Ireland / Scotland / Brittany, Middle Ages to today
CELTIC DANCES
The foot that clacks in Ireland and Scotland
Celtic dances refer to a constellation of related traditions — Irish step dance, Highland Scottish dancing, Céilí dance, Breton gavottes, an dro, ridée — that share a common aesthetic: an upright, still torso, arms at the sides, virtuosity concentrated in the feet. They have been passed down since the Middle Ages within farming, Protestant, and Catholic communities, despite English colonial bans that nearly wiped them out.
The creation of the show Riverdance in 1994 by Michael Flatley and Jean Butler was a global shock: what had been an Irish community practice became a worldwide stage phenomenon. Today, one distinguishes competitive solo dance (Irish step dance, with its embroidered dresses, curly wigs, and international competitions), group dances (céilí, square dances), and the living Breton traditions of the fest-noz.
How it's danced
Technique & figures
Celtic dances are practiced to 2/4, 3/4 (waltz), or 6/8 (jig) rhythms at lively tempos. The torso stays upright and absolutely still, arms at the sides. All the virtuosity lies in the feet: high jumps, heel and toe work, rapid weight changes. The gaze is straight ahead, proud.
Styles and fundamentals
Two main families coexist in Ireland. Soft shoe (soft shoes): jig, reel, slip jig — lighter, more airborne. Hard shoe (metal-plated shoes, like tap shoes): hornpipe, treble jig — more percussive, closer to Tap. In Scotland, Highland dances (Highland Fling, Sword Dance) are acrobatic and martial. In Brittany, an-dro, gavotte, and ridée are danced in a chain.
Main figures
- 01
Reel step
A basic Irish step in 4/4, with high jumps and toe work. One of the fastest rhythms in the repertoire.
- 02
Slip jig
A rhythm in 9/8 specific to Ireland, very graceful, danced exclusively by women in competition.
- 03
Treble jig
A rhythm in 6/8 in hard shoe, with percussive footrolls like tap dancing.
- 04
Highland Fling
A virtuosic Scottish dance performed over a small sword. The dancer stays in place, working jumps and rotations.
- 05
An-dro
A Breton dance in a closed chain, with swinging arms and lateral steps. The most iconic dance of the fest-noz.
Reading the music
In Ireland: fiddle, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, bodhran, accordion (The Chieftains, Riverdance). In Scotland: bagpipe. In Brittany: bombarde, biniou, diatonic accordion, a cappella singing (kan ha diskan).