Irish Dancing & Portrait Photography
For my project, I have decided to focus on Portrait Photography and Irish Dancing.
Irish dance is a type of traditional dance form that originated in Ireland.
Irish dance is a type of traditional dance form that originated in Ireland.
Irish performance dance is traditionally known as step dance,
popularized by the famous "Riverdance" show. Step dance is known for
its rapid leg movements and stationary body and arms. Solo step dances can be
performed in soft shoes or hard shoes.
I feel my idea could fall
under either self-portrait photography or promotional photography. This is
because I want the final images to illustrate what Irish dancing is all about.
For this project I will concentrate on one Irish Dancer,
including their clothing, make up, hairstyles and the dance itself. My subject
for this project is highly skilled in Irish dancing and started at a young age.
Therefore I can take some effective action shots. I would like to make the most of these action
shots by the use of camera angles and lighting. I will experiment with
spotlight lighting and taking the photo from a lower angle as I feel it will
really show the height that my subject can jump.
As the hair styles, make up and clothing are very vibrant, I
would like to bring this out in the images by use of lighting and contrast.
Richard Avedon
Sylvie Guillem. New York, March 12, 1991
Rudolf Nureyev, “en pointe”, New York, May 31, 1967
Irish Dancing Clothing
Irish Dancers dresses are very vibrant and
flamboyant. They are called Solo Dresses. I want to bring this out in my project.
Most of the Irish Dancer girls wear these high white socks, these are called Poodle Socks. The shoes tend to lace across the feet and around their ankles, these are called Ghillies. They have fiberglass under both the toes and heel of the sole of the shoe.
An Irish Dancer's Hair
Irish Dancer's tend to wear wigs like these in competitions. It is traditional. Irish Dancer's like to use wigs as it adds to the beauty and elegance of their dance moves and jumps.
Irish Dance
Irish dance competitions are called Feis, pronounced 'Fesh'. They can be held all around the UK and are usually very flamboyant competitions with loads of Irish Dancer's from all over taking part. The judges in these competitions are called A.D.C.R.G.s (Teasgicoir Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha and Ard Diploma Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha respectively).
Irish Dancing is called 'step dance', this is because each move in Irish dancing is called a step. The most common 'steps' are beats, cuts, front kicks, overs, lifts and sevens.
An example of an 'over' or and 'overs' move is a leap with one foot tucked squarely under the bum.
This is a very powerful yet hard move to do and it takes a lot of time and skill to accomplish.
An example of the front kick is a high scissors kick with a click of the hard heels of the shoes when the feet pass each other.
This move is all about elegance and grace as the dancer kicks as high as possible. If done well this can score a lot of points in a Feis.
My Subject
For my project I have chosen to photograph an Irish Dancer called Jessica Starrs (Jess). Jess has been dancing from a young age and is very skilled in Irish Dancing. She has taken part in many competitions and has come close to winning on several occasions. In my final images, I would like to bring across her passion for this dance and what it means to take part in the competitions.
Jess's love and passion for this dance originated from her child hood. Jess is half Irish and from a young girl was taken to Feis's. She has always been interested in starting this dance so from a young age she did just that. Jess has devoted her time and effort into this dance that she has managed to perfect most of the dance moves and aims to get better and better as she gets older. As well as dancing, Jess works full time at a dentist to help pay for the costs that come with the dance and Feis's. Jess realises that she won't be able to dance for her whole life, therefore gaining skills in other things for a full time job. However because Jess has such passion for Irish Dancing, she plans on pursuing it until she is no longer able. I feel she will go a long way and from personal experience of viewing her dancing, I feel she is more than capable of winning the World Championships, which has been her aim for many years now.
Jess's hair style doesn't differ too my from most of the Irish Dancer's. However she shows elegance and grace with her hair style up and with an attached wig on the bun. This allows even more height during her dance moves.
Jess has taken part in a lot of competitions growing up, however it isn't until recently that she has started to take part in UK national competitions.
Photos taken from Jess as from one of her competitions.
Jess's Irish Dancer Outfit
Jess's outfit has changed during her years of dancing. Her most recent outfit is one of her favourite. Her dress is custom made and cost her £700.
Here you can see her dress is covered in Swarovski Crystals. This makes the dress truly beautiful and stand our from the rest.
Jess also wears a diamond head band in her hair for her competitions.
This brings out her hair and crystals on her dress and adds to the whole outfit.
When Jess isn't in competitions, these items are kept safely away in boxes and covers due to their worth. An Irish Dancer can choose the way she looks for competitions, as long as she sticks to the traditional values.
Jess's hair style has changed throughout her years of competing.
Here you can see at a young age of 16, Jess has a fringe and a fuller wig with a different type of hair band, however has always stuck to tradition.
A Practice Dance Session with Jess
For an Irish Dancer to perfect the moves they have to practice. Jess practices 3-4 times a week and when she isn't practicing dance she is in the gym gaining muscle. This is because the jumps and moves required to win competitions also require a lot of strength and power. Jess has devoted her life to Irish Dancing and has managed to do really well.
A Testing of Lighting
For my final images I am unsure on how I would like to have the lighting. However I am interested in spot lighting. This is so I am able to control where the light goes and what it shows.
These photos were taking in a studio where there were various different background and lighting to be used.
An Interview with Jessica Starrs
Q: How old are you now and how old were you when you started to dance?
A: I am 21 now, I started to dance properly at the age of 6. However i'm sure mum told me I 'tried' dancing from an even younger age!
Q:What made you interested in dancing and especially Irish Dancing?
A: From a young age I used to attend Feis's with my older sister and mum. I loved them. From the moment you walk in it's like you have stepped into another world. There are all sorts of colours flying about, big hair and tanned people. I remember the first show I attended when I was younger. It was just a small competition in Ireland. I'll never forget it, I thought the dancers were dolls they looked so pretty, I knew from then on I wanted to be one of them.
Q: I know you're already amazing at dancing, but do you want to become a professional dancer one day?
A: Thank You! Yes definitely, it has always been a dream of mine and you can achieve anything you put your mind too. This dance isn't just about skill it is all down to your mind set as well.
Q: What do you mean by mind set?
A: To be able to dance is to be able to have confidence, thats something my dance teacher Stephan always says. With these dance moves, especially an 'over' you have to have confidence that you'll land correctly and not injure yourself, if you worry you'll fall. Confidence is all down to your mind set, and with a teacher like Stephen it is hard not to have confidence, he's great!
Q: I guess your confidence also comes from winning competitions, or coming close to winning?
A: Sure. Don't get me wrong, there are many competitions I haven't done well in. When I was starting off Irish Dancing I had very little confidence. Other people were better than me, boys and girls, it really knocks your confidence losing a competition. There was even a point in which I felt Irish Dancing wasn't for me. Thats when I started training with Stephen. He basically knocks confidence into you. If you fall and moan about falling he'll give you no sympathy, yet if you do a good step or well in a competition, he'll make you feel like you're better than any other dancer around. This is mainly because he still likes giving out lollies!
Q: It's great that you have such a good teacher by your side, however do you get worried that your team mates or friends in Irish Dancing see you as competition?
A: Yes all the time, but we all know the score. Im so happy when my friends in Irish Dancing win a competition or do really well because I know what it means to do well. I'd like to think they feel the same about me.
Q: Do you think your passion for Irish Dancing will last?
A: Always! It's not only a hobby of mine, it's my life. Being half Irish my family are so proud of me and what I have become, this in itself means everything to me. I have had cousins and even my sister who have tried Irish Dancing once in their lives, however have never enjoyed it as much as me. When I'm working in the dentist all I'm thinking about is training that night and when I'm training all I'm thinking about is competitions. It hasn't so much taken over my life as I still manage to see friends and family, however I am happy with how much of my life it has taken up. I feel really lucky to be where I am, mums always said our last name means something, and she always says ill be a star one day, this is my dream!
After this interview with Jess, it became apparent how passionate she was about Irish Dance. Her skill and mind set has changed so much throughout the years that she is now able to compete in World Wide Championships.
My Final Images
Image 1
This image shows what Jess would look like just before a competition. She has had a spray tan in order to look tanned. This brings out the colour of her dress. She will smile like this throughout the competition to show elegance and grace, however whilst perfuming the moves, the dancers don't have to smile as it is very difficult. Her is perfectly placed in a bun with her wig at the top. She has her tiara in and diamond earrings. These earrings bring out the Swarovski Crystals in her dress.
Image 2
This image was taking from the practice session I photographed with Jess. I liked this picture and it shows her elegance. She has placed her feet in a position suitable for the beginning of a dance.
Image 3
This is Jess perfuming a jump commonly known as a front kick. This is just before front right leg will be kicked out. This requires a lot of skill. I have tried to photograph it before the kick was made in order to create a story like effect. I have also cropped the bottom of the stage out to add to the height of her jump.
Image 4
This is Jess completing the front kick step. You can see how skilled she is with the pointed toes and her calm posture and facial features.
Image 5
This is Jess doing the front kick again with great height however turning the other way around. Here you can see how much her toes are pointed and curled, almost like in a ball shape.
Image 6
Here Jess is now completing the front kick step. Her posture is elegant and graceful, her hair adding to this height.
Image 7
Here Jess is completing a Leap Step. We managed to time it perfectly in the opening of the curtains. This I feel shows how straight her posture is, her pointed toes also add to this.
Image 8
For this final image I have show what the end of an Irish Dancers dance can look like. The dancer would have her hands by her side smiling gracefully towards the judges. However it is the feet that are the most effective. They are position so that the heel is the only thing touching. This again shows elegance and beauty, it is also a very traditional stance.
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