What is Sean nós dancing?

Pronunciation of “sean”. Pronunciation of “nós”. All together: “sean nós”.

Known by several different names, the genre I refer to as “sean nós” is a solo, improvisational dance style, widely considered to be the vernacular or “street dancing” style of the Irish people in the 19th and very early 20th century. “Sean nós” is an Irish phrase that translates directly to “old style”. However, on this website I follow the common practice of using the Irish term, “sean nós”, and the English term, “old style”, to refer to distinctly different styles/genre.

The sean nós style is danced in a relaxed posture and quite low to the ground. Sean nós is related historically and stylistically to clogging, flatfooting, Canadian step dancing, English clog dancing, and tap dancing. Despite the names, sean nós dancing is not artistically associated with sean nós singing - they both bear the name because they are old styles of the art form.

A vast variety of complicated steps is not required to be an admired sean nós dancer— the emphasis is rather on the grace and rhythmic talent of the dancer. The development of a personal style is also highly valued in sean nós dance, as is close accord with the music and the musician. The sean nós dancer typically considers themselves to be a percussionist.

Distinct regional and family styles exist. Possibly the most well known is the Connemara style. Some people use the term sean nós only to refer to dancing from this region in western Ireland, where the term “sean nós” was first applied to the dance form in 1976. Another style is the “Clare battering” style of dancing, which is closely related to the percussive footwork that is performed by some during the set dances that originate from County Clare. See below for some examples of various dance styles.

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See more Sean nós videos in our REFERENCE VIDEOS section.

Connemara sean nós dancing by the Devane brothers of Connemara, 2009

“Clare battering” style dancing by Aidan Vaughan of Co Clare, 1988.