males to primarily females in the 1920’s. The diversified movement vocabulary became more united by the general guidelines of international competition organization. This means that there is now a definite line between movement that is defined as Irish and movement that is not. Costumes were one of the most drastic changes of this art form during the 20th century. This is directly credited to the Gaelic League who founded the “revival of Irish culture, [and] the quest for a traditional Irish costume…(Haurin)” For men, the hats, swallowtail coats, knee breeches, white stockings and clack shoes with silver buckles were replaced by kilts and a drape placed over one shoulder. Females tossed out the peasant dresses and ribbons shaped into crosses and flowers to wear a hooded cloak over a white dress with a sash. Colors used, are predominately green, white and saffron; red is not often used for distaste of the English. At the beginning of the century the embroidery was minimal but it became more complex with designs from the Book of Kells, Irish stone crosses and chalices. The hard shoe has developed a fiberglass toe and a hollow heel which creates louder sounds on stage, “changing the emphasis and content of many dances.” Shoes, along with costumes, technique and style will continue to change as time goes on. Not unlike other art forms, Irish dance is a reflection of past culture. It contains a destroyed history and unwanted influences. They’ve tried to weed their painful past out of their art form so that they have a purely Irish form of dance. But how much of what they consider traditional is actually traditional? How much did they create and name it traditional in order to feel like less of their history was lost or stained? Even “the present ‘traditional costume’ seems to be neither traditional nor Irish… ancient Irish had a very beautiful costume and the present ‘traditional costume’ is the result of an attempt to reproduce this (O’rafferty 16).” The Journey of Irish Dance is a very long and painful one and the main beauty about it is, it may quite possibly never be seen again in its purest form. The art itself may be dead, but the emotional ties and country pride still shines through each time an Irish dancer begins to dance. Works Cited Haurin, Don, and Ann Richens. "Irish Step Dancing: a Brief History." Geocities.Com. Feb. 1996. Richens Academy of Irish Dancing. 3 May 2007 <http://www.geocities.com/aer_mcr/irdance/irhist.html>. Knowles, Mark. Tap Roots: the Early History of Tap Dancing. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2002. 1-20. O'rafferty, Peadar, and Gerald O'rafferty. Dances of Ireland. Ed. Violet Alford. London: Max and Parrish Company, 1953. 16-17. "The History of Irish Dance." Irelandseye.Com. 1997. Irelandseye.com. 3 May 2007 <http://www.irelandseye.com/dance.html>. Vallely, Fintan. The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. New York City: New York UP, 1999. |
Lexi MondotI dance. with love. Archives
November 2012
Categories |