Irish "Lord of the Dance" and "Riverdance"

Have you ever heard of the two Irish dancing shows "Lord of the Dance" or "Riverdance"? If not, this is a good opportunity for you to get to know these two shows.

Riverdance

In the dancing show "Riverdance" people dance to traditional Irish or Celtic music. The typical Irish dancer does tap-dacing, which means moving the legs very rapidly, while body and arms stay rather rigid. Mostly, there is not just one person dancing but a group of 20 or more. The Riverdance was first performed during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 in Dublin.
Here is a YouTube video of the Riverdance performance in 1994:

 

Recently, I found a video on YouTube of people dancing to Riverdance music during a flashmob on St Patricks Day in 2011. Looks really nice!

 

Lord of the Dance

Established in 1996, "Lord of the Dance" is also a widely known Irish dancing show. The producer, Michael Flatley, had been dancing in the Riverdance show until 1995. One year later, he created a dancing show of his own. He even took a leading part in the "Lord of the Dance" show.

Traditional Irish Music

Since I was talking about two Irish dancing shows, it seems appropriate to me to write something about traditional Irish music as well. Initially, I wanted to write about Irish dance moves, but all these different bars seemed really complicated to me. That's why I am now emphasizing on a few important instruments of traditional Irish music:

The fiddle is actually a violin. In Ireland, however, it's played differently than you would play a usual violin.

The guitar is also a very common instrument in Irish music. Some musicians play the bouzouki, which is actually a Greek instrument.

The banjo, an instrument we already know from the people living in Appalachia, is also widely used in Ireland.

The flute (there even exists the Irish Flute) is a wooden instrument and often used in Ireland as well.

The harp is very traditional for Ireland and Irish music and had already been used by the Celts.

Irish fiddle

Banjo

Harp

 

Image Source (1): http://www.lighthousestringband.com/images/fiddle.jpg

Image Source (2): http://az58332.vo.msecnd.net/e88dd2e9fff747f090c792316c22131c/Images/Products26868-1200x1200-353709.jpg

Image Source (3): http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/19/001/251/070/DV020_Jpg_Jumbo_475019.914_natural_maple.jpg

The Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners and The Chieftains are very popular bands in Ireland. In the 50s and 60s, folk music started becoming famous in the U.S. and later on, even in numerous other countries all over the world. According to wikipedia.org, The Clancy Brothers even had an impact on many musicians, e.g. on American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who is nowadays widely known for songs like "Blowing in the Wind", "Like a Rolling Stone" or "Knocking on Heavens Door".

 

How I got the idea

A friend of mine, David, who is from Dublin, once showed me some moves of an Irish dance (Irish dancing can be really exhausting by the way). David and me, we both are supervisors at the International Friendshipcamp of the Austrian Youth Red Cross (read more here) in Langenlois (Lower Austria). That's where and how I first got the chance to listen to Irish music and try out Irish dancing. Thanks a lot for that, David, and keep on dancing! :)