Rhythm_of_The

If you are already learning Irish Dancing as an Adult, I am sure you will remember the feeling of walking into your Irish Dancing school's studio for the first time and seeing the more experienced students (often younger) dancing. Remember the thoughts that ran through your head?

"Will I ever remember all those steps?"

"Can I ever dance like that?"

Does that sound familiar?..... Well if you are contemplating learning to Irish Dance you may also have these same thoughts flashing through your mind. BUT the answer to both questions is YES!

YES! You will definitely remember those steps and YES! you do get to dance like THAT!

It all looks a bit daunting at first, but as you become more familiar with the steps and the rhythms of the music, you find it will definitely become easier. So don't let those initial fears put you off!

As you become more familiar with Irish Dancing you will also start to learn a new language.

"The lingo" of Irish Dancing - trebles, shuffles, hop backs, cut ups, over two threes, side step, sevens, threes and much more. This may seem like double-dutch to you at first, but all of it will eventually make sense!!!

The first dances that you'll learn vary from school to school. Some schools start you off initially learning soft shoe dances only and some schools teach you both soft shoes and hard shoe dances straight away. Which ever way your school teaches you simply look, learn, practise, ask lots of question and enjoy yourself!

REMEMBER.....Everybody starts off the same way, as a Beginner!

Listed below are some of the dances that you will learn as a Beginner:-

LIGHT JIG - this is a beginner dance in soft shoe. Initially jigs are danced in soft shoe later progressing to hard shoes dances. This is danced to a 6/8 timing for the musically inclined. Each school has their own unique choreography for their dances the light jig steps are very similar from school to school. These beginners dances will teach you a whole bunch - how to dance without moving your arms to start with, keeping your back firm and your body straight, how to dance crossing your feet and turning your toes out from the hip, pointing your toes, dancing high on demi-point and most importantly about rhythm.

SOFT SHOE REEL - the beginners reel can also be called the Skip Reel or the Hop Reel. This is danced to 2/4 or 4/4 timing. The music will seem very fast at first, but once you become more familiar with the steps to this dance you will realise that it's quite easy to keep the timing and rhythm. The reel is quite an athletic dance and requires lots of elevation and swift movements. There generally is a side step in the beginners reel called The 7s, which you will also find in Team and Ceili dancing.

SLIP JIG - another soft shoe dance, these days generally performed by girls only. Although some schools do teach the slip jig to males dancers during their earlier dancing experiences. The slip jig is danced in a complex 9/8 time unique to Irish Dancing. It's a smooth, flowing dance that can look like you are dancing on air - with lots of elevation and leg extensions.

There is a lot of grace and poise in the slip jig and it can seem very similar to ballet at times. Beginners slip jigs are often called hop, hop, drop dances as there is an emphasis lots of light hopping and sliding actions or hopping one leg and swinging your other leg extended gracefully out the front. There is generally a side step in this dance which involves cut-ups.

SINGLE JIG - another soft shoe dance. This is another jig danced in a 2/4 and 4/4 timing, but the emphasis are on different beats. This dance also involves a lot of hopping and leg extensions. The music is very rhythmical and bouncy and that is how the dance is generally choreographed. There is also a side step to this dance, which can be similar to the side step in the Slip Jig. A major characteristic of the single jig is the toe-beat, heel-beat steps

TREBLE JIG - this will be your first Hard Shoe dance. Being a jig this is also danced in 2/4 timing and teaches you all about that wonderful sound of Irish dancing.

Initially it will seem difficult to create the sounds to the right rhythms. You may find yourself dancing 'air shuffles' where you go to dance a treble or a shuffle as it often called and your foot does not connect with the ground........hence no sound!!! But this all comes with practise, practise and more practise. You will become more familiar with your shoes and how to create those sounds.

You might drive your neighbours crazy in the meantime!

You will learn how to make these rhythmic sounds using the toe, heel and ball of your foot, you will also learn a great deal about the turn-out of your feet in your hard shoe dances. If you are not mastering the turn out in your soft shoes, it will be really noticeable in your hard shoes when you start to attempt click-throughs. This is a scissor kick of varying heights where you click your heels together to make the lovely clicking sound so familiar to Irish dancing. If your feet are not turned out properly, then your heels cannot connect to click.

HORNPIPE - This also another Hardshoe dance. The beginners hornpipe is danced to a much faster timing that the more advanced hornpipes. It is an extremely rhythmical dance danced to a 2/4 and 4/4 timing like a reel, with the emphasis on different beats. This is a great dance for those who have a good sense of rhythm and can be difficult to learn at first because the rhythm is so different. A notable feature of the Hornpipe is the step called Rocks.

THE NEXT LEVEL

Once you have mastered the beginners cache of dances your teacher may then teach you a Traditional Set Dance. These are very old dances that were choreographed many years ago - they are nicknamed the Traditionals, meaning the steps do not change and have been taught exactly the same way to Irish Dancers over many years.

In these Traditionals, if you follow the correct original choreography, there are no click-throughs. If you have not already had the opportunity you will now learn a step called Rocks very unique to Irish dancing.

The Traditionals Sets are:

St Patricks Day - Treble Jig
The Blackbird - Hornpipe
The Job of Journey Work - Hornpipe
The Garden of Daisies - Hornpipe

After these initial beginners dances your teacher will now start teaching more complicated dances - at the next level. From here the complexity of the steps will grow and grow. The speeds of your dances may change, the more complicated the dance the slower the speed of the music ie:

A Beginners Reel speed can vary from 116 to 121 where as the speed of a more complicated Primary, Elementary or Open Reel can be danced at the speed of 112 to 115.

There is a similar situation with Hard Shoe dances. Beginners Treble Jigs can be danced from 88 to 96 speed the more complicated dances 73 to 76 speed.

A General rule of the thumb for the more complicated dances are:

Reel - 113 speed
Slip Jig - 113 speed
Jig - 73 speed
Hornpipe - 113 speed

There are also a vast array of 'Own Choreography Set Dances' that you may learn. These are Hard Shoe dances performed to tunes that are very old, some of these tunes have been around for over 250 years and quite a few a more recent, say in the last 200 years!!! The travelling Dance Masters used to teach steps to these tunes.

Each school will create their own choreography to these tunes and may even create the choreography around the dancers strengths. These are normally quite intricate dances and are usually taught to more advanced levels eg: an Open level student or competitor. This is because the tune is always the same and the dancer knows it quite well so a little more is expected of that dancer - a more varying and intricate interpretation of the music and its rhythms. These dances are either in Jig or Hornpipe

Set Dances and suggested speeds:

The Ace and Deuce of Pipering - Hornpipe 76 speed
An Caiplin Ban - Treble Jig - 66 speed **
The Blackbird - Hornpipe - 138 speed
The Blackthorn Stick - Treble Jig - 66 speed **
Bonapartes Retreat - Hornpipe - 76 speed
The Downfall of Paris - Hornpipe - 38(76) speed
The Drunken Gauger - Treble Jig - 66 speed +
The Funny Tailor - Treble Jig - 66 speed +
The Garden of Daisies - Hornpipe - 76 speed
The Humours of Bandon - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The Hunt - Hornpipe - 76 speed
The Hurling Boys - Treble Jig - 69 speed
Hurry The Jug - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The Job of Journey Work - Hornpipe - 76 speed
Jockey to the Fair - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The King of the Fairies - Hornpipe - 40(80)speed
Kilkenny Races - Hornpipe - 80 speed
The Lodge Road - Hornpipe - 38(76) speed
Madame Bonaparte - Hornpipe - 80 speed
Miss Browns Fancy - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The Orange Rogue - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The Piper Through the Meadow Straying - Hornpipe - 76 speed
Planxty Davis - Hornpipe - 40(80) speed
Planxty Drury - Treble Jig - 69 speed
The Rambling Rake - Hornpipe - 76 speed
Rodneys Glory - Hornpipe - 40(80) speed
Rub The Bag - Treble Jig - 66 speed
St Patricks Day - Treble Jig - 92 speed
The Three Sea Captains - Treble Jig - 66 speed
The White Blankets of Suisin Ban - Hornpipe - 76 speed
Youghal Harbour - Hornpipe - 80 speed

** Same Music
+ Same Music