The Irish Washerwoman

L to R: Laura Robertson, Adam Wheeler, Sheila Graziano Recorded April 2022 at The Concourse Hall in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is the choreography and tunes used by the Marley family when they performed this dance in the Vaudeville era. Taught to Tony Barrand by Anna and Eleanor Marley. Musicians: Brad Battey (fiddle) Myron Grant (guitar)

[@silvermoon___]

I love everything about this.

[@Garyh61]

Beautiful! Even IKEA doesn't have legs this good!

[@lis819]

Bravo!

[@dawnjohnson3263]

Thank you dancers, wonderful young people. For a wee minute i was awa back in my Highland hame, mony mony moons ago When you started doing a reel i saw my ma again, she was young . . .

[@Magjmcd]

They're the most chilled out dancers I've ever soon. Fantastic.

[@Magjmcd]

*seen*

[@jamesbradshaw3389]

Just stunningly brilliant. Irish music is soul music, Irish dancing is for joy, beautiful dancing with possible good old Englis wooden made clogs plus the soft shoe shuffle added in for good measure.

[@Tradstepper]

Thank you, James!

[@dawnjohnson3263]

Yeah!

[@moiraruff3292]

Learnt this from Tony Barrand in Lancashire back in 1997. As an Irish dancer and an English step clog dancer I found it a simple routine but interesting to see how Irish dance would be portrayed on the stage in the US. There are almost no records of Irish dance in the US much before the early 20th century Gaelic League revival reached there, mainly in the 1920s on (see John Cullinane's books), although Tony and one of his students, Rett(?), had found Irish names on 19thC US theatrical posters performing percussive clog dances (as in wooden-soled shoes -from a talk they gave to Reading Step & Clog dance workshop weekend in England in the 1990s). The Irish danced but we don't know what in the way of step dancing for certain. So good to see these steps preserved and recorded. 👍

[@Tradstepper]

Thank you for sharing your story, Moira! It's terrific to hear others chime in with their experiences w/ Tony B. and the Marley dances! It is definitely a very simple routine; great for dancers in the early phases of learning. This is part of an ongoing project to preserve and archive the whole set of Marley dances. (13 in all)

[@judithrfisher-ol3yv]

You have my heart a dancing! Totally loved it. Please do more 🍀 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

[@christinefullerton7183]

Fantastic Thanks ❤❤❤

[@jamiecorrigan3241]

CRISP AND CLEAN

[@user-cl2bh8yt9c]

Ye folks are GREAT at the dancin’! and it did me ol’ heart good to see yees so it did! ☘️☘️☘️☘️

[@Tradstepper]

Thank you so much!

[@dawnjohnson3263]

Aye, yeah

[@barbarawoodhouse5514]

Just delightful.😊

[@maryneville2495]

Love it - the dancing and the tune.

[@user-zg6dp6us8n]

Такие жизнерадостные ирландские танцы. Да здравствует Ирландия!

[@edmondscott7444]

Marvellous dancing and playing.

[@Tradstepper]

Thanks so much!

[@johnmulvey5121]

Brilliant!

[@TheSelfstarter]

So good to see you all together!! Great dancing 👍

[@Tradstepper]

Thanks, Maria! This is part of The Marley Project; all 10 dances (plus three variations) on record.

[@petuniawigglebottom3392]

My, that looked like fun. Good show!

[@nancyhamer949]

Very fun!

[@BytomGirl]

Perfect... such unison

[@bobbiemay6867]

Now try the Gardiner brothers!

[@snugbug5067]

Probably a dance families did for enjoyment in get togethers. Everybody could master it.

[@rcole6679]

👍

[@te_piriti9220]

Its the Irish Washerwoman bracketed with the Garry Owen

[@mrsweadmops]

Lovely dancing. What shoes are you wearing, and are they available to buy online? Thank you.

[@Tradstepper]

Those are wood soled English clog dancing shoes. There are a couple of clog makers in the U.K. who are the main source for these shoes. Yes, they're available online.

[@mrsweadmops]

​@@TradstepperThank you so much for replying. The clogs make a great sound.

[@eileenobrien7229]

Exceptional. Not frenetic...delightful

[@Tradstepper]

Thank you, Eileen!

[@susandrydenhenderson6234]

It looks a bit Scottish.

[@Tradstepper]

There's a version of The Irish Washerwoman that is a big part of the Scottish Highland Dance competition repertoire. There are also many versions that have been created by various Irish (and other) dance schools for performances. This particular version was choreographed in the U.S. during the 1930s for the Vaudeville circuit. The gent (William Marley) who choreographed was an English/Irish immigrant who came to the States in the late 1900s, shoes and talent in tow!

[@sergioagopian1798]

Bravissimi