In a town in southern Ireland where the waves of the Atlantic meet the greens of the island, a local pub bursts into a chorus of fiddles that echoes tradition and culture.
And what’s more traditional in Ireland than dancing?
The answer to that is simple: nothing.
YouTube channel Celtic RnR Tours showed us a glimpse of the vibrant culture of the Irish through one of their videos.
In the video, a woman in red steps into the middle of the dance floor.
It wasn’t only the woman that caught everyone’s eye. They were also tuned into the broomstick at her feet.
If you’re perplexed, you’re not alone.
The broom is part of a performance called the sean nós, or the old traditional way of Irish dancing.
In the video’s description, the video was taken at Kate Kearney’s Cottage Pub at the Gap of Dunloe in Ireland.
The heritage place has been a witness to different events throughout the years, but patrons flock to the establishment for drinks, music, and dancing.
The whole room comes alive as the sound of fiddles and pipes fills the room.
Then, the woman clicked her heels and soles against the floor, matching the rhythm and beat of the music.
It looks like the usual tap dance that we see, but this is quicker and much more energetic.
At one point, she lifts the broom on one end and swings her leg over the stick.
The crowd was mesmerized by her intense yet graceful footwork. They joined the music with their rhythmic claps and cheers.
But what kind of dancing is she doing exactly?
Let’s take a step back in time to understand the roots of the Sean Nós dance.
“Sean nós” translates to “old style” in Irish, and this dance form is a direct reflection of Ireland’s rich cultural history.
The dance is expressive and highly improvisational.
It requires being spontaneous, artistic, and athletic all at the same time.
With the inclusion of a broomstick and the spontaneity, we can only deduce that this activity was once communal and intimate.
This performance is more than the hundreds of thousands of views it got.
While it became viral, we should also recognize how it showcases a fragment of Irish culture that survived and evolved through the years.
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In a world that’s ever-changing, these performances, no matter how small, are of immense importance as they remind us of the strength of traditions.
People all over the world expressed how much they loved the unique performance.
“I can remember my mother and some of her Irish and Scottish friends doing a version of this dance in the early ’70s,” said one in the comment section.
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“It was done in the kitchen primarily; my grandparents would visit neighbors, drink Poitin, and dance with the broomstick, doing dance tricks. There was not a lot of room in the houses back then, but this was the kind of fun they had.” Explained another.
Watch how this girl made traditional Irish broom dancing look so easy with her amazing moves below!
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