Irish dancing is much more than wigs and fake tan

TV shows that have highlighted the emphasis being placed on appearance in some Irish dancing contests have done an injustice to the art form, according to Michael Donnellan.

 

The two-time world champion runs his own dance academy and teaches in Clare, Germany and the US, while he danced with Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and choreographed Magic of the Dance and Rhythms of Ireland, a show currently touring Australia which will come to Ennis next spring.

Donnellan holds an MA in dance from UL and is very conscious of the history of Irish dance. He talks knowledgeably about its development from the 19th century to today, when it is more popular than ever.
“There are now over 2,000 registered teachers in places like Nepal, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Fifteen years ago the only strongholds outside Ireland and the UK were the US and Australia. Geographically, Irish dance is rapidly growing, obviously due to the talented teachers now living abroad and the natives of those countries have also embraced our culture, learned it, educated themselves in it, qualified themselves and now are passing it on,” he says.

He made a career out of Irish dancing, beginning it at a very young age. “I learned my dancing from Maureen O’Rourke, head of the O’Rourke school, a lady I have great respect for to this day and who is still teaching. Mrs White was my mother’s teacher and when she retired, O’Rourkes inherited that school and in a way the rest is history. I started with Maureen when I was five and remained an O’Rourke dancer until I joined Riverdance in 1996.”

Irish dancing was unknown outside this country and others with large Irish emigrant population until Riverdance. He was stunned by the reception it received. “I will never forget standing on stage in Tokyo at the end of the first Riverdance performance there. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The applause lasted 20 minutes, they stamped and danced in the aisles.”
Shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance have seen Irish dance acquire a status that couldn’t have been imagined 20 years ago.

“The effect that the pro-shows had the world over is phenomenal. It just projected it as an art form onto a world stage. To think that thousands of people are employed across the globe from our national dance is staggering and this couldn’t have been envisaged.”
Irish dancing wasn’t the coolest choice of pastimes for a young lad in Ennis in the eighties and early ’90s and there were times when it looked like he would drift away from it, even though he had the talent required to win world championships.

Again he feels that the impact of Riverdance was a huge help in making it more attractive. “It certainly helped. It was seen as a cooler thing to do and definitely seen as something that young lads wanted to get involved in. It wasn’t seen as diddley-aye dancing. And it was never that. It’s a very powerful energetic dance form.”

He feels some coverage of Irish dancing has given an unfair impression that style is prized above substance and technique.
“I think people need to realise also that the attire worn years ago was quite simple but the skill was always there.

“The attire today such as wigs, fake tan, sock glue and fancy dresses is not what it’s all about. It’s not the be all and end all and it’s in no way compulsory. In fact parents can send their children to a dance class and they need never enter a feis at all.

“The media lately through various documentaries and movies have painted an unrealistic picture of this beauty pageant-like scenario. People need to realise that precision, rhythm, timing, posture, deportment, foot placement and stagecraft that is taught. If you dance in a black sack and have all of those attributes, you’ll still do well.”
The amount of enjoyment involved in Irish dancing shouldn’t be forgotten, he adds.

“People should buy into the fact that it’s not all about the result. The culture and honour and love of my national heritage is what I learned from my old teacher, along with plenty of steps, respect and how to have the best fun.

“The craic was brilliant in that school, that’s what it should be about and it can be if you want it.”