Céilí (Irish reformed spelling), or Ceilidh (Scottish and older Gaelic spelling), pronounced Kay-Lee in either case, is the traditional Gaelic social dance in Ireland and Scotland. In the old days, before discos and nightclubs, there were céilís in most town and village halls on Friday or Saturday nights and even now they are not uncommon. Originally céilís facilitated courting and prospects of marriage for young people and, although discos and nightclubs have displaced céilís to a considerable extent, they are still an important and popular social outlet in rural parts of Ireland and Scotland, especially in the Gaelic-speaking west coast regions. Céilís are sometimes held on a smaller scale in private or public houses, for example in remote rural hinterlands and during busy festivals. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Scottish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, or just Gaelic (Gàidhlig; IPA: ), is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries influenced by British cultural heritage. ...

Céilí music is provided by any assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán (pronounced Bough-Rawn) which is a wooden frame covered with the stretched goat hide, and in more recent times also drums and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively and requires knowledge of basic "123 123" dance steps. The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... Tin whistles in a variety of makes and keys The tin whistle, also called the feadóg, pennywhistle, Irish whistle, simply whistle or, anachronously, the flageolet, is a simple six-holed breath instrument. ... a piano accordion An accordion is a small portable free-reed wind instrument with a keyboard, the smallest representative of the organ family. ... Bodhrán with tipper The Bodhrán (IPA or ; plural bodhráin) is an Irish frame drum ranging in anywhere from 10 to 26 in diameter, with most drums measuring from 14 to 18. The sides of the drum are 3 1/2 to 8 deep. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ...

The general format of céilí dancing is the "Set". A Set consists of four couples, with each pair facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music.

However, about half of the dances in the modern Scots ceilidh are couple dances performed in a ring. These can be performed by fixed couples or in the more sociable "progressive" manner, with the lady moving to the next gentleman in the ring at or near the end of each repetition of the steps.

There is also a form of dancing which in the US would be called square or line dancing - the "Siege of Ennis", "The Walls of Limerick" and "The Stack of Barley" being the most popular dances in this genre; some of the céilí dance formations are named after famous historical battles and events, others after items of daily rural life as the last three examples show.

Step dancing is another form of dancing often performed at céilís, the form that has been popularised in recent years by the world famous Riverdance ensemble. Whereas Set dancing involves all present, whatever their skill, Step dancing is usually reserved for show, being performed only by the most talented of dancers. Step dance is the generic term for dance styles where the footwork is the most important part of the dance. ...

The céilí has been internationalised by the Scottish and Irish diasporas in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where local céilís and traditional music competitions are held. In recent years, céilí and traditional music competitions have been frequently won by descendants of emigrants. The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Quebec and Australia. ...

English ceilidh

What is now called English ceilidh (also known in England as barndance) has many things in common with the Scottish/Irish social dance tradition. The dance figures are similar but English tunes tend to be slower and accentuate the beat, so dancers will often use hop step (skip) or rant step (hop on left twice, step on right, hop on right twice, step on left) rather than the smoother motion seen in Ireland and Scotland. There is usually a 'spot' halfway through the evening to give the band a rest, often involving the local Morris side. English ceilidhs always use a caller, who calls the movements the dancers need to make. A Morris dance is a form of folk dance. ...

Many English ceilidh bands have strong influences from other forms of music, for example ska for Whapweasel, French traditional for Token Women, jazz for Chalktown, rock for Tickled Pink or West African and Indian for Boka Halat.

External links

• Webfeet (http://www.webfeet.org/eceilidh/index.html) has a list of English ceilidh bands and dances in England, Wales and Scotland, with a map (http://www.webfeet.org/map/index.html) and RSS/iCal feeds (http://www.webfeet.org/tech/index.html).