Product Description
Designed by Award Winning Artisan, AQ from County Donegal, Ireland.
Irish dancing has spread in popularity worldwide since the seven minute worldwide debut of "Riverdance" on Eurovision in 1994. Since that time, Irish dancers are no longer defined by location or ethnic descent. In fact, "over 70 million people worldwide class themselves as Irish" (Ó Cinnéide 2002, p.91) and the number of Irish step dancers in North America outnumber Irish dancers in Ireland itself.
* Stunning Solo Dancer Design
* Could also resemble a ballerina
* Great pendant for the Mother, Grandmother, Aunt, Sister etc.
* Every Step Dancer Pendant is not the same
* Artisan, AQ hand cuts each pendant in Ireland
* Made in the West of Ireland in County Donegal
* Solo Female Soft Shoe Dancer adorned on this stunning pendant
* High Polished, Sterling Silver
* Could possibly be engraved
* Complete with gift box
Solo Dancer Soft Shoe Pendant measures 1 5/8" in height and 5/8" in width adorned on an 18" Sterling Silver rolo chain.
Shoes
There are two types of shoes; soft shoes (also known as ghillies) and hard shoes. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, except that the tips and heels are made of fiberglass, instead of metal, and are significantly bulkier. The first hard shoes had wooden or leather taps with metal nails. Later the taps and heels were changed into resin or fiberglass to reduce the weight and to make the sounds louder. The soft shoes, which are called ghillies, are black lace-up shoes. Ghillies are only worn by girls, while boys wear black leather shoes called "reel shoes", which resemble black jazz shoes with a hard heel. Boy's soft-shoe dancing features audible heel clicks. A new trend includes adding white laces to the soft shoes, and white tape to the straps of the hard shoes in order to give the illusion of elongating the legs.
The History
Irish dancing was originally danced by the Druids during pre-Christian times in honor of the oak tree and the sun. They danced in rings which was the pre-cursor to Irish ring dances of today. When the Celts migrated to Ireland from Central Europe, they brought their folk dances which blended with the dance of the Druids to form the distinctive Irish dance of modern times. Men and women roles in Irish dancing developed as a result of the complexity of Irish dance routines.
Separate men and women roles in Irish dancing can be seen in Irish set dancing. In this type of dance, pairs of men and women in four sets stand facing each other along the sides of an imaginary square. Each pair of men and women has different roles in the dance figures and are called by different names. Although Irish set dancing has no cue callers, the men and women are aware of their respective dance roles in the set. All the pairs of men and women begin and end the dance together.
There are certain Irish dances called reels and jigs. The men and women roles in Irish dancing of reels and jigs are determined by the dance form. The footwork of the dancers of both gender must be perfectly coordinated for a flawless presentation. Practice sessions for Irish dancing are therefore rigorous and demanding and require disciplined effort for accomplishment.
