Book Description
This digital document is an article from Irish Literary Supplement, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2007. The length of the article is 1643 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Gotta dance!(Irish Moves: An Illustrated History of Dance and Physical Theatre in Ireland)
Author: Sally K. Sommers Smith
Publication: Irish Literary Supplement (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 27Issue: 1Page: 6(1)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Irish Literary Supplement, published by Irish Studies Program on March 22, 2003. The length of the article is 2291 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The bronx is up, the battery is down.(Five Points: the 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Inverted Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum)(Book Review)
Author: Hasia R. Diner
Publication: Irish Literary Supplement (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2003
Publisher: Irish Studies Program
Volume: 22Issue: 1Page: 8(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description
From the 1940s to the mid-1960s, on several evenings a week, thousands of Irish and Irish Americans flocked from miles around to the huge, bustling dance halls -- the Intercolonial, the Hibernian, Winslow Hall, the Dudley Street Opera House, the Rose Croix -- that dotted Boston's Dudley Square. For the city's Irish population, the Roxbury neighborhood, with its ballrooms and thriving shopping district, was a vital center of social and cultural life, as well as a bridge from the old world to the new.

See You at the Hall brings to life the rich history of the "American capitol of Galway" through the eyes of those who gathered and performed there. In this engaging look back at Boston's golden era of Irish traditional music, Susan J. Gedutis deftly weaves together engaging narrative with spirited personal reminiscences to trace the colorful dance hall period from its beginnings in 1940s Roxbury, when masses of young Irish flooded Boston following World War II, through its peak years in the 1950s, to its decline in the 1960s, when reduced immigration, urban social upheaval, and a shift in neighborhood demographics brought an end to the heyday of Irish dance hall music in Boston. After the last dance hall closed, Dudley Square musicians moved from the big ballrooms to pubs, social clubs, and private parties, preserving the music and passing it on to younger generations of Irish performers.

Today, Irish traditional music is experiencing a major revival, and Boston still boasts a lively Irish music scene. This vivid portrait of the enduring and vibrant heritage of the dance hall era will rekindle memories of the good times in Dudley Square, and it will fascinate the legion of fans around the globe interested in the roots of the Irish music they hear today in concert halls, pubs, and clubs. The book also recounts an important period, as yet unchronicled, in the history of Irish music in America, and of the Irish in the diaspora. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

History of Boston through the eyes of those who performed
From the1940s to the mid-1960s, several evenings a week, thousands of Irish and Irish Americans flocked to Boston's dance halls on Dudley Square to enjoy an unparalleled social scene of music, dance, and shopping. Musician and music book editor Susan Gedutis is also a performer of traditional Irish music in the New England area, and she's the logical author to add rich detail and social history to See You At The Hall, a probe of the history of Boston through the eyes of those who performed there. Narratives weave with social history to make for a compelling study in See You At The Hall.

Settle In, and I'll Tell You a Story
Would you like a cup of tea? How about a slice of soda bread? This book is as warm, lively, and fun as an Irish family gathering. Though the author is a music scholar, this book is refreshingly free of the weighty tone of most academic works--the writing is smooth, informed, and accessible, the tone affectionate. Ms. Gedutis has interviewed many performers and fans about this era, and their recollections are amusing, poignant, and nothing if not sincere. Not only do they recall strong images of a lost city, but they place the music in historical context: as the author points out, when the Irish first came to America, music halls--like social clubs, pubs, and church groups--were just one of the"meeting places" where new immigrants could relax among their own as they tackled the routine problems of life.The Irish well know the power of story and song-- in relating our history, in affirming our personal and collective identity, and in establishing a foundation of shared experience and hope in building a community.

Ms. Gedutis refuses to paint the tale with a broad brush, however. She addresses the social and cultural forces that less informed authors might miss. One example is the tension between some Irish and Irish-American musicians. The former apparently felt that the latter, not born of the Sod,weren't "real"Irish musicians. This view was heartily countered by Irish Americans, who pointed out that many of the "real" musicians couldn't read music. On the argument went, while people danced in the background.

In recalling this era, this book can't help but make one wonder if, in a world where Play Station and cable tv isolate us from one another, perhaps more of us (of all ethnic backgrounds), need to "go to the hall," to reconnect with our neighbors and friends for a dance, a drink, and a bit of chat.(Of course,the photo of Cardinal Cushing doing the Highland Fling is itself worth the price of the book.) ... Read more

Book Description

Product Description
Illustrated with color photographs. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a book containing seventy Irish traditional dance and session tunes transcribed from 3 albums by premier Irish cÈilö band, Shaskeen: The Joys of Life, Shaskeen Live, and Atlantic Breeze. Along with arrangements which are suitable for most melody instruments, there are chord symbols for guitarists, pianists, or accordionists plus photographs, copious notes and cross-references, which go a long way to filling in the background to the tunes, encouraging the musician to look further. The tunes in this and its companion book, The Crossroads Dance, are those currently being played in Irish sessions, which was the inspiration for producing them. The music is in sensible keys, usefully and legibly laid out, accurately notated, and easy to read. ... Read more

Book Description
A concise and fully illustrated introduction to the principles and practice of Eurythmy, the new art of movement initiated by Rudolf Steiner at the turn of the century. A brief survey of dance from its origin in the ancient mysteries to is contemporary forms places Steiner's ideas in their historical context. His insight into the hidden laws of movement--a realm of formative forces designated by Steiner as the etheric--is described and explained. Eurythmy is shown to be speech and music made visible, an objectively artistic expression of the spirit of word and tone.

Aspects of eurythmy training and stage performance are discussed, along with the important role of eurythmy in both education and therapy.

From the Rudolf Steiner's Ideas in Practice series. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume contains Parts I and II of the original works. The purpose of this book is primarily practical. Its design is to place before those who are interested in the revival of our national dances some examples of a particular type of folk dance which has not perviously attracted the attention of collectors, and to present these in such a form that they may be learned without the aid of a special instructor and by those who have never seen the dances performed. No trouble was spared to note the dances with all possible accuracy, and to find simple and unambiguous language in which to describe them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Sword Dances of Northern England
The Sword Dances of Northern England, originally published in 3 volumes between 1911 and 1913, was the definitive book on the somewhat obscure traditional hilt-and-point sword dances of England, namely the longsword dance of Yorkshire and the rapper dance from the area around Newcastle upon Tyne in the old counties of Northumberland and County Durham. Both of these traditional dances are performed by revival teams spread across both the UK and USA, as well as some traditional teams in their home areas of England - keeping their local traditions alive.

Although Ivor Allsop's book "Longsword Dances" has now supplanted it as the best book on longsword, it remains the definitive guide to rapper, although there were some inaccuracies and in his introductory chapter he tries to draw conclusions about the origins of the dance that are not tenable from the evidence he presents. Although it would be possible to perform the dances based on the information in this book alone, it would be very difficult and I doubt performers would be able to get the style right unless they had seen the dance performed before.

The book has long been out of print - I believe the last reprint was in 1977. This reprint is of volumes 1 and 2 only, and appears to be a photostat of the original printing. It is unfortunate that volume 3 was not included, and the quality of the reprints of Sharp's photographs of the contemporary dancers is very poor. For this reason I have docked a star.

The reprint therefore contains notations for the Kirkby Malzeard, Grenoside, Sleights and Flamborough longsword dances, and the Swalwell, Earsdon and Beadnell rapper dances. There is also a notation for the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, which seems somewhat out of place! Unfortunately, the very popular Winlaton rapper dance was in volume 3 and is not included in this reprint.

In conclusion, a fair effort and well worth the low price compared with copies of older prints from antiquarian booksellers, but it is a shame they could not have included the third volume as well. ... Read more