Irish set dancing

[1] The rise of rock and roll in the 1950s caused the popularity of set dancing to fade.

However, in the 1980s a revival started and many sets that have not been done for forty years or more are being recovered and danced again.

As the sets were often shown in special competitions under a choregraphied form (three or four figures had to be chosen to dance on the stage for instance), the popular version of the sets danced in the Céilí is often derived from this choreography and can be different from the original.

In some homesteads a kitchen pot was placed under the flag stones as an extra acoustical element for the house dance.

In places with a large community of set dancers, like Ireland or New York City, it is usual for dances to be uncalled - that is, done with no calling - because most dancers already know the instructions for the common sets.