The Sliabh Fraoch set danced at The Gathering

A Set Dance Ceili, it wasn't

Last February, I was at the Micho Russell festival in Doolin, County Clare set dancing to the music of Chris Droney and the Four Courts Ceili Band. At the end of the afternoon, the band leader announced that they would be playing Monday Evening at Vaughn’s Barn in Kifenora, for a special benefit for a priest.

I mentioned to my friend that I would be in Kilfenora on Monday visiting relatives and said that I planned to go to the benefit.

When I arrived at Vaughn’s, I sat near the door to put on my dancing shoes. All of a sudden there was raucous cheering going on outside the main door. You have to understand, that two people would constitute a crowd in Kilfenora at 9PM on a Monday. My curiosity got the better of me and I went to see what all the excitement was. You can imagine my surprise to see hundreds of Priests, Nuns and people in Chinese Kimona’s cheering speaker after speaker, on a makeshift podium, in front of Vaughn’s Pub.

I quickly retreated inside and saw Bill Lynch, the editor of Set Dance News, who was capturing the event with his camera. I asked him about the benefit that was supposed to take place and he told me I was in error, it was not a benefit, it was TedFest 08, a memorial weekend in honor of the Irish hit TV series “Father Ted”

Just then all hell broke loose, the TedFesters all came at once, inside, forming a parade. Those of us who were there to set dance were in shock. The Ted Festers had their own emcee who announced that we were all there for an "Ecumenaceili" and then proceeded to teach the marchers a few Ceili dances, all in costume, of course. Have you ever seen Priests and Nuns, accompanied by Chinese, dance the Stack of Barley?

The Four Courts Ceili Band did play for the event, but I am willing to bet this was one of the more eclectic events that ever participated in.
The look on Chris Droney’s face was priceless. It looked like he was thinking, "how in God's name did this happen to me and when will it end".

After an hour of watching, we decided that it was best to leave Vaughn’s to the TedFest revelers.

A night to remember, but not for the set dancing.

Tony Ryan Workshop in Maine August 5th

There was quite a turnout for master Irish set dance teacher Tony Ryan from Galway, Ireland, last April (2008) at the Maine Set Dancing Weekend hosted by Kathy and Bill Gavin (backs to the camera in this photo; Tony in white shirt opposite holding microphone). Tony will be back in Maine at the Yarmouth Community House, 179 East Main Street, Yarmouth, Maine, for an evening set dancing workshop on Tuesday, August 5th at 6:30 PM. The Greater Portland Set Dancers would like to invite any and all, whether experienced or not, to come to the workshop. Contact Cathy Gavin by email at setdncr02 (at) maine.rr.com for more information.

Irish Dance Master Drills Boston Dancers

The pace was brisk at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton (MA) on Thursday night (7/24/08). Guest dance instructor Patrick O’Dea from Ireland kept the crowds hopping, first the step dancers then the set dancers. Patrick dances and teaches the old style of step dancing, known as sean nos Irish step dancing. “His feet batter in loose shuffles, hops, rocks and drums - complicated and percussive - but graceful, effortless and understated.” [From the Boston Irish Reporter, August 31, 1998 By Kieran Jordan; article archived at Celtic Cafe. I believe the step dance he taught was The Blackbird; as I sat waiting for the set dancing to begin, I watched the dance come together and was inspired into thinking about adding step-dancing lessons to my fall schedule; it looked like so much fun to do.

The set dancers gathered in their groups of eight to learn the Valencia Right and Left [Larry Taylor's Study Notes and Set Dancing News Study Notes]. As explained in “Another Brilliant Weekend by the Windmill” article in Set Dancing News, “this is an easy going set with an unusual ladies chain. Ladies don't touch or chain in the centre they pass each other by and chain with the opposite gent.” The Spanish sounding name had some of the dancers puzzled, but this set is from Valentia Island in the southwest of County Kerry in Ireland. It’s all polkas and the Kerry dancers love their polkas. As the study notes explain, you dance a gliding low-to-floor polka step, with a Ballyvourney-style “double-reverse” or "backup two steps and house" house. It was a fun night and an enjoyable dance that I am sure has gained instant popularity in the Boston area.


The organizers, Jackie and Janine, are shown here with Patrick. [View larger image] Keiran Jordan arranged and promoted the event, and Pat Callahan notified the set dancers on his email list covering Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Together they pulled together the "last minute" step and set dancing workshop with Patrick O'Dea. As you might imagine, word passed quickly among the dancers of the opportunity to learn from a renowned dance teacher.

Tony Ryan, another celebrated Irish dance teacher, will be leading a set dancing workshop in Yarmouth, Maine Saturday, August 2nd 2008 and again the following Tuesday. See the Irish Thymes Google calendar for details.

What a way to spend a hot Saturday in July

The Blackstone Theatre Celtic Festival

Last Saturday, in 95 degree heat, three sets of dancers had great Craic dancing to the fabulous music provided by the Broad Street Ceili band.

The setting for the festival could not have been any better. The Diamond Hill Park is a hidden jewel located in Cumberland RI. As you enter the park, there is a small lagoon, at the back of the lagoon, a permanent stage. Small hills surround the lagoon forming a natural amphitheater, complete with many trees for shade. On the upper left was an additional stage for music and on the upper right, the dance stage.

Barry Callahan was the designated emcee for the day and did a superb job coordinating all the different events at the dance tent. Set Dancing accompanied Irish Step Dancing, Irish Improvisational dances, Ceili dances and a few other styles I was not familiar with.

There were set dancers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, dancing the Sliabh Luchra, Kilfenora, Antrim Squares, and other sets throughout the day. Barry shared some history of sets with the audience: all Clare sets have a social figure where everyone changes partners; the fourth figure of Clare sets is always a Show the Lady, etc. These are some facts that I had never heard before. He also changed the way the Sliabh Luchra was danced to reflect the original version.

On my ride down with friends, I offered to donate for gas. Joe suggested that I buy him a Guinness instead. The deal was struck. The Blackstone River Celtic Festival is family friendly and “dry”. I still owe him the Guinness

All in all, it was a great time.

Frank Lee Irish

Day dreaming about February in July

The Gathering is the perfect spot to be in February. Very little chance of a sunburn, mild weather and “Great Craic”

The Gathering is held annually in Killarney at the Glen Eagle Hotel. The Gathering is an event that features both Irish Set Dancing and Irish Traditional Music. The Set Dancing always starts on Wednesday night with a bus trip to Scartaglen in Sliabh Luchra country . There is more set dancing Thursday at the Glen Eagle and Friday, Saturday evenings and Sunday Afternoon at the Irish National Exhibition Center, next door to the Glen Eagle. The best Ceili bands supply the energetic music

Last year on Wednesday, we decided to change the Wednesday plans to an alternative location, closer to the hotel. A group of us, Nora, Trish, Cynthia, Lou, Martha and Tiag, plus a few dancers from the Burren, did a quick trip to the Grand Hotel in Killarney, for music by the Johnny Reidy Ceili Band. ( If you have never heard Johnny you are missing something, fast and exuberant) Imagine our surprise when we ended up directly in the front of the band. The first set was the Sliabh Fraoch, a set not one person in the group had ever danced or seen before. It was quite a sight, everyone trying to watch over their shoulder to the next group, to see what they were doing, all while the band played a fast paced polka.

Tim Joe and Pat Riordan provided the music on Thursday at the Glen Eagle. On Friday the music was provided by Abbey Ceili Band and on Saturday by the Four Provinces Ceili Band. Sunday, the Allow Ceili band from Cork, a band that won the 2007 All Ireland Ceili Band Competition, was by far and away the most exciting to dance to. The dance floor had roughly 500 dancers for each session, leaving plenty of room for the Kerry Set Dancers to show off their high kicks and jumps, without bumping into any other dancers. The dances were all called by the area’s best teachers, which really helped.

There were Set Dance workshops Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday Morning. The workshops were for all levels, the advanced were taught by Pat Murphy, the beginners by Tim (The Brit) McCarthy, and also a children’s set dance workshop.

If that was not enough there was also a Sean Nos dance workshop for those interested in “Old Style” dancing. Pat Murphy taught the Antrim Squares Set and the Flight of the Earls. Regina and her daughter were in the same set as me for the Saturday classes. Pat called the Antrim Squares at the dance on Saturday night, so it really was worthwhile for us to have attended the workshops.

The concerts were performed by Pauline Scanlon and her Band(Friday), Lúnasa(Saturday) and Máirtín O'Connor, Cathal Hayden and Séamaí O'Dowd(Sunday).Also on stage at the various concerts was Seán Keane of the chieftains with Liam O'Flynn, Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, Jackie Daly, Séamus Creagh and Paul de Grae, Séamus Begley, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Jim Murray ,Jimmy Doyle, Paudie Gleeson and Joe Sullivan, Finbarr Dwyer and Mary Conroy, Paddy Cronin and John Cronin and many others.

We saw a few of the concerts, but many were scheduled at the same time as the Ceili’s

After the Set Dancing and concerts finish, everyone converges on the Glen Eagle. Wherever you could find room, musicians setup an impromptu Seisun. It was a kick to see Regina moving from Seisun to Seisun, lugging her harp. The Seisun’s continued until the wee hours of the morning. The two main pubs were filled to capacity, one had Sean Nos dancers and the other Set Dancers, showing their steps, as well as a combination of amateur musicians and concert performers. The Guiness flowed freely on the weekend nights. Tiag, the Other Tim, Regina and I spent one long night taking in the Guiness, the dancing and the music. (It’s not your average American concert scene with limos and aides. Everyone carries their own instruments: harps, whistles, fiddles, concertinas, accordions etc.)

During the day on Thursday and Friday, Martha, working with John O’Shea, The Gathering’s promoter, organized a group of musicians and dancers for a community outreach program at 12 elementary schools. Nora, Trish, Lou and I were the dancers on Thursday, Cynthia went on Friday. We were accompanied by "Tim O’Shea and Friends" who provided the music. Thursday was one of the highlights of the trip as many of the kids performed for us, while we were in their schools. In fact, there were many who did a more vibrant version of the North Kerry Set than we could do, forcing us to change our choice of dances at the last minute. At one school, one of the dancers did a “broom dance’ that brought the house down. One of the band members, whose name is Jacque, was from Brittany, in France. At each school the kids would shout, “Bonjour Jacque”. To see all smiling Irish faces, dressed in their school uniforms, was priceless. The talent level assures us that Traditional Music and Set Dancing have a long future.

A small world story, even though they live in Killarney, both John and Tim O’Shea attended the same elementary school as me in Massachusetts.

The Gathering dates are February 18-22 2009. If you are planning to attend, there are a few important items you need to be aware of. Bring plenty shirts, they don’t call this “Irish Sweat Dancing”, without good reason. Between sets, the Men’s room looks like a Gym locker room, everyone changing into dry clothes. If you are a Set Dancer, arrive early, all the seats around the floor will be filled ½ hour before the dance starts. If you are going to the concerts, be aware that the times listed are when the “doors open” not the start of the concert, which can occur anytime from 1-1 ½ hours after the doors open.

There are great packages available that include room, breakfast, transportation from/to Shannon, breakfast and all the events, check the www.thegathering.ie .

I can’t wait until “The Gathering 2009”

Frank Lee Irish

The Joy of Sets Blog - Introduction

The Joy of Sets Blog http://www.thejoyofsets.blogspot.com/ was created July 2008 by your hosts: Joy S. Dancer and Frank Lee Irish.

We use the name “The Joy of Sets” because it really does describe how we feel about set dancing. There is a feeling of joy and exhilaration while set dancing. The jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas and slides require an exertion of energy as in physical exercise, but, in addition to the endorphin high, the sharing of smiles and laughter among the dancers while pounding out the beat to traditional Irish music together is its own reward. The challenge of learning new sets can sometimes be frustrating but, once mastered, there is a great feeling of accomplishment and pride - a quiet but joyous satisfaction.

Why a blog? We want to share our love of set dancing with anyone who is interested. A blog is a quick and easy way to post information, photos, and videos about set dancing.

Our names are not really Joy S. Dancer and Frank Lee Irish, in case you didn’t already suspect that; but it doesn’t really matter who we are. We are set dancers. We are enthusiastic. We speak to, for, and about set dancers, set dances, set dancing, and the lively traditional Irish music that goes hand in hand (and foot in toe-tapping foot) with the dances.

Here’s a quick bow to Bill Lynch in recognition of his Set Dancing News (setdancingnews.net) website, his widely acclaimed magazine, and the wonderful photos and stories he has made available to Irish set dancers all over the world. The Joy of Sets Blog is not affiliated with Set Dancing News nor is it connected to Bill Lynch. We acknowledge Bill’s article “The Joy of Sets” published on his website which was (in his own words) “written to explain set dancing to people who are unfamiliar with it and to encourage them to give it at try. It originally appeared in the newsletter Inside Ireland in February 2004 and in Hornpipe magazine in June 2005.”

Signed: Joy S. Dancer