GYPSY CEILIS
The VMC presents "Gypsy Ceilis": participatory music & dance events for adults & students age 16+. Offered periodically through the school year at various Lubbock locations, and also for schools & other student groups.
Ceili is a word from Irish which means “a music and dance party.” “To ceili” with someone is to participate in such a party, at which songs, tunes, dances, stories, jokes, food, and drink all swirl together in a celebration of inclusive, participatory community. “Ceili’ing” - the making of music-and-dance together in social situations—has been an essential strategy for cultural revival and renewal in the Irish Diaspora, over centuries and around the world.
The title of the “Gypsy Ceilis” title references both the itinerant peoples - “gypsies”, “tinkers”, Travelers, Pavees, Romani, and so on—who were essential carriers of oral tradition as far back as the Middle Ages, as well as the music-and-dance parties of Ireland’s Gaeltachtai. The Gypsy Ceili is a kind of “movable feast”, in which singers, players, dancers, storytellers and the fir an tí (“man of the house”—host) present a vibrant, colorful, and engaging program of participatory entertainment. Drawing upon both the logistical and artistic support of the Texas Tech University College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Roots Music Institute (501c3), the VMC’s “Gypsy Ceilis” are offered in an accessible, portable format for students, seniors, fraternal and business organizations, non-profits, and a wide range of other audiences.
The Gypsy Ceili can involve as few as 6 musicians, actors and dancers or as many as 15. Space & logistical needs are very simple: transport & housing costs, and an acoustically sound performance venue with a floor appropriate for dancing. Gypsy Ceili performers can speak, sing, dance, teach, play, and lead participatory activities.
Ceili is a word from Irish which means “a music and dance party.” “To ceili” with someone is to participate in such a party, at which songs, tunes, dances, stories, jokes, food, and drink all swirl together in a celebration of inclusive, participatory community. “Ceili’ing” - the making of music-and-dance together in social situations—has been an essential strategy for cultural revival and renewal in the Irish Diaspora, over centuries and around the world.
The title of the “Gypsy Ceilis” title references both the itinerant peoples - “gypsies”, “tinkers”, Travelers, Pavees, Romani, and so on—who were essential carriers of oral tradition as far back as the Middle Ages, as well as the music-and-dance parties of Ireland’s Gaeltachtai. The Gypsy Ceili is a kind of “movable feast”, in which singers, players, dancers, storytellers and the fir an tí (“man of the house”—host) present a vibrant, colorful, and engaging program of participatory entertainment. Drawing upon both the logistical and artistic support of the Texas Tech University College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Roots Music Institute (501c3), the VMC’s “Gypsy Ceilis” are offered in an accessible, portable format for students, seniors, fraternal and business organizations, non-profits, and a wide range of other audiences.
The Gypsy Ceili can involve as few as 6 musicians, actors and dancers or as many as 15. Space & logistical needs are very simple: transport & housing costs, and an acoustically sound performance venue with a floor appropriate for dancing. Gypsy Ceili performers can speak, sing, dance, teach, play, and lead participatory activities.
