History of Dances

The Sword Dance is done over swords placed on the ground in a cross. While doing this dance you move in and out of the swords placed on the ground.

This dance was symbolically done by soldiers before they went off to war. As a soldier if you touched the sword with your feet at some point in the dance, it was said that you would die at war.

Another dance that has a story background is the sailors hornpipe. In this dance the dancer dresses up as a sailor. Many of the different steps of the dance imitate actions of sailors such as pulling ropes, looking out for enemy boats, or saying good bye as the ship leave dock.

One last dance that has rich history is the Irish Jig. In this dance the dancers dress up in a dress and apron. The story for this dance is that a house maid that hung up laundry to dry outside is very angry with the children in the town. The children let a muddy pig loose and the pig pulled down all of the laundry onto the ground.

The steps in the dance are all very angry. The dancer has her hands in fists and she is stomping throughout the whole dance.