What is the history of irish dancing?
The traditional Irish dance is called the ‘Jig’. It has roots in the period when the English ruled Ireland. They forceably prohibited the Irish from speaking their language, practicing the religion of their choice, and any and all other points of Irish culture. This went on for hundreds of years. One of the ways the Irish preserved what they could of their culture is by practicing their culture right under the noses of the English. For example, the people developed a system of ‘bush schools’. these were schools for Irish children where their native language was used and their culture was taught to them. Many, many of thess schools were discovered, destroyed, and people went to jail. Another example was their dancing. Whenever the Irish had a chance to dance their ‘Jig’, (it was forbidden) they would do so wherein only the top portion of their body was seen by the English. Hence, today a true Irish Jig is performed with feet and hips only. The arms stay to the sides and the head does no
