We DO Use Our Arms

Recently I had made some edits to a Wikipedia post on Irish dance. The post itself had been quite accurate but I had wanted to clarify that modern Irish dance was more "modern" than the post had been letting on. It neglected to mention that the strictness of Irish dancer arms had been modified for certain types of dances that are more graceful. See my previous post where I noted this change
Here.

I had reviewed the same post I had edited and noticed that the Wikipedia post remained unchanged.I hadn't deleted anything and simply added two sentences that explained that Irish dancers can use their arms but the post was not updated. Although it was not a major change, I do wish the post would be updated!

"Modern" Irish Dance

Browsing through Wikipedia, researching Irish dance, I noticed the article did not seem to quite grasp the "modernness" of modern Irish dance. It assumed that the traditional form of Irish dance hadn't changed from a rigid structure with the dancer's arms at their side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_dance#Modern_stepdance

The most predominant form of Irish stepdance is that popularised by the Broadway show Riverdance, and other Irish dancing stage shows since the late 20th century. Characterised by a rigid torso and dances performed high on the balls of the feet, this style became distinct from the late 19th century when the Gaelic League began efforts to preserve and promote Irish dance as part of a broader nationalist movement concerned with Irish culture. In 1929, the League formed An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG, The Irish Dancing Commission) in order to codify and standardise stepdancing competition and education. Over the following decades, CLRG expanded globally, and promoted this particular form of stepdance by developing examinations and qualifications for teachers and competition adjudicators. Today, stepdance in the style codified by the Gaelic League is performed competitively in a number of countries, and under the auspices of a number of organisations which have at various times broken away from CLRG.

Reading this, I didn't think there was enough regarding how the traditional form of having arms at the side have changed as dancer often move them away from their sides. I decided to add that the soft shoe dances have strayed from this rigid structure and utilized arms to enhance the gracefulness of the dances.

The most predominant form of Irish stepdance is that popularised by the Broadway show Riverdance, and other Irish dancing stage shows since the late 20th century. Characterised by a rigid torso and dances performed high on the balls of the feet, this style became distinct from the late 19th century when the Gaelic League began efforts to preserve and promote Irish dance as part of a broader Irish nationalism|nationalist movement concerned with Irish culture. Although a rigid torso may be the initial characterization of Irish dance, modern soft shoe Irish ballerinas commonly gracefully use their arms in flowing movements, abandoning the traditional form. It is not uncommon for hard shoe dancers to utilize their arms in strict hand formations other than arms at sides. In 1929, the League formed ''An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha'' (CLRG, The Irish Dancing Commission) in order to codify and standardise stepdancing competition and education. Over the following decades, CLRG expanded globally, and promoted this particular form of stepdance by developing examinations and qualifications for teachers and competition adjudicators. Today, stepdance in the style codified by the Gaelic League is performed competitively in a number of countries, and under the auspices of a number of organisations which have at various times broken away from CLRG.

As you can see, the original quote hit on the traditional stance but used the term "modern" without hitting on the newer techniques that strayed from tradition. I believe this minor addition to the original quote helps illustrate that modern Irish dance has changed.