What Is The Best Flooring For Irish Dance?
In Irish Dance, heavy shoes are used to create rhythm, and so high-quality flooring is extremely important. That’s why our two top choices for Irish dance floors are hardwood flooring with shock absorbency and vinyl flooring.
Both floors provide dancers with a durable surface that can withstand Irish dancing. Hardwood and vinyl can be used independently or be combined to provide a long-lasting dance floor with superb acoustics.
Furthermore, our portable vinyl practice mat is a great option for anyone wanting to have a more portable option for their Irish dance. This lay-flat practice mat can easily be secured to almost any hard floor, and can roll up when not in use. Take your Irish dance floor with you everywhere you go!
What Are The Irish Dancing Shoes Called?
Irish dancers can wear two types of shoes to perform Irish step dancing; soft shoes (also called “light shoes”, “ghillies” for women, and “reel shoes” for men) and hard shoes (also called “heavies”).
Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, although instead of metal, the toe and heel are made of fibreglass, and are significantly bulkier. These are the shoes that make the tapping noise that Irish dance is known for.
The girl’s soft shoes resemble lace-up ballet slippers. While boy’s soft shoes resemble jazz dance shoes but with a raised heel.
Dancers will typically start with soft shoes and begin using hard shoes when they become more familiar with the style of dance. Having a dance floor that can withstand the percussive dance style of hard Irish dance shoes is extremely important. That’s why at Le Mark Flooring, we only offer the highest quality dance floors.
What Are Percussive Dance Styles?
Percussive dance is a type of dance that involves the dancer striking the floor with their shoes to create a sound. This sound becomes a part of the dance performance. This is why in percussive dance styles, it’s important to have a floor that is durable, emits a crisp clear sound when tapped and provides impact absorption to help cushion dancer’s feet and joints.
What Are The Types Of Irish Dance?
Irish dance refers to a group of dance forms that originated in Ireland that includes dancing solo, as couples, and in groups. There are four main forms of Irish dance; Irish Step dancing, old style dance, céilí dance, and Irish set dancing.
Irish step dancing is one of the most well-known Irish dance forms. It involves percussive dance and is often seen in competitions and shows. Old-style step dancing is similar to Irish step dancing, but the percussive dance style takes place close to the ground. Whereas Irish step dancing can involve higher “kicks” and, due to how athletic this form of dance has become, uses much more floor space than Old-style.
Céilí dance styles vary widely throughout Ireland. It’s used in competitions and is typically danced in teams from different dance schools., though the dance style is still very traditional. It’s common in Céilí for the dance steps to be “called” before they are danced, similar to English country dancing. Irish set dancing often takes place in a square of four couples and consists of several “figures” which include a number of moves that are repeated throughout the song.
