What is “Old Style” dancing?

On this site, “Old Style” is how I refer to the formalized style of solo step dancing that was standardized in the 19th century by the Irish Dancing Masters. There are multiple terms currently used for this genre of dance, including “Sean nós” and “Munster Style Sean Nós”.

In this type of dance, upper body posture is erect and still, but not stiff. Feet are rarely lifted higher than the knee. Steps are relatively fast and quite complex, and not improvised. Non-percussive old style steps existed at one time, but almost all “Old Style” steps still danced today are percussive.

Because Old Style evolved into the current version of Irish Step Dance (usually referred to as “Irish Dance” in Ireland and “modern Irish Step Dance” in the U.S.), there is a bit of “grey area” between the 2 styles. What we now call “Old Style” used to be the competition style of dance, but is not used in competition today. Today there is a small but growing group of dancers worldwide who have dedicating themselves to learning and preserving the beautiful and graceful choreography of this historic style.

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Joe and Siobyan O’Donovan (Co Cork) dancing old style hornpipes, 1989.

Patrick O’Dea dancing the Old Style Set “The Garden of Daisies,” 2010.