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Slip jig (Irish : port luascach, port luascadh [1] [2] ) refers to both a style within Irish music, and the Irish dance to music in slip-jig time originating from England. The slip jig is in 9
8 time, traditionally with accents on 5 of the 9 beats — two pairs of crotchet/quaver (quarter note/eighth note) followed by a dotted crotchet note.
The slip jig is one of the four most common Irish stepdances, the others being the reel, the jig and the hornpipe. It is danced in soft shoes. At one time only men danced it, then for several decades only women, and today slip jigs can be danced by any dancer, though at a competitive level they are almost exclusively danced by women. This dance is graceful and controlled, with heels very high, often called "the ballet of Irish dance". There are also traditional Irish céilí dances which are slip jigs, though these are much less common than reels and double jigs.
Because of its timing, the slip jig is longer than the reel for the same number of bars of music. In Irish stepdance competition, the tempo of 113 beats per minute is the same as other dances, but as each bar is longer, instead of dancing to 48 bars of music the dancer is only required to dance 40 bars of music (each of 21⁄2 steps). Stepdance judges prefer sliding motions with the feet and graceful movements that seem to slip across the floor.
Slip jig timing can also be used for strip the willow dances in céilidh folk dance, although the fact that most social dancers do not dance the step limits its use in set dance and ceili dance socially. The tunes are fast-paced and lively in contrast to the slower Irish stepdance tunes.
Music of the slip jig "Drops of brandy":
Other dances in 9
8 time are the Scottish Lilt in Highland dancing and the karsilama of Turkish dance.
Contra dance is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century. Sometimes described as New England folk dance or Appalachian folk dance, contra dances can be found around the world, but are most common in the United States, Canada, and other Anglophone countries.
The Donegal fiddle tradition is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within Irish traditional music. The distinctness of the Donegal tradition developed due to the close relations between County Donegal and Scotland, and the Donegal repertoire and style has influences from Scottish fiddle music. For example, in addition to the ”universally known” standard Irish dance tunes, there is an added volume of Scottish and Nova Scotia tunes played, with even some tunes from Shetland and Orkney. This includes standard tune types such as double jigs, slip jigs, reels, and hornpipes. It has been claimed that Donegal musicians play more slip jigs than any other region of Ireland. This is potentially due to the geographical borders/mountains keeping Donegal's repertoire more locally-known for decades. There is also a prevalence of mazurka playing. Mazurkas are historically mainland-European tunes very similar to a waltz, in its 3
4 meter, though generally livelier and with more emphasis being placed on the second beat of each measure. Another uniquely Donegal tune is called the barndance, stemming from the Germanic schottische, also similar to the Norwegian reinlander. The barndance is very similar to a hornpipe, but slower than a reel; typically they are played with less of a hornpipe's “swing” and more of the “drive” of a reel.
The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. Of Scottish origin, reels are also an important part of the repertoire of the fiddle traditions of Britain, Ireland and North America. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure.
The jig is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It first gained popularity in 16th-century England, Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of the British Isles, and was adopted on mainland Europe where it eventually became the final movement of the mature Baroque dance suite. Today it is most associated with Irish dance music, Scottish country dance and the Métis people in Canada. Jigs were originally in quadruple compound metre,, but have been adapted to a variety of time signatures, by which they are often classified into groups, including double jigs, slip jigs and single jigs.
Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from various influences such as earlier native Irish dance, English country dancing and later possibly French quadrilles, as it became popular in Britain and Ireland during the 19th century. Dance was taught by "travelling dance masters" across Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries, and separate dance forms developed according to regional practice and differing purposes. Irish dance became a significant part of Irish culture, particularly for Irish nationalist movements. From the early 20th century, a number of organisations promoted and codified the various forms of dance, creating competitive structures and standardised styles. Irish dancers who compete for competitive reasons dance in a dance style that is more modern than traditional Irish dance. It is mainly done solo, but there is some team dancing in groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16 and even numbers onwards.
Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are set to musical forms which come from the Gaelic tradition of Highland Scotland, as do the steps used in performing the dances. Traditionally a figure corresponds to an eight-bar phrase of music.
A cèilidh or céilí is a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a home or a larger concert at a social hall or other community gathering place.
Irish set dancing, sometimes called "Irish sets", is a popular form of folk dancing in Ireland danced to Irish tunes in groups of eight or four dancers. It is also sometime named set dance, but this name refers more often to a kind of dance in Irish stepdance.
Step dance is a generic term for dance styles in which footwork is considered to be the most important part of the dance and limb movements and styling are either restricted or considered irrelevant.
A treble jig is an Irish dance which is done in hard shoes. It is also known as the "heavy jig". It is performed to music with a 6/8 time signature. The dance is usually 40 bars to 48 bars in length, but is danced for 32 bars if one is in beginner to prizewinner. The dance is one of the two main hard shoe dances, the other being the hornpipe, and is done by most dancers.
A Feis or Fèis is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are feiseanna and fèisean. The term feis is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Ireland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional music and culture. Although it is Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, the accent is important because there is a difference of meaning and pronunciation between feis and fèis — the word feis means sexual intercourse.
Irish stepdance is a style of performance dance with its roots in traditional Irish dance. It is generally characterized by a stiff upper body and fast and precise movements of the feet. It can be performed solo or in groups. Aside from public dance performances, there are also stepdance competitions all over the world. These competitions are often called Feiseanna. In Irish dance culture, a Feis is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. Costumes are considered important for stage presence in competition and performance Irish stepdance. In many cases, costumes are sold at high prices and can even be custom made. Each costume is different, with varying colors and patterns, designed to attract the judge's eye in competitions and the audience's eye in performance. General appearance beside the costume is also equally important. Female dancers would typically curl their hair before each competition or wear curled wigs, while male dancers would neatly style their hair to a shape to their liking. Poodle Socks are worn by female dancers while males wear plain black socks. Poodle socks are white socks that stretch to typically 1-4 inches above the ankle, depending on the dancers preference. They also have distinctive ribbing, and can be embroidered with gems.
In modern competitive Irish dance, an oireachtas refers to an annual championship competition. Oireachtais are held by several Irish dance organisations globally, including An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha, An Comhdhail na Múinteoirí le Rincí Gaelacha, the World Irish Dance Association, and others. Many oireachtais include both solo and ceilí (team) events. The competitions vary in size, duration, and level of eligibility.
The William Dixon manuscript, written down between 1733 and 1738 in Northumberland, is the oldest known manuscript of pipe music from the British Isles, and the most important source of music for the Border pipes. It is currently located in the A.K. Bell Library, Perth, Scotland. Little is known of William Dixon's biography, except what has been learned from this manuscript, and from parish records in Northumberland.
Sean-nós dance in America has its roots in Irish culture, but may be practiced differently from how it is danced in Ireland. When Irish people emigrated to America in great numbers during the early American Colonial period, or when escaping The Troubles in Ireland, they brought their dance culture with them. One of the many forms of Irish dance is sean-nós dance, which is an informal, spontaneous, solo form of dance. Sean-nós dance has both modified, and in turn been modified by, similar forms of traditional vernacular solo dance in America.
Sean-nós dance is an older style of traditional solo Irish dance. It is a casual dance form, as opposed to the more formal and competition-oriented form of Irish stepdance.
"Haste to the Wedding" is a jig tune in the English, Scottish and Irish musical traditions. The tune originated during the 18th century, although its original composer is not certain. Written in the standard 8-bar AABB format of Gaelic music, it is traditionally performed on the fiddle, but is a simple tune which can be performed on a variety of instruments, and is frequently adapted for session music. The tune has also been used as the basis for songs, and as musical accompaniment for ceili dances of the same name.
Canadian stepdance refers to several related forms of percussive stepdance in Canada with European origins including France, Scotland and Ireland. Canadian stepdancing involves percussive dancing to "Celtic" tunes, usually played by fiddle. Percussive sounds are created through a combination of foot movements such as heel taps, toe taps, and shuffles, all designed to accentuate the music. Canadian stepdance is normally danced in a small space with limited lateral movement. Upper-body postures in Canadian stepdancing are typically relaxed but upright, allowing occasional arm movements that flow with the rhythm of the dance, or hands on hips.
Paddy O'Brien is an Irish accordion player and memoirist, author of The Road from Castlebarnagh: Growing Up In Irish Music and creator of the Paddy O'Brien Tune Collection: A Personal Treasury of Irish Traditional Music, the first published oral collection of Irish traditional music.
Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne is an annual Irish stepdance competition run by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha. The Worlds include competitions for solo stepdance, organised by gender and age; and for certain traditional and original ceili dances, also divided by age group and team gender composition. Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne is the top competition of the hierarchical system operated by An Coimisiún, and dancers must qualify at major Irish stepdance events across the world in order to compete.