Historical and cultural features and semantics of Irish traditional solo dance

The article examines the historical roots of the Irish traditional solo dance, which is closely related to the authentic culture of the Celts of the Hallstatt period. The Greco Roman influence on the Celtic culture has been revealed since the La Tene era, which led to dialogue and interpenetration of cultures in elements that do not contradict the mentality and traditional values of the peoples. The paper analyzes the tradition of the Celtic druids banning the recording of certain texts, which allowed answering the question related to the lack of written information about the cultural life of the people of Ireland up to the XVII century. The article analyzes the evidence of British travelers of the XVII century about the existence of solo dances jig, rills and hornpipes, many of which in subsequent centuries developed as step dances. The main choreographic forms “dance” and “redance” were also considered, in which solo dance became the basis for these forms, which became popular at competitions. In the course of the work, the connection of solo dance with the mythology of the Irish people was revealed, and the formation of the aesthetics of expressive means took place taking into account the aesthetic criteria of the patron gods and heroes. In this regard, the semantics of solo dance was revealed, which consists in the fact that the performer during the action seeks to symbolically approach God and acquire the highest sacred knowledge and magic, becoming a guide of the almighty in the world of people.