Not Your Grandfather's Irish Dance
Even though I don't do as much Irish dancing as I used to, I still enjoy it, and it's still something that I'll never forget entirely. And I still watch the Parade of Champions. Every Irish dance competition ends with a Parade of Champions, where the winner of each Open Champion level of each age group gets to strut their stuff. They also have the opportunity to incorporate crazy into it--I've seen people incorporate the moonwalk into an otherwise very traditional step. I will generally watch the Parades after the Oireachtas. An Oireachtas is kind of a regional championships. And I am amazed each time.
I came into Irish dancing when I was almost 16 years old. I may be getting old, but that was about six years ago. At that time, the skater jump was just coming into being and competition. Essentially, the skater jump is an axle on not-ice and starting without building momentum and ending it without ice to get rid of your momentum. There actually has been a lot of intelligent work by intelligent kinesthesiologists and athletic trainers to make this possible without destroying the body. But, that doesn't mean that it's not an extreme feat of the human body.
I think that this is to happen with anything that becomes a sport. It will challenge the limits of what we thought the human body could do. It is to be expected.
But, even knowing these things, I was struck by how far Irish dance has challenged the human body since I began Irish dancing. I, quite honestly, would not be surprised if we see people pulling double skaters soon (essentially a double axle). And I was struck by this the other day when I was watching the Western US Oireachtas Men's Parade of Champs the other day. And I saw this. Go to about 3:20 to see what I'm talking about, but the entire thing is pretty ridiculous. Also, it's hilarious, at the end, they all decide to do Gangnam Style to do a little modern celebration and none of them have any idea what to do with their hands: http://new.livestream.com/randomhouzeproductions/wroireachtas/videos/6465965&post=1509720_2279
That is a ridiculous spin period, and to keep it in the kind of control that Irish dance requires makes it an even more ridiculous spin. This is not your Grandfather's Irish Dance folks. It is developing.
And some of that makes me happy. It still is embracing the Celtic style, it is still preserving the spirit of the dance, and it is reaching levels of athleticism that I don't even think anyone comprehended when I began Irish dancing. But, is something lost in the mix? I don't know the answer to this question. It's a traditional art form, but it's also a modern art form. It's a show of culture, but it's also a competitive sport. And I don't really know what to feel about it.
I came into Irish dancing when I was almost 16 years old. I may be getting old, but that was about six years ago. At that time, the skater jump was just coming into being and competition. Essentially, the skater jump is an axle on not-ice and starting without building momentum and ending it without ice to get rid of your momentum. There actually has been a lot of intelligent work by intelligent kinesthesiologists and athletic trainers to make this possible without destroying the body. But, that doesn't mean that it's not an extreme feat of the human body.
I think that this is to happen with anything that becomes a sport. It will challenge the limits of what we thought the human body could do. It is to be expected.
But, even knowing these things, I was struck by how far Irish dance has challenged the human body since I began Irish dancing. I, quite honestly, would not be surprised if we see people pulling double skaters soon (essentially a double axle). And I was struck by this the other day when I was watching the Western US Oireachtas Men's Parade of Champs the other day. And I saw this. Go to about 3:20 to see what I'm talking about, but the entire thing is pretty ridiculous. Also, it's hilarious, at the end, they all decide to do Gangnam Style to do a little modern celebration and none of them have any idea what to do with their hands: http://new.livestream.com/randomhouzeproductions/wroireachtas/videos/6465965&post=1509720_2279
That is a ridiculous spin period, and to keep it in the kind of control that Irish dance requires makes it an even more ridiculous spin. This is not your Grandfather's Irish Dance folks. It is developing.
And some of that makes me happy. It still is embracing the Celtic style, it is still preserving the spirit of the dance, and it is reaching levels of athleticism that I don't even think anyone comprehended when I began Irish dancing. But, is something lost in the mix? I don't know the answer to this question. It's a traditional art form, but it's also a modern art form. It's a show of culture, but it's also a competitive sport. And I don't really know what to feel about it.
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