As our family has gotten more involved in Irish Dance , we have started to purchase Irish Dance videos. Some are great learning tools and some not. We want to give you some REEL HELP in deciding about which Irish Dance Videos would be appropriate for you.
IrishDance: The International Dance Craze |
I purchased these used videos on E-Bay. I paid around $12 with shipping and handling. These have been a great investment! Our daughters love to watch these all the time. They give a great history of Irish Dance from ancient to modern times. These videos give you a peek into what Feisanna are like, (this helped us before our first one), what each dance step is and its rhythm, and other neat information on Irish Dance. The video does show actually Irish dancers dancing different group and solo dances with their beautiful solo dresses on. These videos are great for beginners at any age level. If you grew up in Irish Dance circles, these videos might be a bit boring because you know most of the info. If you want to learn about Irish Dance History without reading a book, these videos are for you. Be warned that the recording sound is not clear and you have to turn the volume up. | |
| By: | Matrix Media, Inc. | |
|---|---|---|
| Year: | 1997 | |
| Running Time: | 60 minutes (2 videos) | |
Celtic Feet with Colin Dunne |
Ges purchased this video for me after Rebekah started taking Irish Dance. The video costs around $20 or you can rent it from your local public library (which was how I first found out about this tape). The whole family enjoys watching Colin Dunne in this video. He is such a talented person and a joy to watch. Frankly, the steps he introduces on the video tape are hard. As a beginner dancer, you will get frustrated with the steps just because you are still learning different steps and techniques in Irish dance. Ges and I tried to learn the slip jig and treble reel portions several years ago and gave up because the steps were complicated We had to stop and rewind the tape many times. Don't get me wrong the steps are creative, but they are complicated for dancers who do not have many years of dancing experience under their belts. The producers of this video seem to assume you have some basic knowledge of Irish Dance. They dive right into a complicated reel step that you would probably not do unless you were in novice or open categories. I talked to an adult Irish Dancer who swore by this video and she said it helped her with her treble jig. I recommend this video for Irish dancers with several years of dancing experience. | |
| By: | Wienerworld Limited | |
| Year: | 1995 | |
| Running Time: | 55 minutes (1 video) | |
Dancing At The Crossroads |
Ges purchased this video for me for our anniversary. This was recommended to us by some of Sheila Ryan's dancers who came to our academy for some workshops. This video has all 30 Ceili dances on it. As each dance is introduced, the dance named is listed, music to be played with the dance, number of bars, etc. At the beginning of the video, each part of each dance is broken down and danced. As the video progresses, only the new or difficult steps are danced. This is a bit frustrating to me because I would like to see the whole dance not just the pieces. You can rewind back to that section and see that part danced. This video does give you the feel for the dances. The dancers were very talented and great to watch! This is a good video for serious Ceili dancers and candidates for their TCRG's. This could get frustrating for beginner Ceili dancers who need to see the whole dance performed. | |
| By: | Sheila Ryan | |
| Year: | 1999 | |
| Running Time: | 1 hour, 10 minutes (1 video) | |
World Irish Dancing Championships(Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne)25th Anniversary, Dublin Ireland (American Version) |
I found this video at a feis in North Carolina. This video shows some of the Worlds when it was held in Dublin, Ireland in 1999. This video gives you a feel for what the Worlds are all about. There are interviews with competitors and teachers. The video only shows certain recalls on each age group and limited group and drama dances. They basically shortened Worlds to the most interesting parts in a 90 minute video. I love watching this video to see the different steps and it gives me ideas for improving by steps. I wish they had the whole week of Worlds on this video, but that would end up with several videos instead of one. I recommend this video to Irish dancers of all ages and levels and to anyone else that enjoys watching Irish dance. | |
| By: | Trend Studios | |
| Year: | 1999 | |
| Running Time: | 1 hour, 30 minutes (1 video) | |
Irish Dancing Made Easy |
Ges and I found this video in a small Irish store in the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The instructor, Seamus Kerrigan, breaks down the steps into small pieces and goes over them multiple times, slowly speeding them up as he goes. Three soft shoes and one hard shoe dance is introduced. The hornpipe is left out. The whole step is performed at the end of the instruction, which is a bit frustrating if you like to know what the dance should look like. The dancers know their steps but they look like as if in pain during the dance instruction. NO enjoyment, which might send a wrong signal about the love of Irish dance. Overall, I recommend this tape for beginners and advanced beginners of all ages. The instructor also gives tips on points, posture, and other details of Irish dancing. | |
| By: | REGO Irish Records and Tapes, Inc. | |
| Year: | 1993 | |
| Running Time: | 1 hour (1 video) | |
Irish Dancing Step By Step Vol. I & II |
I really enjoy Olive Hurley's videos and I always ask for them for special occasions. There are not many video series for serious Irish dancers and she seems to fill the void with these. Vol. I is soft shoe dances and Vol. II are three hard shoe dances plus two traditional set dances. Olive Hurley shows the steps several times and then lets her dancers perform the step without and with music. At the end of the session of each step, the dancers perform it as a show step with their solo costumes on. This could be frustrating if you like to see the dance performed completely through before learning the steps. In Vol. II, she goes over the basic steps of hard shoes before diving into the steps of the dance. The sound quality on the video is poor. At times, the camera person insisted on showing the faces of the dancers instead of their feet. The dancers, however, were superb and they looked like they enjoyed dancing! I would recommend these videos to anyone trying to get started with Irish dancing especially Vol. I. Anyone who has been dancing for awhile would easily pick up these steps. For Vol. II, I would wait until you start hard shoes before you attempt the steps or you might get frustrated. |
|
| By: | Olive Hurley | |
| Year: | ||
| Running Time: | n/a (2 videos) | |
Irish Dancing Step By Step, Vol III |
This was a great idea for a video -- the 8 Traditional Set Dances. I have not found traditional set dances in written or viewable format until now. I think these dances were only in teachers head. So this was a great idea for a video. My daughter and I sat down to watch this video because she wanted to learn St. PatrickÕs Day and she had not been taught this yet. We both liked the way Ms. Hurley taught the step with the help of some dancers. She then lets the dancers perform the dances in street clothes and then in their solo dresses. My daughter learned the whole set dance to find out that our dance school does some of the moves differently. This might be a problem if your school teaches some moves differently than Ms. Hurley. I would not get this video for anyone under Novice level. Traditional set dances in competition are required at the Open level and students should have some hard shoe experience before attempting them. Be sure to check with your teacher if you learn these set dances to make sure that is the way they want you to dance them. | |
| By: | Olive Hurley | |
| Year: | 2001? | |
| Running Time: | n/a | |
Ceili Dancing Step by Step Vols. 1-4 |
Each video has about 8 Ceili dances on them. This is a great way to see what the dance looks like before you start to learn it, especially for younger dancers. Ms, Hurley teaches each step and the dancers dance them. At the end of the teaching time, she has the dancers perform the whole dance in street clothes and in costume. Ms. Hurley uses different groups of dancers for each dance on the video. She also tells you the music and a bit of history about each dance that adds flavor to the videos. Be warned that when learning the Ceilis that the counts for the different steps may be different than what your teachers will teach you. But, all the steps will be the same. Many teachers-to-be have used these videos to train for the TCRG test. I think these are great for any level and age group. |
|
| By: | Olive Hurley | |
| Year: | ||
| Running Time: | ||
Shrek |
You are probably wondering why I put this video here. Well, if you haven't seen it yet, there is a 5 second Treble Reel performed by Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Ges and I were laughing so hysertically that we rewound this section many, many times to analyze the steps. I recommend the video only for the Treble Reel part, especially if you are feeling down about your dancing. It will perk you up! | |
| By: | Dreamworks | |
|---|---|---|
| Year: | 2001 | |
| Running Time: | ||
It's The Pied Piper, Charlie Brown |
The kids and I really like Snoopy, probably from watching all those specials on TV when I was a child. Anyway, we picked out some videos to watch while I curled hair for a show. In the video, a town is taken over by sports minded mice. In one sequence, mice come out onto a library table and perform a Riverdance-style hard shoe chorus dance with Riverdance-like music. The kids and I were floored! I loved that they considered Irish Dancing a sport. Thank you Mr. Producer. Dancers and Non-Dancers will love this video. It's great for motivation or for hair curling! | |
| By: | United Feature Syndicate Inc. | |
| Year: | 2000 | |
| Running Time: | 25 minutes | |
Riverdance -- The Show(Live from the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland) |
Yes, when Clan Seger needs some motivation for our dancing, guess what we put on. Now, watch out when you rent or buy Riverdance because there are different videos out depending on the cast, place or show numbers in the video. This video has Michael Flatley and the orginal cast, but it excludes both one song and the "Trading Taps" routine with the street dancers. Beware of these differences. I have also liked Riverdance because of how it uses Irish dance steps and modernizes it a little without destroying or harming them. You can't help but get motivated after seeing Mr. Flatley racing across the stage and enjoying every step he takes or Jean Butler twirling around like an Irish princess . I also like the other dances that Irish dances have influenced through the "Flight of the Wild Geese" (emigration of native Irish to other countries). If you are an Irish dancer, this is a must in your collection just to remind you why you are dancing! | |
| By: | Tyrone/RTE | |
| Year: | 1995 | |
| Running Time: | 1 hour, 11 minutes (1 video) | |
Riverdance -- Live From New York City |
Yes, another motivational tape for Clan Seger! I want to include this version because it includes Colin Dunne, not Michael Flatley. Colin Dunne has such a precise and crisp style which is totally different from Michael Flatley's. It is interesting to be able to compare both styles while enjoying them for their similarities and differences. This Riverdance seems to have more Ceili dances and includes a story of a native Irish boy emigrating to the United States, which gives it a different and more cohesive story for some to follow compared with the first versions. The original numbers that were omitted from previous productions are included. My favorite is the "Trading Taps" routine. I think all the dancers had fun doing this dance, especially the street tappers. This is a less flamboyant Riverdance but it is still great! | |
| By: | Tyrone Productions | |
| Year: | 1997 | |
| Running Time: | 1 hour, 42 minutes (1 video) | |
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns |
After dancing at many shows one St. Patrick's Day, we sat down and caught this TV movie on the Sci-Fi Channel while channel-surfing. It seemed to be about two warring clans of leprechauns who were so concerned about going to war they forgot their duties to nature. In one scene, where the fun-loving clan was preparing for battle the next day, there was an Irish Dance scene. While mostly in the background, it appears to have cute treble reel choreography. If you can catch this on TV around St. Patrick's Day, it'll tickle you green! | |
| By: | Hallmark Entertainment | |
| Year: | 1999 | |
| Running Time: | 2 hours? (made for TV movie) | |
The Emperor's New Groove |
Even though it takes place in Inca Peru, there is (believe it or not) a brief Irish Dancing sequence in it! It's during the opening song while the Emperor (before he gets turned into a llama) is singing and dancing his theme song. Toward the end of the theme song, the Emperor's guards do a simple treble reel to a 1960sish motown/groove tune. It's only a couple of seconds, but it's there! | |
| By: | Disney | |
| Year: | 2000 | |
| Video | ||
Chicken Run |
Don't Laugh! There is a short scene of a form of Irish Dance. And yes, Ges thinks I'm stretching on this one [what do you mean "think," kemosabe? -ges3] At the very end of the movie [MAJOR SPOILER ALERT] the chickens have all successfully escaped from the farm at which they were to be butchered [END MAJOR SPOILER ALERT]. The Irish dancing scene takes place on a chicken preserve in the English countryside. The chickens are dancing and having a party. On the beams of the building, the young chicks are doing a simple treble reel. They were extremely good at keeping their wings at their side and under control. IDTANA would be proud! Yeah, it's short -- but it's cute. Just be patient, because the scene is at the very end. | |
| By: | Aardman Animations/DreamWorks | |
| Year: | 2000 | |
| Video | ||