History of Irish Dance
A History of Irish Dance Costume
Glitterdot, raw silk, tiaras and wigs: it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that these modern items, now masquerading as "traditional Gaelic dress," don’t have much basis in the Irish dancing history of long ago. What did the Irish of old wear to dance?
Early Modern Irish Dancing
The art now known as Irish step dancing is said to have begun in the late eighteenth century, and had even made its way to America during that period. "As early as 1789 John Durang, a dance master in Philadelphia, was recorded as having danced reel, jigs and hornpipes" (Cullinane 1, p.10).
During this time, dancers did not have a dance-specific costume; they simply wore their Sunday best
During this time, dancers did not have a dance-specific costume; they simply wore their Sunday best, perhaps decorated with ribbons. "In the early 1800s female dancers wore ordinary peasant dresses and ribbons formed into flowers or crosses. The girl’s crimson homespun skirt reached down to her ankles over which she wore a simple black bodice" (Flynn 1).
Men typically wore their work shoes, while women went barefoot. According to a writer named Kennedy (1867), dancers performing the Rinnce Fada in 1812 "were in their shirt sleeves, waistcoats, knee breeches, white stockings and turn pumps, all bright colors around their waists and ribbons of bright hue encircling heads, shirt sleeves, knees and boots, the shoulders getting more than was their due, the girls were in their Sunday garb with their hair decked with ribbons" (Cullinane 2, p. 11).
Some early dancers went beyond colorful ribbons. Dance masters were known to have a more flamboyant style of dress than the general country people, wearing brighter colors and perhaps striped stockings!
The Nineteenth Century
Throughout the nineteenth century, costume continued to consist of one’s Sunday best, which of course changed with the fashion silhouette of the day - though peasant bodices and knee breeches seemed to have continued in their popularity with the Irish.
Females began to dance hard shoe dances in counties Cork and Kerry, though this did not spread elsewhere until the late 1920s
A brat ("braht"), an Irish term for a woolen cloak, was worn often in everyday life, and as well for dancing. "The wool was particularly thick and durable, being resistant to the weather. Black, red, blue and grey were the most popular colors" (Whelan, p. 39).
The mid-nineteenth century also saw a dramatic change in the dance form: females began to dance hard shoe dances in counties Cork and Kerry, though this did not spread elsewhere until the late 1920s (Cullinane 2, p. 63). This was seen as unladylike at first, but was slowly accepted as the norm.
By the late nineteenth century, a dancing costume began to evolve out of the Gaelic Revival, a movement to increase support for the traditional culture of Ireland. The Gaelic League was created in 1897; the organization’s purpose was to preserve and promote Irish culture, including language, music, sports, and dance.
At the time, a style of female costume known as the "Colleen Bawn" was popular with stage performers in Ireland. It consisted of a dress with an apron over it, and a hooded cloak. This style however was generally regarded with disdain, as it reinforced stereotypical Irish characters, and thus was falling out of favor by the 1910s (Cullinane 2, p. 15).
It was replaced by a long white dress and shawl or cloak, lighter versions of the former brat. Cloaks covered both shoulders and often tied at the neck, while shawls were "apparently held only at one shoulder, with some embroidery on both the dresses and shawls" (Cullinane 2, p. 15). The photos that Cullinane refers to are some of the earliest documented evidence of embroidery on Irish dancing costumes, a feature that would define and dominate the twentieth century costume.
Men often continued to wear knee breeches, though by this time waistcoats were no longer popular. Instead, the usual look was a white dress shirt and cummerbund
Men often continued to wear knee breeches, though by this time waistcoats were no longer popular. Instead, the usual look was a white dress shirt and cummerbund. Large, colored cravats also seemed to be popular. Some younger men, such as Ambrose Brunton (Cullinane 2, p. 14, Photo 2), have been photographed wearing a waistcoat and jacket (usually reserved for formal occasions, such as getting one’s photo taken); in the photo on page 14, which is dated circa 1892, Ambrose is also carrying a walking stick and wearing a broad-rimmed hat, both which are noted as unusual.
The Gaelic Revival
Due to the Gaelic Revival, contests for the best version of "Gaelic dress" became popular at dance and music competitions during this decade, and were the prototypes for what would become dance-specific costumes (Cullinane 2, p. 31). A straight dress with embroidery on the bodice, cloak or shawl became the norm for girls.
A straight dress with embroidery on the bodice, cloak or shawl became the norm for girls
White seemed to be by far the most popular color for girls' dresses, with green, crimson, and saffron also being used for accent colors in decorative Celtic knotwork, or for the base of women’s dresses. A less popular color combination, though known to have been used on at least one very nice silk "Irish costume," consisted of teal and purples.
Dresses could be of a simple straight fit, or in the case of girls' dresses, ruffled. Some girls also wore white headbands or berets; while headbands continue to be popular in the twenty-first century, the berets were popular only until roughly the mid-twentieth century. Females also wore shoes to dance by this time; black ballet-like soft pumps became popular during the 1920s, and dancers wore black stockings, or white or colored knee socks with them.
Curiously, the introduction of the ballet pumps seems to have changed the style of the soft shoe dances
Curiously, the introduction of the ballet pumps seems to have changed the style of the soft shoe dances. One dance, the slip jig, "was originally performed by men as well as women but with the introduction of the ballet shoes the style changed; the slip jig became more balletic and more and more feminine, and is now almost exclusively performed by the females" (Cullinane 2, p. 61). Recently the slip jig has become more powerful and less balletic. At the time of this writing, at least one region in the United States (Western) to continue to hold slip jig competitions for males, whereas in rest of the country, such competitions are unusual.
For men, the saffron kilt had become popular to wear for everyday wear or for language and music competitions, but they often still changed into a shirt and knee breeches or long trousers to dance - breeches or short trousers being worn by the younger boys (Cullinane 2, p. 33). "Kilts had been worn by members of the Gaelic League for some 30 years or so before they became accepted as Irish dancing costume" (Cullinane 2, p. 33).
There is no evidence that the kilts were ever worn by the Irish at any time prior to the 1890s
Ironically, "[t]here is no evidence that the kilts were ever worn by the Irish at any time prior to the 1890s" (Cullinane 2, p. 39). Once kilts were accepted in the 1930s and '40s, they became the staple of the male Irish dancer’s wardrobe until the mid-1990s, those wearing trousers during this period being marked as unusual. Meanwhile, kilts as everyday wear by the general public were nearly abandoned; they are only enjoying a revival at present, due to the overwhelming popularity of all things Celtic.
The unchanging look of the male costume during this period serves as a sharp contrast to the female dancer’s costume. For a time, the saffron kilt was worn by some female dancers with a white blouse, green jacket, and saffron cape (Cullinane 2, p. 40, Photo 20). This kilt has survived throughout the years in the form of the pleated skirt, which is now most often worn by beginners with a white blouse and neck ribbon. The ballet-like pumps were still worn for soft shoe dances, while leather shoes with wooden soles, or leather soles with small nails pounded into the tips and heels, were used for the battering hard shoe dances.
Through the mid-twentieth century, dancers often wore their earned medals from competitions on an apron over their costume, though not usually during competition (Cullinane 2, p. 44). Presently, it is illegal for a dancer to wear their medals during a competition.
Twentieth-Century Evolution
During the 1930s through the 1960s, the female dancing costumes evolved to a more recognizable cousin to today’s dresses. Jackets over dresses or blouse and skirt combinations seemed most popular; berets and sashes, the former occasionally decorated with a feather and the latter often worn from shoulder to waist with a loose end draped down the front of the chest, were quite popular in Australia and New Zealand (Cullinane 2, p 68, Photo 42).
Simple colored dresses with small shoulder-to-waist shawls, cords round the waist, and small amounts of embroidery were worn since the 1930s, and caught on though the decades, being covered with more embroidery until the style reached its peak in the 1970s.
Dramatic Changes
The 1980s saw a few of the most dramatic changes in the history of Irish dancing costume
The 1980s saw a few of the most dramatic changes in the history of Irish dancing costume: the advent of "ghillies," or low-cut softshoes with criss-cross lacing, replacing the black pumps for all but beginners; fiberglass tips and heels for hard shoes, making them louder; and the enormous popularity of tightly curled hair that continues to this day.
Oddly enough, though it’s often claimed that curled hair is traditional, photographic evidence shows that dancers often preferred their everyday hairstyles that were popular at the time. One explanation for the popularity of the "big hair" is that it balances out the heavily stiffened dresses, which were another 1980s fashion innovation, but most realistically this is a 21st-century reasoning. The 1980s just loved big hair.
Though it’s often claimed that curled hair is traditional, photographic evidence shows that dancers often preferred their everyday hairstyles
The bright colors of the earliest dancers are repeated in present-day dance dresses. In the early 1990s, dress bases were predominantly a dark color, made of velvet and heavily embroidered with bright colors.
In the mid-1990s, two-color-based dresses become popular, as well as satin appliqué in addition to embroidery, and dressmakers began to experiment with lighter-weight dresses, helping to alleviate the problem of too-heavy, too-hot costumes. Raw silk and polyester shantung replaced velvet and gabardine for the base of most solo dresses, and fancier materials such as glitterdot are now preferred over satin for appliqué work.
Embroidery is presently at a minimum, and the designs have unfortunately often become more geometric than Celtic. The word now is "stage presence" - all that sparkles and shines is popular. While headbands continue to be popular in the lower levels, tiaras and cloth tiara-like embroidered crowns are far more popular amongst those of higher competitive rank. Female dancers have also moved from styling their own hair to donning the much-appreciated wigs; that certainly save many headaches for both parents and dancers, and give dancers a curler-less night’s rest!
A major event struck Irish dancing in 1994: Riverdance
A major event struck Irish dancing in 1994: Riverdance. Originally a one-song choreography to be performed at the judging interval at that year’s Eurovision contest (which was hosted by Ireland and broadcasted across Europe), it soon grew into a dance show sensation, spawning too many offshoots to count. There was a small trend at the time for women to move to the simpler, show-inspired costumes, but the heavier, more adorned costumes won popularity over those.
A far more lasting change has been in men’s costuming. Prior to this, despite a growing discontent for them especially amongst younger boys, jackets and kilts were the norm - and by this time, to deviate was unheard of. However, Riverdance and its counterparts changed all of this - in fact, the President of An Coimisuin (The Commission, the largest governing body of Irish dancing competitions) announced at the World Championships in 1994 that there were no official rules that boys were to wear kilts. The dancing community had simply accepted it as the unspoken rule.
As one may expect, the vast majority of young men changed to black trousers, and this became the standard
As one may expect, the vast majority of young men changed to black trousers, and these - along with a nice shirt and tie, or shirt, vest and tie, or shirt and cummerbund - became the standard. White or colored shirts and cummerbunds were quite popular in the mid-1990s; cummerbunds were soon replaced with colored or black vests, though they can still be seen occasionally. A very popular combination currently is black trousers, a black shirt, and a solid-colored satin tie, which looks very sharp - though kilts have a small but growing following, especially in tan or black colors.
Irish dancing costumes have gone through a shocking variety of styles only within the past 100 years. Though dance fashion continues to press onwards, it is hoped that the majority of costumes will never lose their truly Irish feel.
Bibliography
Cullinane, Dr. John P. Aspects of the History of Irish Dancing in North America. Cork City: Central Remedial Clinic, 2001.
Cullinane, Dr. John P. Irish Dancing Costumes: Their Origins and Evolution. Cork City: Central Remedial Clinic, 1999.
Flynn, Arthur. Irish Dance Costumes. 10 April 2004.
<http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/music/dance/costume.shtm>
Whelan, Frank. The Complete Guide to Irish Dance. Belfast: Appletree, 2000.