Ethnomusicologist and dancer, Sam Jones, will share findings from her recent research trip to Ireland. Drawing on interviews, archival work and ethnographic fieldwork material, her talk will explore themes of continuity and change in the transmission of Irish dance steps and history among dancers. Special attention will be paid to the relationship between dance and music, as well as the role of memory in performing dance, defining genre and style, and creating community.

Sam Jones is a graduate student in ethnomusicology at Harvard University. She earned her Master’s in ethnomusicology at Boston University and holds undergraduate degrees in music and cognitive science from the University of Connecticut. Her primary research subject is Irish traditional dance and its music, with forms ranging from solo percussive styles to social partner/quadrille dancing. In addition to her studies, Sam is also a dancer and a classically trained musician. She has studied sean-nós and old-style traditional step dancing with Kieran Jordan since 2011 and occasionally performs and teaches in the Boston area.