Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
The dance form most associated with Irish dancing is Higland dancing from Scotland. Higland dancing is much better known than Irish dancing which until River
Dance was virtually unknown outside Ireland and Irish communitirs around the world. There are of course important differences in costuming, but there are also major differences in the dancing itself. Some dances are quite similar in both Irish and Higland dancing, although
body posture is often different.
Highland dancing involves the turnout of the knee where Irish concentrates on the
knee forward for most of the steps. For the most part the dancer in Highland is stationary when dancing and only travels the floor a little bit whereas in Irish you move great
distances. Another major difference is that in Highland dance the hands move a lot, often above the head. In most Irish singles dances, the hands are held to the side. The soft shoes are called slip shoes in Irish and ghilles in Highland. Highland shoes have eyelets and Irish have pieces of folded leather for the laces to go through. The laces are tied the same. The Lilts and Jigs are opposite of each other in both dance forms.
The only dance that uses hard shoes in Highland is the "Irish Jig". Some Irish Dance Instructors do not like the dance "Irish Jig" (Highland) as it does stereotypes the Irish People. One dance says, "I think the dance should be called the "Washerwoman Dance" or something not as likely to evoke negative sterotypes. The hard shoes in Irish Dance are very different from tap shoes and total different from the Irish Jig (Highland) shoes.
Some steps are very similiar when dancing using the soft shoes. Of course the costumes are very different indeed.
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