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(Redirected from Ceilidh)
A 'Céilidh' or 'céilí' (pronounced "kay-lee" or kayleigh) is a social event or disco, typically with Celtic music and dancing. The word ''céilidh'' is Scottish Gaelic for 'visit', denoting the event's origin as an informal, home gathering.
The music is provided by any assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán (pronounced or ) (a hand drum, traditionally with a wooden frame covered with stretched goat hide), and in more recent times also drums and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively, and the basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself.
The general format of céilidh dancing is the "Set". A Set consists of four couples, with each pair facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music.
However, about half of the dances in the modern Scots céilidh are couple dances performed in a ring. These can be performed by fixed couples or in the more sociable "progressive" manner, with the lady moving to the next gentleman in the ring at or near the end of each repetition of the steps.
There is also a form of dancing in Ireland: e. g. the "Siege of Ennis", "The Walls of Limerick" and "The Stack of Barley" being the most popular dances in this genre; some of the céilidh dance formations are named after famous historical battles and events, others after items of daily rural life as the last three examples show.
Step dancing is another form of dancing often performed at céilidhs, the form that was popularised in the 1990s by the world-famous Riverdance ensemble. Whereas Set dancing involves all present, whatever their skill, Step dancing is usually reserved for show, being performed only by the most talented of dancers.
The céilidh has been internationalised by the Scottish and Irish diasporas in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where local céilidhs and traditional music competitions are held. In recent years, céilidh and traditional music competitions have been frequently won by descendants of emigrants.
Between 1997 and 2001 the Scottish céilidh grew in popularity again amongst youths. Since then a subculture in some Scottish cities has evolved where some people attend céilidhs on a regular basis and at the céilidh they find out from the other dancers when and where the next céilidh will be.
Privately organised céilidhs are now extremely common, where bands are hired in, usually for evening entertainment for a wedding, birthday party or other celebratory event. These bands vary in size, although are commonly made up of between 2 and 6 players. The appeal of the Scottish céilidh is by no means limited to the younger generation, and dances vary in speed and complexity in order to accommodate most age groups and levels of ability.
Public céilidhs are also held. One major event on the calendar is the Stanley Ceilidh, held in Stanley, Perthshire, over the first weekend in November.
Some céilidh bands intersperse ceilidh dancing with a DJ playing disco music in order to broaden the appeal of the evening's entertainment.
Modern céilidh dancing is a mixture of three things, all done to a less exacting standard than the groups of people who originally devised them.
★ Scottish country dancing
★ Old time dancing
★ Ballroom dancing
What is now called 'English Ceilidh' (sometimes abbreviated to 'eCeilidh') has many things in common with the Scottish/Irish social dance traditions and can be considered part of English Country Dance and thus related to Contra, which often has a similar high-energy feel. The dance figures are similar but tunes used tend to be slower and accentuate the beat, so dancers will often use a skip, step hop or rant step (hop on left twice, step on right, hop on right twice, step on left) rather than the smoother motion seen in Ireland and Scotland, or the walking in Contra. There is often a 'spot' halfway through the evening to give the band a rest, often involving the local Morris side. Like barn dances, English Ceilidhs always use a caller who calls the dance figures the dancers need to make. Almost all the dances involve couples staying together for the whole dance, though people often change partners after every one or two dances; if you stick with someone for more than three, it's often assumed you're emotionally involved with them.
At English Ceilidh events you'll find bands making the most of the English tradition (Old Swan Band
for example) but also many bands picking up strong influences from other forms of music, for example ska for Whapweasel, French traditional for Token Women, Welsh traditional for Twm Twp, Jazz for Chalktown, Funk Fusion for Ceilidhography, Rock for Peeping Tom and Tickled Pink, West African and Indian for Boka Halat and self-penned material for Climax Ceilidh Band.
★ John Cullinane: ''Aspects of the History of Irish Céilí Dancing'', The Central Remedial Clinic, Clontarf, Dublin 3,(1998), ISBN 0-952-79522-1
★ An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha: ''Ár Rincí Fóirne-Thirty Popular Céilí Dances'', Westside Press (2003)
★ J. G. O' Keeffe, Art O' Brien: ''A Handbook of Irish Dances, 5. Edition'', Gill & Son Ltd., (1934)[1]
★ Helen Brennan: ''The Story of Irish Dancing'', Mount Eagle Publications Ltd., 1999 ISBN 0 86322 244 7
In the 1983 film Local Hero the characters are shown at a ceilidh.
★ In the 2006 The Wind That Shakes the Barley film the characters are shown at a ceilidh.
★ In 2002's The Magdalene Sisters a ceilidh is portrayed.
★ Danny Boyle's 1994 film Shallow Grave features Ewan McGregor and Kerry Fox at a ceilidh.
★ A song by the group Black 47 is titled 'The Funky Ceili'
★ The popular Celtic band Celtic Woman features a ceilidh in their popular tour song "At the Ceili."
★ Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan features the song "Ceilidh Cowboy" on his The Crock Of Gold album.
★ Gremlinuk - Scottish ceilidh page, with dance instructions.
★ Scottish Ceilidh Band - Scottish Ceilidh Music
★ Grand Chain - The Scottish Dance Resource. Scottish dance resource including events, dance instructions, bands.
★ Gay Gordons and Military Two Step dance instructions.
★ Webfeet - Dancing on the Web. Ceilidh and other styles. English events.
★ The Round - The Cambridge University English Dance society.
★ [2] - Dance descriptions and photos
★ [3] - An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha: ''Ár Rincí Fóirne-Thirty Popular Céilí Dances'', Westside Press (2003)
A 'Céilidh' or 'céilí' (pronounced "kay-lee" or kayleigh) is a social event or disco, typically with Celtic music and dancing. The word ''céilidh'' is Scottish Gaelic for 'visit', denoting the event's origin as an informal, home gathering.
The music is provided by any assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán (pronounced or ) (a hand drum, traditionally with a wooden frame covered with stretched goat hide), and in more recent times also drums and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively, and the basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself.
The general format of céilidh dancing is the "Set". A Set consists of four couples, with each pair facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music.
However, about half of the dances in the modern Scots céilidh are couple dances performed in a ring. These can be performed by fixed couples or in the more sociable "progressive" manner, with the lady moving to the next gentleman in the ring at or near the end of each repetition of the steps.
There is also a form of dancing in Ireland: e. g. the "Siege of Ennis", "The Walls of Limerick" and "The Stack of Barley" being the most popular dances in this genre; some of the céilidh dance formations are named after famous historical battles and events, others after items of daily rural life as the last three examples show.
Step dancing is another form of dancing often performed at céilidhs, the form that was popularised in the 1990s by the world-famous Riverdance ensemble. Whereas Set dancing involves all present, whatever their skill, Step dancing is usually reserved for show, being performed only by the most talented of dancers.
The céilidh has been internationalised by the Scottish and Irish diasporas in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where local céilidhs and traditional music competitions are held. In recent years, céilidh and traditional music competitions have been frequently won by descendants of emigrants.
| Contents |
| Modern Scottish céilidh |
| English Ceilidh |
| References |
| Cultural References to ceilidhs |
| External links |
Modern Scottish céilidh
Between 1997 and 2001 the Scottish céilidh grew in popularity again amongst youths. Since then a subculture in some Scottish cities has evolved where some people attend céilidhs on a regular basis and at the céilidh they find out from the other dancers when and where the next céilidh will be.
Privately organised céilidhs are now extremely common, where bands are hired in, usually for evening entertainment for a wedding, birthday party or other celebratory event. These bands vary in size, although are commonly made up of between 2 and 6 players. The appeal of the Scottish céilidh is by no means limited to the younger generation, and dances vary in speed and complexity in order to accommodate most age groups and levels of ability.
Public céilidhs are also held. One major event on the calendar is the Stanley Ceilidh, held in Stanley, Perthshire, over the first weekend in November.
Some céilidh bands intersperse ceilidh dancing with a DJ playing disco music in order to broaden the appeal of the evening's entertainment.
Modern céilidh dancing is a mixture of three things, all done to a less exacting standard than the groups of people who originally devised them.
★ Scottish country dancing
★ Old time dancing
★ Ballroom dancing
English Ceilidh
What is now called 'English Ceilidh' (sometimes abbreviated to 'eCeilidh') has many things in common with the Scottish/Irish social dance traditions and can be considered part of English Country Dance and thus related to Contra, which often has a similar high-energy feel. The dance figures are similar but tunes used tend to be slower and accentuate the beat, so dancers will often use a skip, step hop or rant step (hop on left twice, step on right, hop on right twice, step on left) rather than the smoother motion seen in Ireland and Scotland, or the walking in Contra. There is often a 'spot' halfway through the evening to give the band a rest, often involving the local Morris side. Like barn dances, English Ceilidhs always use a caller who calls the dance figures the dancers need to make. Almost all the dances involve couples staying together for the whole dance, though people often change partners after every one or two dances; if you stick with someone for more than three, it's often assumed you're emotionally involved with them.
At English Ceilidh events you'll find bands making the most of the English tradition (Old Swan Band
for example) but also many bands picking up strong influences from other forms of music, for example ska for Whapweasel, French traditional for Token Women, Welsh traditional for Twm Twp, Jazz for Chalktown, Funk Fusion for Ceilidhography, Rock for Peeping Tom and Tickled Pink, West African and Indian for Boka Halat and self-penned material for Climax Ceilidh Band.
References
★ John Cullinane: ''Aspects of the History of Irish Céilí Dancing'', The Central Remedial Clinic, Clontarf, Dublin 3,(1998), ISBN 0-952-79522-1
★ An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha: ''Ár Rincí Fóirne-Thirty Popular Céilí Dances'', Westside Press (2003)
★ J. G. O' Keeffe, Art O' Brien: ''A Handbook of Irish Dances, 5. Edition'', Gill & Son Ltd., (1934)[1]
★ Helen Brennan: ''The Story of Irish Dancing'', Mount Eagle Publications Ltd., 1999 ISBN 0 86322 244 7
Cultural References to ceilidhs
In the 1983 film Local Hero the characters are shown at a ceilidh.
★ In the 2006 The Wind That Shakes the Barley film the characters are shown at a ceilidh.
★ In 2002's The Magdalene Sisters a ceilidh is portrayed.
★ Danny Boyle's 1994 film Shallow Grave features Ewan McGregor and Kerry Fox at a ceilidh.
★ A song by the group Black 47 is titled 'The Funky Ceili'
★ The popular Celtic band Celtic Woman features a ceilidh in their popular tour song "At the Ceili."
★ Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan features the song "Ceilidh Cowboy" on his The Crock Of Gold album.
External links
★ Gremlinuk - Scottish ceilidh page, with dance instructions.
★ Scottish Ceilidh Band - Scottish Ceilidh Music
★ Grand Chain - The Scottish Dance Resource. Scottish dance resource including events, dance instructions, bands.
★ Gay Gordons and Military Two Step dance instructions.
★ Webfeet - Dancing on the Web. Ceilidh and other styles. English events.
★ The Round - The Cambridge University English Dance society.
★ [2] - Dance descriptions and photos
★ [3] - An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha: ''Ár Rincí Fóirne-Thirty Popular Céilí Dances'', Westside Press (2003)
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