Irish Set Dancing

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Irish Set Dancing

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Sets are the traditional social dances of rural Ireland. They are derived from the sets of quadrilles that became fashionable in the French court in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Set Dancers at the Willie Clancy Summer school in Miltown Malbay in July 1999

These dances were spread throughout Europe, and to the European colonies, by travelling dancing masters, and also probably by military personnel going to and from various wars. They were first danced publicly in Dublin in 1816, and soon became popular throughout the country.

In Ireland, as in many other places, the quadrilles were adapted to suit the indigenous music and dance steps, and were subsequently absorbed into the tradition, giving rise to many localised versions. The most popular types of quadrilles were the Plain Quadrille, the Lancers Quadrille and the Caledonian. Irish sets derived from each type can in most cases be readily distinguished by comparison of the figures with records of the original versions, in spite of the changes that have occurred with time. Many of them still bear the original name, or one similar to it e.g. the Caledonian Set which is favoured in most parts of Clare.

Portrait of a Set Dancing Class
I took the following photographs at a set dancing class in Dolan's bar in Limerick City, on 11th April 2000.

Four couples dancing a set at the class in Dolan's. This class is held every Tuesday night, from 8 to 9.45pm, and has been running for about five years.

Pat O'Connell demonstrating the steps of the Ballyvourney Jig Set, a dance from county Kerry. Note his cordless microphone.

Here's Pat again, organising the music. He's bang up to date with his technology. He uses a recordable mini-disc player, which he switches on and off with a remote control.

Practising the chain, which is part of the fifth figure of the Ballyvourney jig set.Gents travel clockwise, ladies anti-clockwise.It's called a jig set but it's mostly danced to slides nowadays.

4 dancers put their right hands together and dance anti-clockwise

Right hands across in the North Kerry Polka Set.

Pat O' Connell told me that set dancing is continuing to increase in popularity. In his class there are usually five or six sets on the floor at once.That night there was also a crowd of foreigners watching the dancing. They had to be moved to an adjoining room to make room for the dancers. Most of the people in his class , he said, were country people working in the city,together with a sprinkling of foreigners. He said there is no tradition of set dancing in the city itself.

And now left hands across.

To help the beginners Pat puts a couple of experienced dancers into each set. In addition to the two Kerry sets, the class also danced the Labasheeda reel set from Clare, which most of them had learned in previous lessons. Pat had intended teaching a waltz cotillion, but decided the floor had become too crowded.

Two couples swing while the other two wait their turn

Top couples swing. Top couples are those with their backs or faces towards the music.They perform the figures of the set first,which are then repeated by the others, who are called side couples.

The dancing is over and the dance floor has been converted back to a bar again

Some women having a drink after the dancing class

Set dancers relaxing after their exertions. Some of them are former line dancers.

A Half Set in a Play

A half set being performed as part of the play,"Out of the Heavens in Showers" written by John Doorty about the life of the late Micho Russell from Doolin.

Irish sets are usually danced with four couples facing each other in a square,which is known as a full set, or with two facing couples, which is known as a half set. I have seen some exceptions to this. In the village of Inagh in county Clare, until about twenty years ago, there was a regular Sunday night session at which I often saw a Caledonian set danced by six couples. This was known as a three-cornered set. In Gleeson's pub in west Clare the set is danced without the figures so that any number of couples can join in.

More set dancers at the Willie Clancy Summer School in July 1999

I have heard of, but never seen, a set danced entirely by men, which is called a buck set. This used to be done, I'm told, because young women were allowed much less freedom than men to socialise, giving rise to a shortage of female partners.Nowadays there is more likely to be an excess of women at set dancing events, and you will often see two women dancing together.

Set Dancing Links

Willie Clancy Summer School

The word "set" refers both to a group of people, usually eight, who dance the figures together, and to the sequence of parts or figures, usually five or six, that make up each dance.

The dancing of sets, both at house dances and public events, remained popular until the 1950s, but then, for a variety of social, political and economic reasons, went into decline. By the early seventies sets were commonly to be seen only in rural parts of Munster, particularly Clare and Kerry, and many people thought they were heading for extinction.

In the 1980s and 90s, however there was a huge revival of interest. Set dancing classes, workshops, ceilis and festivals proliferated throughout Ireland, in both urban and rural settings.There was also great interest abroad, which has lead to set dancing events being organised in other countries, and to many foreigners coming to Ireland to participate in events.

This increase in popularity has caused significant changes in the context of the dancing. Instead of just dancing their own local set, which they have been watching and participating in since childhood, people are now going to classes and learning dances from many different areas. Instead of one or two sets in the corner of a pub, or interspersed with the jives, foxtrots and old time waltzes of a country social dance, you now find whole ceilis in large halls dedicated just to sets. Instead of being just a natural part of social life, set dancing for some people has become a serious hobby involving investment in special equipment and clothes, a great deal of travelling, and the "collection" of as many different dances as possible.

There have also been changes in the form and style of dancing. Some of this is inevitable when people are teaching and learning dances that are not part of their own native repertoire. Part of it , I think, is due to the influence of feminism, in that the women now tend to dance as vigorously as the men, which wasn't formerly the case. The greatest promoter of change, ironically, has probably been the set dancing competitions that were originally introduced in the 70s to preserve the tradition. In converting a social dance into an exhibition form, there has been an understandable tendency to alter the style, figures and footwork to produce a more polished and visually impressive performance.

The most obvious change, and the one most often complained about by traditional dancers, is in the style of battering of the feet to produce an audible rhythm. In the old style set this is done only by men, only during certain parts of the set, and in a subtle and individual style. In the competition set, which has in turn influenced many revival dancers, everyone batters in unison throughout the set, in a standardised style derived from exhibition step dancing. It can be very attractive when done well, but I can tell you from experience that the sound of a whole ceili battering in unison is totally overwhelming.

In contrast there are dance teachers, researchers and enthusiasts who seek out older dancers in order to learn and promote the older regional styles and to revive dances that have fallen into disuse.This variety of styles and influences makes the set dancing scene very interesting, and is probably a sign of it's good health. Whatever your opinion of the set dance revival, it has certainly given a lot of pleasure to a great many people.
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