Dances

There are six main Irish Dances that everybody learns, four light dances and two heavy dances.  These are; Light Dances:

The Reel, Light Jig, Slip jig and Hop jig Heavy Dances: Heavy Jig and Hornpipe. Each dance school has it's own steps for some dances.

THE REEL is usually the first dance that is learnt. It has basic steps (dance moves) in the beginners/novice grade, and the steps get harder in Primary, Intermediate and Open. THE LIGHT JIG is a basic dance and the steps stay the same in each grade. Every body does almost the same dance, but some are changed slightly. THE SLIP JIG is a dance that has different timing to the other Light Dances. The counting into the dance is longer, but it is a faster dance than the Light Jig. It has basic steps that progress to harder steps.  THE HOP JIG is a fast dance that consists mostly of a move called a Jump, and is a very springy dance.

 HEAVY DANCES:

THE HEAVY JIG is a dance with a slow rhythm but fast moves and steps. It starts off with basic steps which get harder. THE HORNPIPE is a happy dance that has a slow rhythm, but has fast moves and steps like the Heavy Jig.

CEILI DANCING IS WHEN A GROUP OF PEOPLE DANCE TOGETHER WITH THE JOINING OF HANDS OR OBJECTS. SOME CEILI DANCES ARE DANCED IN A CIRCLE FORMATION AND OTHERS ARE DANCED IN A STRAIGHT LINE. THE GIRLS ALL HAVE TO WEAR LONG WIGS AND THE SAME DRESSES.

                The Major Championships

A group of Ceili Dancers.

                                  A Gruop Of Monkies Giving RIVERDANCE  A Shot !!