Close to the Floor: Irish Dance From the Boreen to Broadway

Edited by Mick Moloney, J'aime Morrison, and Colin Quigley

Irish music and dance, and indeed the broader questions of Irish identity in a global world, have recently experienced enormous flux and change. Close to the Floor is an invaluable collection of responses from some of those intimately connected to that process, either as practitioners or knowledgeable commentators. Their views will provide stimulation to the current reader and potent illumination for future inquiry.

Close to the Floor brings together a distinguished and diverse cast of dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, and dance historians to discuss and reflect on the topic of tradition and change in the world of Irish and related percussive dance forms. It is fitting that this coming together commemorates the tenth anniversary of Riverdance. The success of this landmark production has drawn unprecedented global attention to the rich and varied world of Irish dance.

The title, Close to the Floor, suggests at one level the notion of a dance genre embedded in tradition. Yet artists within this inherited form have always reached across borders and boundaries in order to create new art. This dynamic interplay between the old and the new in Irish dance is explored here by some of its most stellar performers and innovators.

Contributors

Kathleen Barnard, TCRG
Michael Bergin ADCRG
Jean Butler
Darrah Carr
Catherine Foley, TCRG
Donny Golden, ADCRG
Mark Howard, TCRG
Gary Larsen
Patricia McLoughlin, ADCRG
Mick Moloney
J'aime Morrison
Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, ADCRG
Mary Nunan
Niall O'Leary, ADCRG
Micheál Ó Súilleabháin
Colin Quigley
Peter Smith, ADCRG

Mick Moloney is Global Distinguished Professor of Music and Irish Studies, New York University.
J’aime Morrison is Associate Professor of Performance Studies at California State University-Northridge.
Colin Quigley is Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at University of Limerick.

176 pp.
6 x 9
ISBN 978-0-9814924-4-5
Paper $24.95

Product Code: CLOT1

In Stock