Irish Dance Research Articles

A Descriptive Exploration of Heart Rate Response to Live Professional Irish Dance Performance.

Introduction: Research investigating the physiological demands of dance performance has documented exercise intensity and time spent in work and rest; however, available data are across limited dance genres and often use rehearsal or simulated conditions. Real-time data recorded during live performance with an audience are limited. The aim of the study is to provide a detailed description of the physiological demands of live professional Irish dance performance. Method: The entire Irish dance cast of Riverdance participated in the study (n = 24). Approval was granted by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee. Matinee and evening performances on the first day of a tour were examined in a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Heart rate (HR) monitors worn discretely under costumes recorded data every 5-seconds. Video analysis allowed calculation of time spent in work and rest. All descriptive analyses were split by role (troupe/lead) and sex (male/female). Results: Dancers worked at hard/very hard intensities (mean > 72%, peak > 91% HRmax) for ~3 minutes at a time for 3-9 individual dance numbers. There was a high variation in overall demand experienced by individual dancers due to variation in both duration and intensity of on-stage time, dependent upon their role. Mean total on-stage time was 18.18 ± 5.82 minutes, 19.43 ± 5.80 minutes, 29.71 ± 0.62 minutes, 20.00 ± 0.00 minutes for male troupe, female troupe, male lead, and female lead dancers, respectively. Recovery periods were varied in terms of duration, activity undertaken, and HR response. Conclusion: Individual dance numbers within a professional Irish dance show were high intensity for a short duration when considered in isolation, but overall physiological demand experienced by any one dancer across the entire show varied dependent upon their role and off-stage/recovery practices. Future research investigating the physiological demands of dance performance should ensure analysis accounts for the individual dancer's role and should capture the entire show duration in repeated exposures.

Irish dance and identity politics on TikTok

Irish dance and identity politics on TikTok

Effects of dance on balance in Parkinson’s disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

The objective of this study was to investigate whether dance classes are effective in improving balance in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), when compared to other groups with or without interventions, in Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs), through a Systematic Review with meta-analysis. A search was conducted in MEDLINE, LILACS, Cochrane, PEDro, PsycINFO and Google Scholar in April 2020. RCTs that analysed dance effects in comparison to other physical training types or to no intervention on balance of people with PD, were selected. Two independent reviewers selected the studies, extracted the data and conducted the risk of bias evaluation. Three studies were included, totalling 126 participants. Tango showed an improvement in the dynamic balance compared to non-intervention. Irish dance showed no improvement in balance. This study indicates that dance, more specifically tango, improves the dynamic balance of people with PD.

Designing women’s shoes and leather goods based on Irish traditional dance «ghillies»

The article presents a retrospective review of the history of the development of traditional Irish shoes «ghillie», its characteristic features, materials of manufacture, the transition from the national traditional to the modern everyday «brogue» model, analysis of modern models of «ghillie» for Irish folk dances, distinctive features of designs depending on type of dance performed. Models from well-known manufacturers of modern everyday «ghillies» are considered, which have retained a characteristic feature in the design — cross lacing; options for combining the style of dance shoes in products of high fashion brands, which indicates the relevance of mixing different stylistic trends in modern fashion. The process of designing shoes and leather goods based on traditional Irish dance «ghillies» is shown, including the development of a design project for a collection of women’s shoes under the motto «Irish disco», the designs of which are built using modern information technologies in the field of designing leather goods. The developed artistic solution for the collection’s models: a cross lacing system and a combination of bright colors will increase the competitiveness of domestic products. The relevance of the work is determined by the priority directions of the Strategy for the Development of Light Industry in the Russian Federation for the period until 2025, as well as the state program «Development of Industry and Increasing its Competitiveness», approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. The research is carried out within the framework of the master’s thesis of Semenova U.V. and the candidate’s thesis of Koval E.A., the results of which are planned for implementation in the educational process of the department of «Artistic modeling, design and technology of leather goods» of the Russian State University. A.N. Kosygina (Technology. Design. Art) in the form of a textbook.

Premier Highland dancer sports injuries

Objective: The objective of this paper is to document sports injuries in premier Highland dancers. Highland dance originated in Scotland and is a relatively unknown sport to physiatrists and sports physicians. It is not the same as Irish dance performed in tap shoes but has some similarities to ballet with regard to the turnout of the leg in the first position. Methods: An Institutional Review Board approved, prospective, telephone survey was conducted to document demographics, area, type, and age of injury in premier Highland dancers. Results: A total of 22 premier Highland dancers met the inclusion criteria for the study. In the hip region, injuries included apophysitis at the anterior superior iliac spine. In the knee region, knee effusions, shin splints, and hairline stress fractures of the tibia were reported. In addition, less common injuries in sports, such as tibialis anterior strain and plantaris tendon partial rupture, were noted. In the ankle/foot region, sprains and tears of anterior tibiofibular, calcaneofibular, posterior talofibular ankle ligaments, and plantar fasciitis were observed, as well as fractured metatarsals in the foot and degenerative arthritis. Conclusion: Injuries resulting from improper alignment in “turnout” (external rotation at the hip) and overuse syndromes from intense and long hours of training to reach national and international competitive premier level were observed. Uncommon injuries, such as tibialis anterior strain and plantaris tendon partial rupture, were also noted that were unique to the jumping and heel/toe maneuvers performed in this sport.

Dancing enriched whiteness: race and gender in commercial Irish dance performance from Riverdance to the Trump Inaugural Ball

ABSTRACT In January 2017, Michael Flatley introduced male members of the cast of Lord of the Dance performing at President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Ball. Flatley’s decision for the cast to perform at the Inaugural Ball was widely criticised as showing support for a white nationalist president. In this article, I demonstrate how this performance – and the implicit aligning of Irish dance with white American nationalist rhetoric – were not aberrant but in fact followed a trend developed in commercial Irish dance stage shows of the late 20th century. Through an analysis of the early performances and rhetoric surrounding Riverdance and Lord of the Dance in the mid-late 1990s, I demonstrate how Irish American whiteness is performed in these shows and directly contributes to Irish American identity as a form of what Diane Negra calls “enriched whiteness.” I further argue that the Inaugural Ball performance built on this history, embodying white nationalist hypermasculinity through the use of Irish dance and American nationalist projections alongside the exclusion of women.

Anatomical zone where more injuries occur in four different dance styles: Hip-Hop, Classical Ballet, Contemporary dance and Irish dancing: a systematic review

Introduction: To this date there is no systematic study that reviews which anatomical zone has a higher incidence of injuries in four different dance styles: hip-hop, classical ballet, contemporary dance, and Irish dancing. Objective: Summarize and determine the incidence of injuries by anatomical zones in elite, pre-professional and professional dancers who practice one of the following dance styles: ballet, contemporary dance, hip-hop and Irish dancing. Methods: Articles were searched according to the following criteria: year of publication (between 2016 and 2022), observational and cohort studies published in English, full text available, and analysis of the incidence of injuries in the dance styles of hip-hop, classical ballet, contemporary dance, and Irish dancing. MESH terms and Boolean operators used for the search were “injury AND dancers AND incidence”. Data sources: Databases used were ProQuest, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Clinical Key and ScienceDirect. Results: A total of 511 records were identified, and only 19 were included for the analysis. The results of the reviewed literature revealed that the ankle was the anatomical zone with the highest incidence to suffer an injury (62.9%), overuse injuries had a higher incidence rate (63%), and the joint/ligament was the most common musculoskeletal type of injury (36.84%). Conclusion: Overall, the lower extremity had the highest injury incidence rate; even though the four different dance styles have different techniques and biomechanics, the most reported anatomical zone to suffer an injury was the ankle.

“When an Irish Dancer Has the Aux”: Feis Music as the Heart of Modern Competitive Irish Dance

“When an Irish Dancer Has the Aux”: Feis Music as the Heart of Modern Competitive Irish Dance

CO69 Test-Retest Reliability of the PDQ-Exercise

Exercise is now a significant and key component in the management of Parkinson’s disease. In this context, exercise may embrace activities as diverse as Tai Chi, Nordic walking, endurance training and various forms of dance, such as Tango and Irish dancing. The PDQ-Exercise is a newly developed seven-item patient reported outcome measure that has been developed to assess the efficacy of studies that focus on, or incorporate an exercise component. Initial validation indicated that the measure demonstrates excellent validity and internal consistency.

Exploring “ownership” of Irish traditional dance music: Heritage or property?

AbstractDance has rarely been accepted as the subject of copyright protection because works of dance and choreography have lacked commodified property-object status in intellectual property law. If dance is “haunted by its own ephemerality” and, thus, rarely embodied as property, then what of dance music? Music composed, performed, and recorded with a dance audience in mind has formed, on many occasions, the subject matter of intellectual property law claims, as the rancorous recent litigation over the nightclub (and online-streaming) hit “Blurred Lines” demonstrates. In this article, I utilize the case study of traditional Irish dance music to explore how traditional music occupies a space somewhat outside the formal legal system, defined by informal social norms such as reciprocity, sharing, and acknowledgment (attribution). I consider how Irish traditional music can be represented as heritage and as property, reflecting on the type of ownership at play in the Irish traditional music community. I observe that Irish traditional dance music provides an example of “heritage as resistance” – a mode of cultural and social practice that continues to thrive as a living tradition, even in the contemporary market-oriented world of the global North.

Features of Irish Dance Music

"The focus of this paper is to bring into light the traditional categories of Irish dance music, emphasizing the musical characteristics that differentiate them. Energetic and effervescent, Irish dance music is rarely analyzed, with Irish folklore lacking a school of dedicated musicologists. The topic of this article is important in the context of the tensions related to globalization, commodification, and transformations in Irish Traditional Music, that scholars are examining. The paper includes musical examples of the traditional Irish dance music categories, for a better view of the phenomenon. Keywords: Irish music, dance music, ethnomusicology. "

The time-continuous association between turnout and axial joint moments in the competitive Irish dance ‘fly’ landing

ABSTRACT Turnout is a key technical and aesthetic element in competitive Irish dance involving external rotation of the lower limb and must be sustained during landings. ‘Forced’ turnout, aided by floor friction rather than active hip rotation, is likely to result in large internal rotation moments at the knee and ankle, which may increase the risk of injury. The aim of the current study was to establish the relationship between the hip and ankle external rotation vector field and maximum internal rotation moments of the ankle and knee. Thirteen (12 female) competitive Irish dancers performed 10 flys (common Irish dance leap) onto a force plate while being recorded by a ten-camera motion capture system. Time-continuous data were analysed over the duration of landing using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). A positive correlation (p < 0.05) was found between the hip-ankle turnout vector field and maximum ankle internal rotation moments throughout most of the landing. Post-hoc analyses showed that hip external rotation contributed the most to the maximum ankle internal rotation moment (p < 0.05). Increasing hip turnout during landing could reduce internal rotation moments, assuming hip turnout brings the thigh and foot axial orientation more in line with each other.

Artistic Style and Cultural Representation of Irish Step Dance - Take Riverdance as an Example

In Ireland, Irish step dance has been a national identity for a long time. For many people in the world, Riverdance was their first impression about Irish step dance. It brought a boom and a renaissance of Irish step dance. In the twenty-first century, more than twenty years after the Riverdance boom, have people’s perception of Riverdance and Irish culture changed? Thus, this essay explores the experiences of Irish dancing and culture of former Riverdance dancers and audiences in 2021.

The effect of fatigue on peak Achilles tendon force in Irish dancing-specific landing tasks

ABSTRACT Achilles tendinopathy is prevalent among Irish dancers, believed to be due to aesthetic technical requirements and high-impact landing tasks. However, the peak Achilles tendon force during Irish dancing-specific landing tasks has not been quantified. Furthermore, the influence of fatigue is unclear. This study aimed to quantify the peak Achilles tendon force during three common Irish dancing landing tasks and investigate the effects of fatigue on this force. Twelve nationally competitive Irish dancers completed the landing tasks prior to and following a fatigue protocol. A Vicon motion analysis system and AMTI force plates were used to calculate sagittal plane ankle joint kinematics during landing to estimate peak Achilles tendon force. Three independent measures (Rating-of-Fatigue scale, Flight time: Contraction during a counter movement jump and jump height during the landing trials) were used to evaluate participant fatigue between conditions. Results revealed a significant difference in peak Achilles tendon force between the three landing tasks, however, no significant difference was observed between pre- and post-fatigue. Further research is required to investigate the effects of the landing technique used in Irish Dancing on peak Achilles tendon force with the aim to reduce peak Achilles tendon force and the risk of developing Achilles tendinopathy.

Injury prevention knowledge and beliefs of Irish dancing teachers: An international survey

OBJECTIVES: Injury in Irish dancing (ID) is pervasive and comparable to that in other elite dance genres. There is an absence of formalized education or training for ID teachers to understand and address this issue. This study investigated the injury prevention knowledge and beliefs of registered ID teachers internationally. METHODS: An online survey based on an existing questionnaire by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was adapted to reflect relevant research in ID and other dance genres. It was piloted with seven ID teachers internationally. Participants, who were registered ID teachers were recruited through official ID governing bodies and the networks of the Principal Investigator. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty participants from eleven regions internationally completed the survey. A robust knowledge of the anatomical areas most often injured was displayed, with conflicting opinions on the incidence, location and causes of injuries in males and females. There was a clear appreciation of the vast array of risk factors potentially associated with injury, with warm-up, load management, physical strength, conditioning and flexibility all highly rated. There was lesser insight into important factors such as sleep, nutrition, and general and psychological health. Most teachers rated their injury prevention knowledge and practices as moderate/good but available educational resources as poor/fair. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for education and training in numerous areas of injury prevention by multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners and other professionals, in partnership with the ID community, to ensure a clearer understanding of the biopsychosocial nature of injury prevention and performance optimisation.

Characteristics of Eight Irish Dance LandingsConsiderations for Training and Overuse Injury Prevention.

Irish dance has evolved in aesthetics that lead to greater physical demands on dancers' bodies. Irish dancers must land from difficult moves without letting their knees bend or heels touch the ground, causing large forces to be absorbed by the body. The majority of injuries incurred by Irish dancers are due to overuse (79.6%). The purpose of this study was to determine loads on the body of female Irish dancers, including peak force, rise rate of force, and impulse, in eight common Irish hard shoe and soft shoe dance movements. It was hypothesized that these movements would produce different ground reac- tion force (GRF) characteristics. Sixteen female Irish dancers were recruited from the three highest competitive levels. Each performed a warm-up, reviewed the eight movements, and then performed each movement three times on a force plate, four in soft shoes and four in hard shoes. Ground reaction forces were measured using a three-dimensional force plate recording at 1,000 Hz. Peak force, rise rate, and vertical impulse were calculated. Peak forces normalized by each dancer's body weight for each of these variables were significantly different between move- ments and shoe types [F(15, 15)= 65.4, p < 0.01; F(15, 15) = 65.0, p < 0.01; and F(15, 15) = 67.4, p < 0.01, respectively]. The variable years of experience was not correlated with peak force, rise rate, or impulse (p > 0.40). It is concluded that there was a large range in GRF characteristics among the eight movements studied. Understanding the force of each dance step will allow instructors to develop training routines that help dancers adapt gradually to the high forces experienced in Irish dance training and competitions, thereby limiting the potential for overuse injuries.

English

This paper is an ethnographic examination and exploration of the power politics of the Ar Rinci Foirne and the subsequent changes in perceived nationalism, stylizations, and memory of Irish dance as it refers to both the practiced repertoire and textual archive of ceili dancing within Ireland and the Diaspora. The researcher examined each iteration of the Ar Rinci Fiorne antecedent and relevant texts the socio-political climate following the Irish Civil War, and the aims of the Gaelic League to determine how the textual archiving through the 2014 edition of &ldquo;Ar Rinci Foirne&#39;&#39; affected embodied memory of Irish Ceili dancing. Theories of transculturation, ethnography, post-structuralist criticism, archiving with thematic and chronological examination of texts were utilized with a qualitative methodology. Through the intentional inclusion and exclusion of dances, the Ar Rinci Foirne functions as codification and propaganda of Irishness through dance, while systematically altering and erasing embodied memory of ceili dances within Ireland and the Diaspora. &nbsp; Key words: Irish dance, ceili, ethnography, embodied memory, folk dance.

Stepping to the fore: The promotion of Irish dance in Australia

This article contributes to scant literature on Irish dance praxis in Australia by demonstrating how the confluence of global and local factors have permitted Irish dance in Australia to step to the fore. Irish step dance is a globally recognizable genre that has dispersed through, first, the migration of Irish people throughout the world and, more recently, through itinerant theatrical troupes. In Australia, a significant node of the Irish diaspora, Irish step dance has managed to achieve unusual prominence in a dance landscape that has traditionally been dominated by genres from within the Western concert dance canon. Drawing on both extant literature and ethnographic data, this article examines three threads from the narrative of Irish dance in Australia. First, the general choreographic landscape of the nation is described, showing that the preferences of Australian dance audiences have been shaped to privilege styles that are popular onstage and on-screen, with the resulting marginalization of culturally-specific genera. Second, localized effects of the global contagion instigated by the development of the stage show Riverdance are explored. Here, the domains of aesthetics and decisive marketing strategies are discussed, showing how engagement with Australian audiences was achieved. Finally, the article introduces an idiosyncratic localized influence, the children’s musical group The Wiggles, which was conceived independently but which also promoted interest and enthusiasm for Irish dance in Australia by engaging with young children and presenting propriety of Irish dance as available to all, regardless of cultural ancestry.

Music to Our Ears: Are Dancers at Risk for High Sound Level Exposure?

Enduring exposure to high sound pressure levels (SPLs) can lead to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). In the performing arts population, NIHL has been studied primarily in the context of sound exposure experienced by musicians and less so by dancers. This research aimed to identify sound exposure that dancers may experience in some dance classes. Decibel levels were recorded in 12 dance classes (6 ballet, 4 modern, and 1 soft and 1 hard shoe Irish dance) at 8 different studios using the NIOSH SLM app on an iOS smartphone with external microphone. A minimum of five recordings of each class was measured, each collected on a different day, yielding a total of 114 measurements. Results showed that 20.2% of all recordings exceeded the recommended NIOSH sound exposure limits of both 100% projected daily dose and 85 LAeq. Analysis between styles of dance demonstrated significantly lower LAeq (p≤0.05) in soft shoe Irish dance compared to ballet (p=0.023), modern (p=0.035), and Irish hard shoe dance (p=0.009). Irish soft shoe dance demonstrated minimal to no risk of high sound exposure. Conversely, 53.25% of ballet, 90.9% of Irish hard shoe dance, and 68.24% of modern recordings exhibited minimal to moderate risk of high sound exposure. Furthermore, we found wide ranges of projected daily noise doses within classes taught by the same teacher. It is recommended that multiple recordings of dance environments be obtained, as a single sound recording may not accurately represent potential exposure. These findings indicate that dancers of Irish hard shoe, modern, and ballet may benefit from noise intervention such as audiometric testing, noise controls, and hearing protection.

Dietary Intake, Body Composition, and Nutrition Knowledge of Irish Dancers.

Irish dance requires lengthy, intensive training to perform at a high level in competitions and professionally. Irish dancers have been known to have high injury rates. Appropriate nutrient and fluid intakes have been shown to minimize the risk of fatigue and injury during training and performance in sport, but there is a lack of evidence as to whether and how this might apply in Irish dance. Forty adult Irish dancers, 35 females (age 21 ± 3 years) and five males (aged 27 ± 8 years), professionals or in full time training, were recruited for this study to investigate nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and body composition. Participants were asked to complete "The Sport Nutrition Questionnaire," a sport- and dance-specific nutrition knowledge questionnaire, 4 day estimated food diaries, and under-take a dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan to assess body composition. Food diaries were analyzed using Dietplan 7. Reported energy, fiber, iron (females), magnesium (females), selenium, iodine (females), and folate (females) intakes were below United Kingdom dietary reference values. Fruit and vegetable intakes were low: 2.7 ± 1.4 portions per day. Sixteen percent of days reported contained no fruits or vegetables. Mean body mass index (BMI) for 35 female participants was 23.2 ± 3.3 kg/m², mean BMI for five male participants was 22.2 ± 1.6 kg/m². Mean body fat measured by DXA in 18 female participants was 33.4% ± 6.9%, which was higher than seen in other dance populations. Mean lean mass was 40.8 ± 5.6 kg. Mean score for the nutrition knowledge questionnaire in which the maximum score is 65, was 30.5 ± 7.6 (47% ± 11.7%), range: 9 to 44 (14% to 68%). The ability of the Irish dancers to correctly identify foods as being high or low in carbohydrate, protein, and fat varied widely. Body composition did not correlate with intake of any nutrient but did correlate with nutrition knowledge questionnaire score (r = -.663, p < 0.001). Given the dietary intakes and nutrition knowledge exhibited by the dancers in this study, further work is needed to inform and improve diets and support the demands of Irish dance.