From: pollard@cucbs.chem.columbia.edu (Tom Pollard)
Subject: Re: Celtic Dance questions
Organization: Center for Biomolecular Simulation
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 08:07:39 GMT

[Sorry, my response was cut off accidently in the middle of a paragraph...]

Set dances are social dances, always performed by four couples in a
square.  There must be some relationship between set dancing and
American square dancing, but I don't know what it is - maybe they just
both derived from the French quadrilles, except that old-style American
country music is much closer to Irish-Scottish traditional music than
to anything else I've heard, and the music and the dance probably travelled
together.

In any case, set dances are danced to the same music as ceili dances,
but with completely different steps.  Some are danced with the polka
step, but most with some variation of the "reel step".  The steps are
done with the foot more or less flat and close to the ground, as
opposed to the ceili dances that are done up on the toes.  I won't try
to describe the steps.  

A typical set dance that's easy to describe is the "Myserks", also
called "Mazurka".  The set dances are divided into figures; the dancers
dance one figure, then the music stops.  After a pause, the next figure
is danced, etc..  The first three figures of the standard Mazurka are
begun with the four couples holding hands in a circle.  They advance
and retire (in 8 bars) twice, then each couple takes a waltz hold and
swings in place for 8 bars.  The top couple (the couple with their
backs to the music) dances in a circle inside the square for eight
bars, in a waltz hold. Then, they form a circle of four with the couple
on their left (?), the men holding hands behind the women's backs, and
spin as a circle for eight bars, while the other two couple do the same
(this is called the "Little Christmas" figure, although no one's ever
explained the origin of the name to me).  Then, the circles break up
into couples and all four couples dance counter-clockwise around the
square, while turning clockwise (this is called dancing "Around the
House").  After 8 bars, they're back in their places and the dance is
repeated as just described, but with the couple to the left of tops
dancing inside first.  Likewise, it's repeated again with the third and
fourth couples starting off.  At the end, everyone dances "Around the
House" and that is the end of the first figure.  There are five more
figures to the Mazurka as it's usually danced, but you should get the
idea.  

The Mazurka is danced to reels, although each figure of a set dance
might typically be done to a different style of music.  There is a very
large number of different set dances; I'm only familiar with a dozen or so.

For most of the period over which they were danced, the set dances
devleoped without much cross-fertilization, so that every town or small
region developed their own set dance, and only that dance, or at most
one or two others, was ever done.  They were typically performed in
peoples' homes or out in the roads, rather than in the cities.  Each
area also came up with their own style of footwork. Because of this
there is much greater variety among the set dances than among the ceili
dances.  Their was a period of many decades when a effort was made to
stamp them out altogether, either in favor of ceili dances (by cultural
purists) or by the church, which didn't always approve of social
dancing at all.  Lately, over the last twenty years, there has been a
big revival of the sets, and people learn sets from all over the
country.  Also, nowadays, they are more often danced in pubs and dance
halls.  Dance teams compete against one another in competitions.

We have a group that gets together for set dancing on Wednesday nights
here in Manhattan at Flannery's pub, on 14th St and 7th Ave., from
~8:30 to 12:30.  Also, most of the weekend ceilis that I mentioned
above involve roughly half set dances and half ceili dances.

Oh well, that must be more than enough for now.  Does anyone else out there
dance?

Tom
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Tom Pollard				Department of Chemistry
pollard@cucbs.chem.columbia.edu		Columbia University
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