Types of Irish Dance

This page looks, briefly, at the main types of Irish dance including the jig; the hornpipe; the reel; solo set dances; social group set dances and choreographed figure dances. Greater detail may be found by reading the literature on Irish Dancing. The information on this page is taken from 'The Complete Guide To Irish Dance' by Frank Whelan.

The jig is a solo dance that can be performed in a number of different forms:

This style of dancing originated from England as early as the Elizabethan times when it was performed as a stage act, for example the Sailor's Hornpipe. The hornpipe danced in Ireland is very different and since the middle of the 18th century has been danced in either 2/4 or 4/4 time. It is one of the most popular types of Irish dance in the world today and is danced in hard shoes.

The Reel arrived in Ireland from Scotland around 1800 and quickly became very popular. It was transformed into what is now the Irish reel dance which is very different from the Scottish reel dance. It is often danced in soft shoes in 4/4 time and usually performed to double reel tunes (although single reel tunes are often used to teach the basic steps to beginners. The treble reel is performed in hard shoes and although common in modern day Irish dance shows it is rarely a competition dance. It was this dance, performed in the interval at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, which excited millions of people. It is said that this 7 minutes of television achieved more publicity and respect for Irish dancing than had been achieved in the previous 70 years.

These date back to the middle of the 19th century are performed in heavy (hard) shoes to a specific piece of music or dance tune which usually has two parts - 'the step' (the first part) and 'the set' (the second part) and unlike the jig or the hornpipe may differ from the usual eight-bar structure. The dancer is performing to the prescribed tune so that the foot-work and dance rhythm are expected to interpret the tune. Solo set dances include:

In 2/4 time - The Blackbird; Downfall of Paris; King of the Fairies; The Lodge Road and Rodney's Glory.
In 6/8 time - The Blackthorn Stick; The Drunken Gauger; The Three Sea Captains; The Orange Rogue; Planxty Drury; Rub The Bag and St. Patrick's Day.
In 4/4 time - The Garden of Daises; The Hunt; Kilkenny Races; Madame Bonaparte; The Job of Journeywork and Youghal Harbour.

These are performed both in competitions and at ceilis (where they are social dances). Although they have been around since the 19th century they were in different forms and had different steps and it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that they were formalised by the Gaelic League. Today they are structured on a few basic steps: side step; threes; promenade step; rising step and rise and grind. Once these steps have been mastered it is only necessary to concentrate on the body and the figures of the different dances. Ceili dances have a number of formations: round dances; long line dances and long column dances. The Irish Dance Commission describes thirty of these in Books 1, 2 and 3 of its 'Na Rince Forine' and dancers are expected to know all thirty in order to be able to sit their teaching examination. These dances are danced with slight local variations throughout the Irish Dance World; however the 4-hand and 8-hand jigs remain the most common performed in competitions. Ceili dances have largely been responsible for keeping Irish dancing as a living social form for more than a hundred years. In addition to the thirty standard dances there are many others which are popular for one; tow; three; four; five; six and eight couples. Ceili dances appeal to dancers of all ages and as well as being taught in schools there are a number of ceili clubs throughout Ireland which place greater emphasis on ceili dancing as a leisure activity.

These dances originate from a dance known as the 'quadrille' where couples faced each other standing in a square. These dances started in Napoleon's Paris and were introduced to England and ireland by Wellington's armies. They were adapted by Dancing Masters (for more information on dancing Masters click here) who replaced the ballroom steps with native ones and speed up the time to that of the reel and jig. Social group set dances were rarely found in the first seventy years of the twentieth century as the Gaelic league considered them 'foreign' and any dancer found dancing them could have been expelled from a dance class and barred from attending Gaelic League events and ceilis. They have; however, made a come back in recent years and are particularly popular amongst older dancers. Social set dances are often danced at a fast speed and in a wild manner which bears little resemblance to the original set dances which were associated with discipline and good manners.

These dances are performed by teams of dancers for competitions and exhibitions and their development over the last thirty to forty years has produced some spectacular and creative displays which have added to the entertainment value of Irish dancing and have been popular with dancers; teachers and audiences. Choreographers have much greater freedom compared to other styles of Irish dance and the Book of Kells and the design of Celtic High Crosses have been popular themes in recent years.