One of the most distinctive features of traditional Irish dancing is the way dancers keep their arms by their sides whilst performing.
To many people watching Irish dancing for the first time, it can seem unusual. In most forms of dance, the arms play an important role in movement, balance and expression. In Irish dancing, however, dancers are expected to maintain a controlled upper body whilst performing increasingly complex footwork.
So why do Irish dancers keep their arms straight?
The honest answer is that nobody knows for certain.
There is no single explanation that all historians agree upon, and over the years a number of theories and stories have developed to explain this unique feature of Irish dance. Some are supported by historical evidence, whilst others have become part of Irish dance folklore and continue to be passed down from one generation of dancers to the next.
The Dance Master Theory
The explanation most commonly supported by Irish dance historians relates to the travelling dance masters of the 18th and 19th centuries.
These dance masters travelled from village to village teaching Irish dance and were often responsible for setting standards and techniques.
It is believed that they preferred a more formal and disciplined style of dancing than some of the older forms of Irish dance. By encouraging dancers to keep their arms still and maintain good posture, greater emphasis was placed on precise footwork, rhythm and technique.
Some accounts suggest dancers may even have practised holding objects in their hands to discourage unnecessary arm movement and encourage a more controlled style.
Many historians consider this to be the most likely explanation for the development of the straight-arm style seen in modern competitive Irish dancing.
However, that doesn't stop the other stories from being far more entertaining.
Dancing Behind Hedges
One of the most colourful stories suggests that Irish dancers would practise in their gardens behind hedges.
According to the tale, dancers could perform all their footwork hidden behind the hedge whilst keeping their upper bodies still and out of sight. Anyone passing by would supposedly see only a row of heads moving serenely above the hedge and have no idea that a dance was taking place below.
It's a charming image and one that is often repeated in Irish dance circles.
Of course, it does raise the question of whether anyone would really fail to notice a group of people enthusiastically bouncing up and down behind a hedge!
Some historians believe this story may have become mixed up with the tradition of Hedge Schools, the secret schools where Irish culture and learning continued during periods when formal education was restricted.
Dancing Behind The Bar
Another popular story claims that Irish dancers would dance behind pub counters.
The theory suggests that dancers could entertain themselves whilst keeping most of their movement hidden from English authorities. With only their heads and shoulders visible above the bar, they supposedly learned to keep their upper bodies perfectly still.
It's certainly easy to picture.
Whether it's quite so easy to imagine nobody noticing the energetic footwork happening underneath is another matter entirely.
Like many Irish dance stories, it may tell us more about Irish humour and storytelling than it does about the true origins of the dance.
Refusing To Dance For The Queen
Perhaps the most dramatic explanation involves Irish dancers being summoned to perform for English royalty.
According to the story, the dancers were so unhappy about performing for the English Crown that they refused to raise their arms. Instead, they danced with rigid posture and expressionless faces as a subtle act of defiance.
The tale is often linked to Queen Elizabeth I, who is known to have enjoyed Irish music and dance. Irish dancers are believed to have performed at royal courts and for visiting dignitaries, so there may be a grain of truth somewhere within the story.
Whether a group of dancers actually decided to stage a centuries-old protest using nothing but excellent posture remains impossible to prove.
Keeping An Eye Out For The Priest
The clergy also appear in several versions of the story.
One theory claims that young people would gather in houses to dance, but would keep their arms by their sides so that if a priest happened to glance through the window, the activity would appear more respectable.
Another version suggests that the Church disapproved of boys and girls holding hands whilst dancing, leading to a style where dancers kept their arms firmly at their sides.
The obvious flaw in these explanations is that a room full of people hopping energetically around the floor would probably attract attention regardless of what their arms were doing!
Did The Church Take The Fun Out Of Irish Dancing?
A variation of the Church theory goes one step further.
According to this version, Irish dancing was gradually made more formal and restrained to better reflect the values of the time. Dancers were expected to stand upright, keep their arms down and maintain a serious expression.
Whether this actually happened is open to debate, but it remains one of the more frequently repeated explanations for the straight-arm tradition.
Why Do Irish Dancers Still Keep Their Arms Straight Today?
Entertaining as these stories are, most historians believe the explanation is probably less dramatic.
The strongest evidence points towards the travelling dance masters of the 18th and 19th centuries, who favoured a more formal style of dancing and placed greater emphasis on footwork, posture and precision.
Today, keeping the arms by the sides remains an important part of traditional Irish dance technique.
Modern dancers spend years developing the strength, balance and control needed to perform increasingly difficult movements without relying on their arms for assistance.
The still upper body helps place the focus on:
- Footwork
- Timing
- Rhythm
- Posture
- Precision
It is also one of the characteristics that makes Irish dancing instantly recognisable around the world.
Not All Irish Dancing Uses Straight Arms
It is worth noting that not every style of Irish dance follows this tradition.
Michael Flatley and Jean Butler helped popularise the use of arm movements in contemporary Irish dance when Riverdance made its debut as the interval act at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.
This ushered in a new era of creativity, adding a dynamic upper-body element to internationally renowned shows such as Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames.
While these theatrical productions introduced a more expressive style of Irish dance to audiences around the world, competitive Irish dancing largely retained its distinctive straight-arm technique, which remains a defining feature of the tradition today.
Final Thoughts
The exact reason Irish dancers keep their arms straight may never be known with certainty.
The most widely accepted explanation is that dance masters encouraged a more formal style of dancing that placed emphasis on footwork and posture. Alongside this, a rich collection of stories and folklore has developed over the centuries, reflecting Ireland's history, culture and sense of humour.
Whatever its origins, the straight-arm style remains one of the most distinctive features of Irish dancing and continues to set it apart from almost every other form of dance in the world.