The Story of Irish Dance

This is the first full account of the phenomenon of Irish Dance. It traces the story back to the early accounts of dance customs in medieval Ireland, and then focuses on the developments of the 19th c., and explores how dance played a vital role in the formation of a new national culture. A wealth of colourful anecdotes bring alive the surprisingly strong conflicts which arose in relation to dance- conflicts with puritanical church leaders; between native dancers and bureaucratic instructors; and over what constituted "real" Irish dancing. -- Publisher description