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Audio Recording Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1

Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1

Names

  • Moloney, Mick, 1944- (Collector)
  • Dennehy, Denis (Interviewee)
  • Dennehy, Margie (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Chicago, Illinois, May 5, 1977

Headings

  • -  Irish Americans
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Illinois -- Chicago

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Denis & Margie Dennehy, part 1
  • -  Part 1 of 2-part interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, history and methods; topics include how Denis Dennehy started dancing, when, who he learned from; how many dancing schools were around in the early l950's, how many pupils; how many others danced and/or played music in his family, how much travelling, hbw many competitions, contrasted with present; about other contexts for dancing in the past; about the kinds of costumes; change over time; about Denis Dennehy’s own success in competitions, about the problems male dancers faced from peers; how Denis Dennehy started his own school, with his wife Margie, how Margie started with Pat Roche; about Margie Dennehy’s own Irish background; Margie's and Denis’s roles in the school; about their school today, when held, where , how many pupils, ages, gender distribution; about teaching methods, how long for a course, where the students come from, which generation (from immigrant) are they. how information about the school is disseminated, the problems with crowded classes; about other Irish dancing schools in Chicago, availability of qualified teachers, how credentials are established, the nature of examinations; the Irish Dancing Commission tests for adjudicators (contest judges); about different kinds of competitions, qualification procedures for regional, national, world championships; about adjudicators in Chicago; about the teachers' and chidrens’ awareness of standards, qualification procedures; about the children dancing in Chicago, the initial motivations of children and their parents, what age they start, how long children keep up with dancing; about dance style, nature of steps , change over time, the development of more stylized routines, steps are becoming more complex; about who decides what's good and why, where aesthetic norms come from. "Norms are set by the successful”; novelty in dance and its limits; genius; introduction of ballet-like steps to girl’s dancing, how standards are set back in Ireland and emulated in America.

Medium

  • audiocassette, C-60

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/004: AFS 20580a
  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 0642
  • Field Project Identifier: CH77-T057-C

Source Collection

  • Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

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Credit line: Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Moloney, Mick, Denis Dennehy, and Margie Dennehy. Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1. Chicago, Illinois, May 5, 1977. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20580a/.

APA citation style:

Moloney, M., Dennehy, D. & Dennehy, M. (1977) Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1. Chicago, Illinois, May 5. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20580a/.

MLA citation style:

Moloney, Mick, Denis Dennehy, and Margie Dennehy. Interview with Denis and Margie Dennehy about teaching Irish dance in Chicago, Illinois, part 1. Chicago, Illinois, May 5, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20580a/>.