Chapter Seven

IRISH STEP DANCING DRESSES:

STYLES AND THEIR CIRCULATION AS COMMODITIES

Present-day Irish step dancing solo dresses, which are the costumes worn by

female championship dancers, can be stunning and somewhat dumbfounding to the

uninitiated. For example, Jessica Tomell-Presto, who was, in the late 1990s and early

2000s, a doctoral student and an adult student of Irish step dancing, recounted her first

visit to a feis and her reactions to the solo dresses in particular, saying, “When I was

finally at the feis, the sea of identical curls and the outrageous colors of the costumes

were shocking. I stood gaping at the dancers… The dresses were gaudy. The amount of

sequins and glitter reminded me of a Las Vegas nightclub” (101). Tomell-Presto’s

comments clearly come from a middle class point of view about display of the female

dancing body. Nonetheless, her reactions are not necessarily unusual. Irish step dancing

costumes have developed in very unique and specific ways. Furthermore, the pace of

these changes has accelerated in the wake of Riverdance. The following chapter provides

a rough chronology of developments in the style and construction of Irish step dancing

costumes, with a particular focus on the 1990s and the 2000s. The final sections of the

chapter describe and assess developments in accessories such as wigs, tiaras, false tan,

and makeup.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOLO DRESSES PRIOR TO 1990

According to John Cullinane, solo dresses were adopted by a large number of

dancers in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Prior to this point, it was usual for a dancer to

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wear a school dress for all competitions. According to Cullinane, one of the functions of

the solo dress was to “confuse adjudicators” (1996: 53). That is, when dancers could be

identified according to their school dress, some adjudicators would discriminate against

or in favor of dancers from a particular school. When dancers could not be identified

according to their school, they faced less of this type of discrimination. Through the

1970s and 1980s, according to Cullinane, “most dancers posess[ed] more than one solo

costume” (1996: 53). However, as dresses became increasingly complex, the cost of

dancing dresses became so high as to prohibit this practice (1996: 53). In the 1970s and

1980s, and even into the early 1990s, it was not unusual for dancers’ solo dresses to be

made in the home, often by mothers or other relatives. However, since the late 1980s,

commercial dressmakers have increasingly manufactured dancing dresses. In the twenty-

first century, dancers rarely own homemade dresses.

Embroidery has been used on dancing dresses since the 1920s. According to

Cullinane, “up to the mid 1980s embroidery was still very modest in quantity, style and

colour. Since the mid 1980s, the amount of embroidery on female Irish step dancing

costumes has increased about ten fold” (1996: 49). Cullinane states that appliqué was

introduced “as recent as the late 1980s” (1996:49). According to Frank Whelan, who

describes costuming in his 2000 book, The Complete Guide to Irish Dance, the most

popular fabrics for solo dresses in the 1980s were dark navy and black velvet. Whelan

suggests that these colors were popular because “dark colours showed off the embroidery

at its best” (41). Class or school dresses were, in contrast to solo dresses, sometimes

made out of polyester, wool, or gabardine, came in a variety of colors, and featured less

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embroidery. Crochet cuffs and collars were also commonplace on both class and solo

dresses in the 1980s and early 1990s. Dancing dresses were often decorated with crystals

or diamantes. These would be glued or hammered onto the dress at key places in the

embroidery pattern.

In the 1980s and early 1990s in the Western United States Region, patterns for a

variety of solo and school dresses were sometimes created out of modified cheerleading

dress patterns. Some dancers continue to make less elaborate “performance dresses” out

of these patterns (http://www.dance.net/topic/6776331/1/Irish/Performance-

Dresses.html&replies=7). However, dress patterns in Ireland that were commercially

available were much more explicitly oriented towards Irish dancing

(http://www.btinternet.com/~mooresofderryie/irish_dancing.htm). Patterns for solo dress

appliqué and embroidery in the late 1980s were commercially available through Irish step

dancing markets. One such design company was Seven Gates. A dressmaker

(professional or family) could iron on these patterns and then hand-embroider over them,

directly onto the material of the dress. Some dressmakers were producing costumes

commercially at this time, but the proportion of dresses that were made in the home

versus those made by commercial dressmakers remains unknown. Photographic evidence

from both Cullinane and my own personal collection suggests that dresses were made by

hand more often in the early 1980s, that commercial dressmakers gained more

prominence in the 1980s, and that by approximately the mid-1990s the proportion of

dancers wearing homemade dresses was becoming significantly less than those wearing

commercially produced ones.

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 Irish step dancing costumes have never ceased to change and develop. Historic

dress trends for the twentieth century are extensively documented by John Cullinane in

his 1996 book, Irish Dancing Costumes: Their Origins and Evolution. Some of these

changes can be connected to contemporaneous fashion trends. For example, many dresses

resemble contemporaneous school uniforms. In addition, dancing dresses of the 1930s

feature starker linear designs. In contrast, the growing height and curliness of hair in the

1980s resembles the vogue for perms during that period. However, many of the dancing

dress trends seem to have evolved within their own, specific, Irish dancing paradigm—

which was nevertheless continually being updated. The styles of dancing dresses worn in

the 1920s would have been out of place in the 1940s, and those from the 1940s would

have been outdated in the 1960s. However, the pace of change in these eras seems to

have been far slower than the pace of the 1990s and the 2000s. This increase in rate of

stylistic change may be attributable to a variety of factors, including the increasing

professional production of Irish step dancing costumes, the impetus (provided by the

transition from class dresses to solo dresses) to create individualized designs, and

increasing communication and contact among dancers through major championships and,

in the turn of the millenium, media sources such as magazines and the internet.

IRISH STEP DANCING DRESSES FROM THE EARLY 1990S AND LATE 2000S:

TWO DECADES OF RAPID CHANGE

Riverdance emerged in 1994, and after its debut, Irish step dancing became

increasingly popular. The emergence of Riverdance in this year is also important because

it coincides with the beginnings of a trend of massive growth in the Irish economy known

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as the Celtic Tiger. Finally, the internet began to be more widely used on a global scale in

the mid to late 1990s, as access grew throughout the developed world, and it impacted

consumption trends worldwide. It is the contention of this thesis that all three of these

phenomena had an impact on Irish step dancing costuming styles.

Coincidentally, 1994 was also the year in which An Coimisiún celebrated the

twenty-fifth anniversary of the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, or World Championships.

This event is unique in that it was videotaped and the videotapes of the event were sold to

the consumer market by teacher Olive Hurley, A.D.C.R.G, under the title World Irish

Dancing Championships (Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne): 25th Anniversary. The act of

releasing a videotape may not seem unique in an era where sports competitions, including

gymnastics and figure skating, were regularly broadcast on television. However, Irish

step dancing rules specifically forbid the videotaping of competitions. Thus, it is unusual

for Irish step dancing events to be offered on videotapes. Because the championships of

1994 were documented in this manner, there is much more information available about

this particular event than there is for most major championships.

The World Championships of 1994 were held only weeks before the Riverdance

segment was performed at the Eurovision Song Contest. Thus, these World

Championships were the last major Irish step dancing events held before the emergence

of the Riverdance phenomenon. Because of the multiple factors that the year 1994

represents, it seems an adequate place to begin an analysis of trends and changes that

have appeared in Irish step dancing costumes in recent times.

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 The video of the 25th Anniversary shows competitors at the Worlds wearing a

variety of costumes featuring extensive embroidery, appliqué, and crystals. Although the

dancing dresses worn by competitors in the World Championships of 1994 are quite

elaborate taken on their own merits, it should be noted that in comparison to those of the

twenty-first century the dresses of 1994 were much duller and more demure. However,

some, such as John Cullinane, already considered Irish step dancing costumes in the early

and mid-1990s to be excessively ornate and specialized.

Although other materials are apparent, the champion dress worn by many dancers

in the 1994 World Championships (as displayed in the videographic evidence) was made

of heavy velvet with a princess bodice, a crochet collar, a split panel in the front of the

full skirt, and an embroidered shawl lined with satin. The dresses ranged in color but

most dress bases were somber blacks or blues, or slightly brighter reds and whites. There

was also the occasional green dress, such as the one worn by (future Riverdance lead)

Jean Butler.

The dresses were decorated with Celtic birds and animals, as well as knotwork

inspired by the Book of Kells. Some of these dresses were machine embroidered, and

others were hand embroidered. Though the dresses were relatively similar in silhouette

and design, each dress had its own individual features. A dress may have had a scalloped

shawl, a shiny silver lining, appliqué, an acid green satin lining, a silver or gold shawl or

appliqué, a gusset in the sleeve, a differentiated cuff, a pleated lining, or a military-style

collar. However, these features peeked through from the insides and ends of the dresses;

they were not the central aspect of any particular costume.

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 1994 World Champions Aoife Curley and Fiona Harold wore very distinct

dresses. Each was made of orange velvet and black velvet, with the middle panel and

bodice contrasting with the outer panels conveying the impression of a stripe down the

middle. The dresses featured machine embroidery and a contrasting band of orange

velvet around the hem, and each had distinctive embroidered cuffs. The machine

embroidery on Fiona Harold’s dress showed a graphic image instead of knotwork. The

two dresses stood out clearly from the crowd as a new and emerging trend.

In comparison, the Riverdance costume aesthetic of the same year was both

glamorous and stripped down. In many ways, it was the antithesis of contemporary Irish

step dancing costumes. Some championship Irish step dancers initially favored

Riverdance-style dresses, which were shorter—to the middle of the thigh, as opposed to

the knee—streamlined, and focused on lush fabrics and graphically spartan designs.

These dresses were not embroidered, but rather were adorned with glittering textures.

Rather than being heavily stiffened, the skirts on these dresses flared subtly from the hip.

According to Martha Robb, a few Riverdance-style costumes were seen at the World

Championships in 1997 (31). The reaction of An Coimisiún was to quickly make sure

that Irish step dancing costumes did not go the route of Riverdance by mandating the

length of dresses and the types of acceptable fabrics. Although simpler, albeit longer,

Riverdance-style dresses are still used by adult dancers in competition today and by some

schools in shows, they have largely been ignored by champion step dancers who continue

to wear enhanced “traditional” solo dresses.

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Irish Step Dancing Dress Changes From the Late 1990s to the Mid-to-Late 2000s

During the last few years of the 1990s, Irish step dancing costumes changed

swiftly and significantly. Muted velvet and satin fabrics, accompanied by embroidered

emblems resembling the Book of Kells emblems, gave way to a succession of trends

including cartoons, glitter ball fabric, and lamé appliqué. Comparatively somber and soft

hues and fabrics gave way to an ever-increasing shine, which grew more intense in the

early 2000s. Later in the 2000s, dancing dresses began to be more abstract in design and

began to include a wider variety of fabric textures. The main changes in solo dress design

that I have observed and gathered from a variety of media are detailed in a chart.

Source material from that informs the chart data includes Irish step dancing

magazines such as Irish Dancing Magazine and Hornpipe Magazine, messageboards

such as Dance.net, and personal experience from competing in Irish dancing from 1992

to 2003, and also attending major championships such as the Nationals and the

Oireachtas in 2005 and 2006. In these latter championships, I spent hours in the rooms set

aside for costume re-sale, going through all of the dresses and photographing many, as

well as observing prices and making note of manufacturers.

There is also a wealth of websites dedicated to the sale of Irish dancing dresses.

Some of these are managed by particular designers and companies, such as Gavin

Doherty (http://www.gavindoherty.co.uk/), Elevation Design (http://www.elevation-

design.co.uk/), and Siopa Rince Teoranta (http://www.sioparince.com/). However, there

are also a number of websites that re-sell used dancing dresses, such as Dance-again.com

(http://www.dance-again.com)—in operation from 2001 to present/2008—and The Irish

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Dance Exchange (http://www.irishdancingexchange.com/)—in operation from 2005 to

present/2008.

There are several websites that offer professional pictures from competitions

ranging from major Irish step dancing championships to local feiseanna, including

Universal Event Photography (http://www.universaleventphoto.com/), which is a

company that is frequently contracted for the North American Nationals and for regional

Oireachtasi. Finally, the website for the World Irish Dancing Championships

(http://www.worldirishdancing.com/), which was introduced in 2007, includes daily

photographic commentaries of the events in the championships.

For the sake of simplification, many of the trends observed have been

consolidated into a chart following a linear time progression. Although there is a certain

margin of error in the choice to assign one trend to one point in time, and exclude

another, I provide this chart to detail some of the scope of designs, fabrication methods,

and materials used in Irish dancing costumes during the period, as well as the rapidity

with which dancing dresses changed.

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Chart Eight—Irish Dancing Trends from the Mid-1990s to the Late 2000s

Period Popular or Widespread Stylistic Changes

Mid Storybook designs including those depicting Irish mythology, as well as
1990s cartoons. Velvet in bright colors including oranges, yellows, pinks, and
blues. Lime green and other neons. Often highly contrasting fabric
combinations. Increasing use of appliqué. Mandarin collars and decorated,
separate cuffs.
Late Increasing use of glitterball fabrics (with shiny discs of colored plastic that
1990s are bonded to a plain synthetic background)—first used in shawls and
and Early appliqué, but later incorporated into the body of the dress. Increasing use of
2000s silk for the base of the dress, often in the form of silk dupioni or silk
shantung. Dresses becoming physically less heavy and less insulative.
Experimentation with metallic fabrics, including metallic silk and metallic
cotton, for the base of the dress. Lace was also used, especially on sleeves.
Increasing Use of Vilene and other stiffening materials in skirt.
Experimentation with cutting shawls (or their edges) into geographic shapes.
2002- Thick graphic appliquéd knotwork comes back into vogue. More abstract
2004 imagery—very few cartoons or Celtic animals. Increasing decoration of
sleeves and skirt linings. Experiments with asymmetrical color designs.
Fabric range expanded dramatically, to include fish scale sequins, square
glitterball, holographic glitterball and sequins, sequined chiffon, metallic
brocade, rocky lamé, liquid lamé, holographic lamé, patterned spandex, and
organza, including glitter, crystal and twinkle organza. In addition,
dressmakers began to make use of a far wider array of patterned fabrics, such
as fabrics featuring leopard print, zebra print, checks, stripes, tie-dye, and
polka dots. Shaped hems, collars, and shawls, with geographic cutouts along
edges. Waistlines become elongated or lowered.
2004- Repetitive appliqué designs such as stars, flowers, or diamonds. In these
2007 dresses, the same image would be placed many times over the entire dress,
for example in a checkerboard pattern. The amount of the dress covered in
knotwork decreased. Fewer colors used. Significantly more textured
materials and trims used, including fur, ruffles, feathers, three-dimensional
appliqués such as flowers, beading, layering of fabrics, and textural patterns.
A wide variety of modifications to the silhouette of dancing dresses. Prior to
these years, there were few modifications made to the overall shape of the
dress. As opposed to panels, some dresses now feature a wrap-style skirt, or
tunic-style dresses, which are worn over tutus or puffball underskirts. Some
dresses have numerous panels extending from them. All of these styles of
dress remain heavily stiffened. Experimentations with the silhouette of the
bodice, for example adding an impression of a faux sweetheart neckline to a
princess bodice. Velvet has returned as an acceptable material, especially in
the bodice area, and soft, flowing shawls returned.

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Brands, Mass Manufacture, and the Bids for Individuality

Many dresses in the 1990s were still manufactured as unique designs that were

composed for a particular dancer. However, some dressmakers began to offer ready to

wear dresses that featured designs that were repeated from dress to dress. Drafting a new

design for every single dress is a complicated endeavor that requires a great deal of effort

and skill. However, the graphic (cartoon) nature of some of these designs made them

easily recognizable. Examples of this phenomenon included dresses from Seven Gates

Designs of Drogheda. According to Irish dancing dress historian Martha Robb, “At the

World Championships of 1996, Seven Gates Designs launched a new range of designs

based on the legends of the Salmon of Knowledge, the Death of Brian Ború, Setanta and

the Hound of Culann and the Legend of Gráinne and Dairmuid” (29). The mass-

production of dresses in repeated designs lowered some of the costs associated with the

manufacture of dancing dresses, enabling cheaper prices. However, among dancers there

is a strong negative taboo associated with performing in a dress that is identical to

someone else’s Irish step dancing dress. Although evidence on this point is drawn from

personal experience and dialogue, dancers seem to be very wary of wearing a dress

exactly similar to another in the area, and, indeed, some dancers place restrictions on

resale. A dress whose reputation was garnered by an association with a particular dancer

generally will not be sold in the same region, because dancers do not want to wear

dresses that can be instantly recognized. This preference raised conflicts, and continues to

do so, between the constraints imposed by a family’s income and the desire to have a

dress that is as individualized as possible.

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 During the 1990s, individual design companies began to be known as “brands.”

These “brands are given preference on resale websites and are heavily discussed on

messageboards. These companies developed specific aesthetics that could be recognized

by dancers, teachers, and adjudicators. Threads of Green and Thomond Dancewear are

some of the brands that Martha Robb cites from the mid- to late-1990s (29). Threads of

Green was so popular that dancers often had to sit on a waiting list for up to two years to

get a dress from the company. The company Siopa Rince also emerged during the late

1990s as a design powerhouse whose dresses were highly sought after. The reputations of

these particular companies were solidified by media coverage in the newly emerged Irish

Dancing Magazine, which was launched in January/February of 1998.

In the present, there continue to be certain companies whose costumes are highly

sought after and are often quite expensive. In 2007, three of the most powerful design

houses are Siopa Rince, Gavin Doherty (Eire Designs), and Elevation Designs. Dancers

at the top levels of the World Championships often wear dresses by these designers—but

the prices of these dresses ($1800 and upwards) are quite prohibitive for some dancers.

IRISH STEP DANCING ACCESSORIES—WIGS, CROWNS, MAKEUP, AND

FALSE TAN

In the post-Riverdance era, a range of products and beauty treatments became part

of the standard gear and competition preparation regimen for Irish step dancers. These

products include wigs, tanning gels, tiaras, and glitter make-up. Although these

accessories are not the focus of this thesis, any examination of Irish step dancing

costuming that excluded them would be incomplete.

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Wigs

One major example of a change in accessories came in the form of wigs. Earlier

in the 1990s and in the 1980s, Irish step dancers performed complicated rituals with

regards to the preparation of their hair. The desired effect was spiral ringlets—very

similar to a young Shirley Temple’s, which bounced along to accentuate every step.

Dancers routinely slept on curlers the night before competitions, often wearing their pink

foam rollers for days in advance. Later in the 1990s, specialized curlers for Irish step

dancers known as Soft Spikes were developed. They were unusual in that they did not

have a plastic or metal rod inside of them. They were long spikes of foam, which, when

in place on the head, stuck out perpendicular to the head and gave the dancer a space-age

appearance. In September of 1999, Eimir Ni Mhaoileidigh commented on this headgear

in her Hornpipe Magazine column, “Ask Eimir,” in response to a question about what to

expect at a feis. Eimir replied in part, that according to a younger dancer’s brother, one

should anticipate seeing dancers who look like, “Martians with spikes growing out of

their heads and dresses that light up in the dark” (5). However, many dancers found hair

curling to be a tiresome affair. Although some dancers voiced mixed responses to the

introduction of Irish step dance wigs in the late 1990s, hairpieces eventually became

standard attire for dancers.

The introduction to an October 2005 article in International Irish Dancing and

Culture Magazine succinctly described the train of thought that often accompanied this

switch, stating, “Oh the wonder of wigs! No longer do you have to have an

uncomfortable night's sleep before a competition, constantly feeling curlers digging into

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your head. Instead you can just put your hair up and slip a wig on.” (42). Michael

Stanley, A.D.C.R.G. (Ard Diploma Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha), expressed similar

sentiments about the ease of wigs in a September 2003 Irish Dancing International

interview, stating, “Having had three sisters and knowing the pain they went through with

curling, I think wigs are quite a good alternative!” (18-23). When wigs were initially

introduced, there was a period during which the proportions of the wigs were not settled.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, wigs worn by dancers seemed often unrealistically

long. That is, the curls would extend down to the middle of the waist—a length of hair

that few if any dancers could naturally attain through the curing of their own hair. As the

decade progressed, the wigs worn in competition became slightly shorter, ending

approximately an inch below the shoulders, and the curls in the wigs became tighter and

more ringlet-like. When wigs proved to be a successful product, Irish step dancing

entrepreneurs began to develop their own specialized styles and models, which they then

were able to have produced in bulk in (often overseas) factories.

Dancers began to supplement their look by attaching multiple wigs to the head, or

placing objects such as socks underneath the wig to give it a fuller appearance. As a

result, wig manufacturers began to market wigs with multiple heads’ worth of hair on one

wig. Likely the pinnacle of this trend was the appearance of wigs that contained three

times the amount of hair in one single wig. One such “triple wig” is the Grainne, offered

by Youngblood Haircutters, which weighs 16 ounces

(http://www.irishwigs.com/grainne.html). These wigs are occasionally quite heavy and,

in addition, tend to dwarf the heads of younger dancers. 1 Throughout this period, the

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intended effect was a full, lustrous head of curls which would accentuate the movements

of the dancer by bouncing in tandem with skips and leaps. In addition, these wigs helped

dancers achieve a very child-like image, similar in effect to the curls of the

aforementioned Shirley Temple.

Tiaras and Fabric Crowns

In the 1990s, dancers generally wore fabric tiara-shaped headbands that matched

their dresses. However, since the early 2000s, metal tiaras with rhinestones have become

increasingly popular. While tiaras are sometimes worn alone (generally with a wig), the

most common style is a tiara worn in front of a headband, which is also in the shape of a

crown and is often decorated with the motifs and fabrics of the dress. Both of these

elements of headgear sit in front of the wig. Indeed, the large fabric crown often serves to

disguise the “seam” between the dancer’s “real” hair and her wig hair—Irish step dancers

generally wear three-quarter wigs.

The headband can be so wide, and worn so low, that it may cover the hairline

entirely. This is a particularly useful function for dancers who perform with wigs that are

not the same as their actual hair color. Dancers may often also attach additional

adornments to the head, including bands of stretch sequins, three dimensional fabric

flowers, and snap-in jewels. Dancers are often also concerned with the pattern that their

bangs are arranged in, and there are fashionable styles for Irish step dancing bangs such

as the “swoop,” in which all of the bangs are combed over to the side and held in place by

the use of, for example, rhinestone-studded metal hairpins.

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 Again, the use of tiaras and crowns contributes to the effect of making the

dancer’s attire more childlike, in particular because it incorporates an element of fantasy-

play.

False Tan and Makeup

The use of false tan, such as tans obtained either from a bottle, or tans

accumulated by repeated exposures at a tanning salon, is heavily prevalent among Irish

step dancers. In addition, bright makeup, such as eye shadow that matches the dancer’s

dress and sparkle creams are often used to further extend the general effect of the

dancer’s appearance. In 1996, John Cullinane noted what might be perceived as the

beginnings of this trend, stating, “It is now a common feature to see very young dancers

(even eight to ten years old) wearing heavy make up including bright red lipstick” (1996:

83).

Young dancers are commonly seen wearing makeup, even though An Coimisiún

passed a rule in 2005 banning the use of both makeup and false tan for dancers under the

age of 10. In a September 2005 column, one anonymous Irish step dancing parent

ridiculed this rule in Irish Dancing Magazine. The writer stated:

I find it difficult to believe the entire membership of An Coimisiún voted

yes to a make-up and tan ban. I'm not a dance teacher and I know teachers
need to follow rules, but is this really a fair and enforceable rule… How
will An Coimisiún determine if a tan is real or fake? Will stage monitors
have wet rags side stage to test a dancer's tan?!!” 19).

However, several parents and dancing officials have been concerned by what might be

perceived as the excessive use of makeup by children. Some of their concern likely

relates to the perception that the use of makeup on children makes Irish step dancing

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competitions resemble beauty pageants. These sentiments are expressed expressed

explicitly in a response to a "Web Letter of the Month" printed in Irish Dancing and

Culture International in October, 2005, in which a dancer from Canada decried some of

the image requirements for Irish dancing, stating, “I think competitions are becoming

more like beauty pageants. Dancers go to the extreme to look the best, but shouldn't the

winner be the best dancer, not the best looking?” (8). The comment was in direct

response to a letter suggesting that the emphasis on tanning had perhaps gone to the

extreme.

In her 1998 article, “The Psychology of Sun-Exposure and Tanning,” Caroline S.

Koblenzer, M.D., discusses some societal rationales for the practice of tanning, for the

purpose of better understanding how to encourage patients to limit UV exposure.

Koblenzer states that “the presence or absence of a tan, as we shall see, transmits a

message about desired status, rank, or lifestyle” (424). Tanning was increasingly

associated throughout the twentieth century “with status and wealth,” especially after

celebrity designer Coco Chanel promoted the practice (424). Tans also began to be

perceived as “a sign of good health” (425).

Juliet McMains examines the ways in which tanning practices of Latin dancesport

competitors recall the wearing of an alternate ethnicity, as in blackface. In her 2001

paper, “Brownface: Representations of Latin-Ness in Dancesport,” McMains suggests

that Latin dancesport competitors portray a racialized version of Latin-Americanness

which is more representative of European conceptions of an ethnicized “other” than

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anything else. The tanning regimes of these dancers enable them to wear this conception

of Latinness, but retain a significant distance—their whiteness.

Although her particular hypothesis is not directly applicable to my thesis—

because we study different cultural practices with different arrays of meaning—McMains

uniquely portrays the world of tanning practices as embodied with significance. She also

describes some of the reasons that dancesport competitors give for their tanning

regimes—some of which are similar to the rationales offered in Irish dancing. She states

that dancers suggest that tanning practices “give pale skin a healthy glow under harsh

bright lights” (54). She also suggests that dancesport competitors legitimate their own

tanning practices by comparing themselves to “ bodybuilders and beauty contestants

[who] also use tanning creams when they display their body for formal evaluation” (54).

McMains also suggests that these practices are aligned with “sites of upper-class

recreation” (54). Finally, she suggests that tanning practices act as a way of covering the

bare exposed flesh of dancers, “perhaps covering the nearly naked dancing bodies with

something, even if it is only tanning cream” (61). Although a complete examination of

the role of tanning practices in Irish dancing cultures is beyond the scope of this thesis,

the latter two angles seem to offer scope for interpretation of Irish step dancing tanning.

Tanning in Irish competitive dancing does not seem to have become widespread until the

late 1990s or early 2000s. During the same time period, Irish dancing dresses were

becoming considerably more costly. It might be logical that tanning practices are a part of

an aspiration, as expressed through bodily covering, to display elite economic status.

Furthermore, the idea that tanning creams may cover the flesh of dancers and act in lieu

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of a different garment is interesting in light of the Catholic Irish inclination, expressed

through other elements of Irish dancing costuming, to fully cover the body

In sum, Irish step dancing costumes changed significantly throughout the 1990s

and 2000s. Some of these changes included the designs featured on dresses, the methods

used to decorate dresses, and the fabrics used in the construction of dresses. Dresses also

moved from being constructed in small-scale operations, often in family homes, to being

constructed professionally. Irish step dancing accessories also changed over the time

period. They presently include somewhat controversial additions such as wigs, tiaras,

false tan, and bright makeup, several of which operate to reinforce or consolidate child-

like status of the dancers.

IRISH STEP DANCING DRESSES AS COMMODITIES

Irish step dancing dresses have become increasingly commodified since the

1980s. That is, they have increasingly been bought and sold as commercial goods on an

open, international market. While Irish step dancing costumes were once made primarily

in the home or for small, local markets, they now are shipped from sellers in areas such

as Australia to buyers in areas such as the United States. In addition, new magazines

exploring Irish step dancing in the late 1990s displayed Irish step dancing commodities

and offered Irish step dancing manufacturers opportunities to advertise.

The relatively new status of Irish step dancing dresses as commodities holds

implications for the ways in which people conceive of them and interact with them. One

concern that has been raised by teachers, adjudicators, parents, and dancers, is that Irish

step dancing dresses have become increasingly expensive. Some commentators,

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discussed below, suggest that the increasing cost of Irish step dancing costumes may act

to limit the participation of dancers who may not be able to afford them, in contradiction

to a practice that otherwise maintains open access.

The 1990s transition in the ways that Irish step dancing dresses are acquired by

dancers—from home to market manufacture—also raises questions about the meanings

they represent. Scholars Barra Ó Cinnéide and Barbara O’Connor have noted that Irish

step dancing changed culturally when the producers of shows such as Riverdance

transformed the practice into successful mass-market enterprises. Irish step dancing

dresses have also been transformed as they have been commodified. Scholar Marilyn

Halter argues that the concept of ethnicity has been increasingly offered as a “product” to

cultural markets. Diane Negra and others suggest that Irishness has been changed as it

has been “sold” as a commodity to United States consumers. These observations raise

questions about the nature of dancing dresses as cultural goods. For example, do Irish

step dancing dresses represent a form of commodified Irish ethnicity? The second half of

this chapter attempts to address some of the questions that have been raised about the

qualities that Irish step dancing dresses offer to consumers.

Prices of Irish Step Dancing Dresses

The prices of Irish step dancing costumes increased dramatically over the 1990s

and 2000s. During this period, Irish step dancing became more popular around the globe,

and a broader market for the sale of Irish step dancing goods developed. As a result of the

Celtic Tiger economic boom, the average income of citizens of the Republic of Ireland

grew substantially over the same period.

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 In the video documenting the 1994 World Championships, Kirsty Blair, who is

cited as a ‘London dancer and costume manufacturer,’ remarked upon the dresses she

sold at the time. She said, “This is a tip (sic) kind of open costume that top open dancers

would wear. Obviously, the intermediate and primary dancers would wear a much

simpler dress at a much lesser cost, but they range from about 3-500 pounds.” According

to Martha Robb, in 1998, “the average price of a class costume [was] ₤350. Solo dresses,

however, if heavily embroidered and with diamantes and unique features, [could] cost

₤800 or more. (32). By June of 2005, when commentators on Dance.net examined the

phenomenon in a post entitled “who has the most expensive solo dress??,” it was

suggested the most expensive dress that was known at the time may have retailed for US

$3,500 (₤2,000). And, several dancers talked about seeing and buying used dresses

(especially Siopa Rince, an extremely fashionable brand as of 2005) for up to US $2,200

and AUS $2,500. An article entitled “A Dress for Less!,” printed in the September 2005

issue of Irish Dancing and Culture International, confirmed these figures. The author

states, “Everyone knows Irish dancing dresses cost a packet—Dancers (sic) spend

anything up to 2500 British pounds on a costume and champion dancers are changing

outfits every year!” (46). The following pair of charts is intended to further show a

portion of the range of Irish step dancing costume prices. The first chart displays prices of

new dresses from a particular costume-maker, and the second chart displays prices from a

website where dancers, parents and dressmakers are encouraged to sell used Irish step

dancing dresses.

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Chart Nine—Distribution of Prices of “Off the Peg” Pre-Made New Dresses in American

Dollars ($) on Dancing In Celtic Website, May 3, 2007

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Analysis of Distribution of Prices of “Off the Peg” Pre-Made New Dresses in American

Dollars ($) on Dancing In Celtic Website, May 3, 2007

The company “Dancing in Celtic” sells new dresses that are in the mid-range of

Irish step dancing dress prices. The dress prices seem to be representative of an average

expense for a new costume. Dancing in Celtic offers dresses in two rough price

categories. One type of dress retails for approximately US $1100-1400, and another

retails between US $1500-1800.

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Chart Ten— Distribution of Dress Prices as Listed on Dance-again.com, April 23, 2007

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Analysis of Distribution of Dress Prices as Listed on Dance-again.com, April 23, 2007

One way by which some dancers try to find lower prices for dancing costumes is

to find a manufacturer who charges less money. However, many dancers purchase used

dresses. The website http://www.dance-again.com (Dance-again.com) is one of the most

prominent sites for the resale of Irish step dancing costumes. Although some new dresses

are sold on Dance-again.com, the vast majority of the dresses have previously been worn,

although the age of the dresses varies considerably. This chart displays the prices of the

dresses sold on this website as an illustration of the prices of used dancing dresses. The

website is international in scope and features dresses being sold by participants (often

individual dancers and parents, as well as some dressmakers) from America, Canada,

Ireland, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and mainland

Europe, among other locations.

According to data on the Dance-again.com website, typical prices for used dresses

cluster between approximately US $300 and $1300. The most common hundred-dollar

interval is a price between $701 and $800. However, the data shows a strong tail towards

the right, and prices on the site range up to $2500.

Irish Step Dancing Costumes, Class and Social Inequality

There is very little information available about the demographics of Irish step

dancers. Few scholars of Irish step dancing have even mentioned the possible

implications of class analysis for the understanding of Irish step dancing. For the purpose

of this discussion, the term “class” refers to a variety of factors including access to

material resources and monetary wealth. The use of the term assumes that there are social

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stratifications with regards to these factors, and that these stratifications can cause

divisions and result in exclusion.

One of the few who have commented on any sort of relation between class and

Irish step dancing is Jessica Tomell-Presto. In her dissertation, Tomell-Presto states that

participants in American Irish step dancing “are predominantly white Americans. The

amount of technology that accompanies these families, the cell phones, pagers, walkie

talkies, in addition to the amount spent on costuming the dancers, would indicate that

these are predominantly middle-class Americans” (76). While this assessment may be

adroit, it is not based upon sufficient data—many people, from working class people to

economic elites, have access to cell phones and pagers. Many other factors, from solid

earnings data, to more context specific evidence such as access to education, social

standing, home ownership, or discretionary income, should be included in a study which

aims to make a more accurate assessment of the class status of any population of Irish

step dancers. Such an analysis is beyond the scope of this thesis. However, it does not

seem prudent to exclude any discussion of class from an analysis of Irish step dancing

costumes simply because this data have not been offered by scholars. In the absence of

demographic figures to describe Irish step dancing populations, there does exist a

discourse on the potential class ramifications of Irish step dancing costume prices. The

monetary cost of Irish step dancing costumes has been a contentious topic in the Irish

step dancing world, eliciting a variety of criticisms.

The frustration of some parents and dancers in the face of what might be

perceived as the extremely high cost of championship dresses is commonly articulated

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through such documented forums as internet messageboards and letters to the editor of

Irish step dancing magazines. Some dancing teachers and adjudicators worry about the

impacts of these costs on Irish step dancing culture. For example, in a September 2003

Irish Dancing International article, adjudicator Michael Stanley, A.D.C.R.G. (Ard

Diploma Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha), is quoted as saying:

I think appearance is important, but I don't think it would do any harm if

we had some restrictions on what people were and weren't allowed to do.
When you see thousands of pounds being spent on a costume, it's too
much and it's going too far. It's making dancing elitist and inaccessible to
a lot of people, and I don't think dancing was ever envisaged like that (18-
23).

Frank Whelan, author of The Complete Guide to Irish Dance, suggests that the expense

of participating in Irish step dancing has increased so much that “some dancers have to

retire from competition dancing as they cannot afford to keep up with the latest dance

fashion” (42). Teacher Paula Goulding, T.C.R.G. (Teasgicoir Choimisiuin Le Rinci

Gaelacha), was quoted in an article in the July 2001 International Irish Dancing

Magazine called "New Teachers: Coming Soon!" as saying:

We also think the scene has become far too costly, especially the dresses,
and there's too much focus on appearance, and not enough on the actual
dancing. Some of the children today look like walking Christmas trees!
We think it's unfair that good dancers are unable to compete because they
can't afford to buy an £800 dress (33).

Costume producers, such as Gavin Doherty, T.C.R.G., respond that they have few means

of reducing their prices, because Irish step dancing dresses in their current incarnations

are very difficult to make, require specific machinery, and are made of costly fabrics.

Furthermore, many Irish step dancing dresses are made in areas of the world (such as

Ireland, England, Australia, and the United States), where minimum wages for workers

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are higher than they are in third world areas—where much of conventional clothing is

made. In a September 2005 Irish Dancing and Culture International article entitled,

“From Dancer to Designer,” Doherty is quoted as saying, “People think I'm making a

fortune, but I'm not. They forget that fabric alone costs about £500, then you have

overheads and wages to pay out of that, so I'm not rolling it in!” (45). There is not enough

evidence available to state whether or not the cost of Irish step dancing dresses has made

Irish step dancing a more economically exclusive practice. What can be said, however, is

that there is a perception among some in the Irish step dancing community that the

relatively high price of dresses may have negative consequences on the level of economic

inclusiveness of Irish step dancing cultures.

Regardless of these possible effects, however, some parents take pride in their

ability to provide such elaborate and expensive garments to their daughters. In a June

2005 letter to the editor of Irish Dancing and Culture International, one mother from

Dublin argued:

When is the moaning going to stop regarding dresses? We buy and have
them made because we adore our children. It gives us a great deal of
pleasure to see them dancing - it's called pride. I've seen mums go without
food to give their children the best - and why not? It's a beautiful hobby
(11).

Perhaps it is not wrong to allow children to have access to beautiful things, such as Irish

step dancing dresses. However, when these things are so expensive, some parents have a

much higher ability to give (and, it is implied, express their “pride” in their children) than

do others. The high cost of Irish step dancing dresses is also problematic because it is

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assumed by many dancers who one must have a fashionable solo dress to be able to place

well in competition.

Commodities, Fashion, and Meanings

In Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, Pierre Bourdieu

describes ways in which consumption acts as a means by which or a medium through

which consumers communicate and construct identity. According to Bourdeiu,

consumption is “a stage in a process of communication, that is, an act of deciphering,

decoding, which presupposes practical or explicit mastery of a cipher or code” (1984: 2).

The ways that people consume goods and services are important parts of their

interactions with the social world. Through acts of consuming and conceiving of

products, people encounter and create meanings, codes and information. Some of these

meanings relate to conceptions of self and identity. In a related vein, in The Overspent

American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer, Juliet Schor argues that,

“personal identity does not exist prior to the social world, it comes into being with it”

(59). One of the ways in which people create social meanings is through the purchase and

display of fashion commodities, such as Irish step dancing costumes.

Scholars have portrayed some elements of this process—that is, of creating

identities through consuming and conceiving of products—in a positive light. In The

Shopping Experience, Pasi Falk and Colin Campbell suggest that consumers can engage

themselves as postmodern individuals, acting as “self-reflexive and playful identity”

shoppers, constructing and changing themselves and their experiences “either to accord

with others’ expectations, or to distinguish [themselves] from others, or possibly just for

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fun” (7). This type of analysis posits consumers as active agents who have the ability to

modify their personas and, perhaps, defy their personal limitations through interactions

with products.

In his 1996 book, Fashion as Communication, Malcolm Barnard argues that

fashion and dress may be viewed both as means of constructing and reproducing societal

norms and standards, and contesting those norms. Barnard defines “reproduction” as a

process “in which elements of culture (practices, products, institutions, ideas, beliefs and

status) are sustained, [and] the ways in which the continued existence of these things is

ensured”(103). Barnard opposes his concept of dress as “reproduction” to earlier concepts

of dress as “reflections, or epiphenomena” of already existing conditions (112). Barnard

clarifies his use of the term “reproduction,” defining it somewhere between mechanical

reproduction (e.g. Xerox, reprinting of photographs) and biological reproduction (e.g. a

changing process of combination of genes, in relation to external influence. He suggests

that “what people wear constructs and maintains identities;” such as those related to class,

gender, and ethnicity (7). Barnard contrasts the concept of fashion as reproduction with

that of fashion being used as “resistance, opposition and struggle” (129). He elaborates

on some of the forms this resistance can take, describing his concepts of “refusal and

reversal.” He states, “refusal is the attempt to step outside of the offending structures and

reversal is the attempt to reverse the positions of power and privilege that operate within

those structures” (129). Examples he cites of resistant dress practices include the wearing

of hip hop clothing, punk clothing, jeans, trousers worn by women, and the

“kinderwhore” look. Contemporary Irish step dancing costumes reproduce former

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constructs of Irishness offered by previous costumes in that the silhouette has remained

fairly consistent, as has the amount of bodily flesh that is covered by the costume.

Contemporary Irish step dancing costumes also contest previous images through changes

in their design. However, it would be a stretch to say that the changes that have been

made to Irish step dancing costumes constitute a “refusal” of previous trends, because the

changes have not been accompanied by any sort of ethos that opposes previous styles.

Commodified Irishnesses

In her 2000 book, Shopping for Identity: The Marketing of Ethnicity, Marilyn

Halter examines shifts in marketing in the United States that tend toward the catering of

economies to meet the needs of “ethnic” and minority consumers within America. Halter

describes the ways in which markets have shaped discourse related to nationalism,

immigration, assimilation, and ethnicity. In addition, she looks at the ways in which

ideologies towards ethnicity have been altered, both within the broader public sphere and

by the actions of marketers. In particular, Halter traces the recent use of ethnicity in

marketing, with use of messages sometimes stripped of their overt political content in

favor of messages palatable to a broader audience. She notes that this is in response to

broader diversity in the United States, as well as wider acceptance of diversity and civil

rights appeals, but also to White counter-claims of genuine ethnicity, which may seek to

refute civil rights gains. She also discusses the ways in which recent attempts to

capitalize on both recognition of ethnicity (the “postmodern ethnic revival”) and

increased immigration and diversity have changed the ways marketers have approached

concepts of American identity as a whole.

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 Halter examines these topics through a variety of lenses, paying attention to a

wide array of American identities, including Puerto Rican, Irish, Mexican or Chicano,

Jewish and African-American ethnicities. She asserts that both consumers and marketers

have created changes in the social construction of ideas of ethnicity through commercial

practices. Thus, patterns and messages of marketing and consuming, Halter argues, not

only are affected by broader social changes in perception of race and ethnicity, but,

rather, are constitutive of those changes. Halter states, “Ethnicity is increasingly manifest

through self-conscious consumption of goods and services and, at the same time, these

commodities assist in negotiating and enforcing identity differences” (5). According to

Halter, Irishness was notably marketed to mass American markets in the 1990s, and the

consumption of various forms of Irish culture (such as stage shows and music) can be

construed as a means of consuming and producing Irish-American ethnicity.

Diane Negra discusses commodification of Irish culture in her introduction to the

2006 edited book, The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity, and Popular Culture. Negra

suggests that, in the past ten years, Irishness “has become a form of discursive currency”

that has been “globally marketed,” and especially marketed to white America, through

“heritage narratives” (1). Negra describes a variety of products that have been marked

with Irish signifiers and narratives, including “Irish-themed commod[ities], ”tourist

package[s],” and “stock investment[s]” According to Negra, residents in the Republic of

Ireland felt intensified pressure to engage in what the author refers to as the discursive

“theme-parking of Ireland”—to create visions of an Ireland suitable for “tourist

consumption” (9). The meanings of these forms of “theme-parked” Ireland have changed

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as social conditions in Ireland have altered. According to Negra, where once Ireland was

marketed by its green hills and rural folk, “Irishness now factors in campaigns for

Porsche automobiles and Candies stiletto-heeled shoes as a marker of luxury and

eroticism” (6). Negra argues that there is no one “‘truthful’ version of Irishness” or of any

other aspect of “society.” In looking at the multitudes of Irish cultures and Irishnesses,

Negra seeks to interrogate “the many fictions that proliferate around Irish identity in our

current environment” (2). These fictions are constructed through a variety of means,

including through social practices such as dance and performance, and also through

consumption of goods and services.

According to Natasha Casey, a contributor to Negra’s book, in her chapter “‘The

Best Kept Secret in Retail’: Selling Irishness in Contemporary America,” Irishness has

been marketed in a variety of ways as Ireland’s economy has moved from a period of

“stagnation” to the “economically successful Celtic Tiger Ireland” of the present (89).

Casey details the ways in which the Irish government has supported a variety of

international entrepreneurial initiatives, effectively marketing a specific variety of the

identity of the culture to the global consuming public. These campaigns, as well as others

originating in the Republic and carried out by American marketers and businesses

tapping into the phenomenon, have been quite successful. According to Casey, one of

“the fastest-growing industries in the United States has been Irish-themed shopping” (84).

For example, according to Casey, “…between 1989 and 1999 Irish ethnic stores in the

United States grew by 43 percent” (88). Casey suggests that when Americans consume

“Irish” products, they reconfigure their understandings of what it means to be Irish in

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America. She writes, “themes of Irishness in the United States have become profitable

marketing strategies and distinctive consumption practices shaping new identities and

social formations” (84). Casey notes that the Irish-American identities bought and sold

vary widely from consumer to consumer, as well as from product to product. Similarly,

when Irish dancers purchase products associated with Irish dancing culture as a part of

their participation in Irish dancing, they invest meaning into their purchases, and

reformulate their understandings of what “Irishness” and “Irish-Americanness” mean to

them.

Irish Step Dancing Dresses and Commodified Irishness

Irish step dancing dresses offer a spectrum of information about contemporary

constructions of Irishnesses. First, it might be argued, transitions in Irish step dancing

dressmaking industries—from small scale manufacturing that sometimes took place in

the home to internationally coveted fashion manufactured in a manner similar to

couture—resemble transitions in the Irish economy during the Celtic Tiger boom. Irish

economic policy up to the 1960s was remarkably insular, but by the decade of the 1990s,

the Irish economy was heavily dependent upon foreign investment. The increasing cost of

dancing costumes may also be perceived as mirroring growth in Irish incomes. Ireland’s

economic growth has prompted national debates about relative inequality—which

appears to have increased during the Celtic Tiger period, even as poverty declined as a

whole. Similarly, some Irish step dancers have been concerned with the social

implications of the high costs of Irish step dancing dresses. However, many members of

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both Irish publics and Irish step dancing communities have responded approvingly to

overall changes in the Irish economy and Irish step dancing, respectively.

Wendy Parkins argues that “forms or items of dress—from the ceremonial to the

everyday—can themselves become sites of political struggle, how they can be used

variously to contest or legitimate the power of the state and the meanings of citizenship”

in her 2002 book, Fashioning the Body Politic: Dress, Gender, Citizenship (2). Parkins

describes dress as a discourse that at times has both directly represented and constructed

meanings associated with the states and state interests, as well as expressed and

constituted opposition to state and state practices.

It could perhaps be argued that the designs of Irish step dancing dresses portray a

contemporary version of Irishness, or are a representation of opinions of the modern Irish

economy or nation state. This depiction of Irishness, although still asserting itself as

somehow “traditional,” does not rely on traditional iconography such as crosses or

images from the Book of Kells to make its impact. Rather, the design of most

contemporary Irish step dancing dresses uses abstract patterns. Instead of being based in

the somber tonalities of black velvet, or the quaintness of crochet lace, contemporary

Irish step dancing dresses offer bright colors, shining fabrics, and glittering appliqué.

Irish step dancing dresses may, in some ways, be an expression of some of the joys of the

increasingly secular state, Irish economic success, or of the popularity of Irish step

dancing as a practice.

However, it can also be argued that Irish step dancing dresses are part of a culture

that encourages cutthroat competition, and competition through expenditure. Some critics

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of the Celtic Tiger economy and the modern Irish nation state might conversely suggest

that dancing dresses are an expression of an Ireland that is more motivated by capitalism

than by an expectation that all citizens be allowed to equally participate in expressing

Irish ethnicity and cultural forms.

Irish step dancing dresses have, in the 1990s and 2000s, become increasingly

commodified. Over the same period, the price of dancing dresses also became

significantly higher. Increasing Irish step dancing prices have caused concern among

certain practitioners of Irish step dancing, some of whom suggest that Irish step dancing

may be becoming less accessible to poorer sections of the public. These concerns seem

quite important in light of critiques of increasing economic inequality in Celtic Tiger

Ireland.

Competitive Irish step dancing dress styles changed significantly through the late

twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In addition, Irish dancing dresses moved from

being products of an informal economy, more or less, to being more clearly situated as

commodities, offered by manufacturers through markets. Their increasingly commodified

nature has implications for the ways in which these dancing dresses can be interpreted.

One way of looking at the commodification of dancing dresses is to look at whether it has

made the practice more or less accessible to participants. One possible effect of the way

in which Irish dancing dresses have developed is a sense of increasing economic

exclusivity.

Irish dancing dresses can also perhaps be viewed as representations of the new

economy of Ireland—with increasing standards of luxury, but a tolerance for inequality

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and barriers to access. In the 1990s, scholars such as Halter and Negra suggest, both

ethnicity and Irishness were increasingly sold to American and world markets. It can

perhaps be argued that Irish step dancing dresses are another form of “commodified

Irishness.” Commodities that represent and market different forms of ethnicities can

become important in terms of shaping people’s perceptions of those ethnicities.

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 ENDNOTES

1 The popularity of wigs led to a number of “wig mishaps” in which the wig would fly
off of the head during competitions and performances. Dancer “Kellith” recalled such an
incident, writing, “I had one of those old bun wigs that's like a scrunchie and it fell off so
everyone was just kicking it to the back of the room. I still get laughed at for that one!” in
Kellith, "re: Funniest thing that has happened while you have been performing?"
Dance.net, 27 Dec 2005. 23 Feb 2008. <http://www.dance.net/topic/4458007/1/Irish-
Shows/Funniest-thing-that-has-happened-while-you-have-been-performing.html>.

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