Building an International Community of Irish Dancers in the Times of Detachment
Building an International Community of Irish Dancers in the Times of Detachment

Summary/Abstract: This paper is focusing on the ways of building (and breaking) the community around Irish dance. Today being a dance style practiced worldwide, it creates opportunity for international communication of its practitioners through competitions and shared workshops. The first part of the paper is centered around a case study of dance group called “Festival Irish dance Russia”. The Festival style of Irish dance has originated from Northern Ireland and priorly has been practiced exclusively there. The years of pandemic have transformed the habitual ways of passing on the knowledge and connecting with the community. By adapting to new realia, Festival has transformed into a more accessible artform to the dancers worldwide, simultaneously reshaping the community of dance practitioners. The second part is examining the dynamics in the community after the beginning of Ukrainian war and the effects that it had on identity, sense of belonging, and life of this social group. Dance itself being far down on the list of priorities in these devastating times keeps playing an important part as a social connecting glue for the community, giving a chance for establishing connections and broadening the worldview of the practitioners through international communication.

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