What is Irish Set Dancing?
Set dances* are group dances characterized by set patterns danced by 4 couples in a square. Dances consist of 3 to 7 distinct parts, called “figures”, with very short breaks between (a minute or two). Each dance hails from a specific village or region, and regions have distinct styles which are reflected in the music and the steps used for the set. Sets from Cork and Kerry, for example, strongly feature polkas and slides, and are danced with a polka step (very similar to the polka seen in ballroom dancing), while those from Clare feature mostly reels and jigs, and are danced with a step that - very unlike the polka - goes “up on the downbeat.”
There are 4 basic types of footwork used in sets, with infinite optional variations. Many sets are danced with percussive steps, especially those sets from Co Clare, where the reel figures can be highly percussive.
*The term “set dance” is also used for a very different style of dance - a subset of the solo step dances that are unique because they are danced to a specific tune (piece of music), and contain a “set piece”, which has a specific choreography. The old versions of these dances are covered on this site under “Old Style Dancing".
