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{{Short description|Folk dance and tune}}
{{About|the folk dance}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}
[[File:HaymakersJig.jpg|thumb|Dancing the Haymakers' Jig at an Irish [[ceilidh]]]]
The '''jig''' ({{langx|ga|port}}, {{langx|gd|port-cruinn}}) is a form of lively [[folk dance]] in [[Metre (music)#Compound metre|compound metre]], as well as the accompanying dance [[tune (folk music)|tune]]. It first gained popularity across the [[British Isles]] in the 16th-century,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/IrishMusic/XVI.php|title = Anglo-Irish Music in the Sixteenth Century|accessdate=11 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The jig dance tradition: five centuries old and still counting {{!}} Music Tales|url=https://musictales.club/article/jig-dance-tradition-five-centuries-old-and-still-counting|access-date=4 March 2021|website=musictales.club}}</ref> and was adopted on [[mainland Europe]] where it eventually became the final movement of the mature [[Baroque]] [[Suite de danses|dance suite]] (the French [[gigue]]; Italian and Spanish [[Gigue|giga]]).<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Randel|editor-first1=Don Michael|title=The Harvard dictionary of music|date=2003|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=9780674011632|pages=[https://archive.org/details/harvarddictionar0004unse/page/421 421, 430]|edition=4th|url=https://archive.org/details/harvarddictionar0004unse/page/421}}</ref> Today it is most associated with [[Irish dance]] music, [[Scottish country dance]], [[French Canadians|French Canadian]] [[Music of Quebec|traditionnal music and dance (trad)]] and the [[Métis people]] in Canada.<ref name="IntrotoPoetry">{{cite book|last=Driscoll|first=Michael|author2=Hamilton, Meredith|author3=Coons, Marie|title=A Child's Introduction to Poetry|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers|location=New York|date=May 2003|page=12|isbn=1-57912-282-5|url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Childs-Introduction-to-Poetry/Michael-Driscoll/e/9781579122829}}</ref> Jigs were originally in quadruple compound metre, (e.g., {{music|time|12|8}} time), but have been adapted to a variety of [[time signature]]s, by which they are often classified into groups, including double jigs ({{music|time|6|8}}), slip jigs ({{music|time|9|8}}) and single jigs ({{music|time|12|8}}).

==Origins==
[[File:Will Kemp Elizabethan Clown Jig.jpg|thumb|English Elizabethan clown [[William Kempe|Will Kempe]] dancing a jig from London to Norwich in 1600]]

The term ''jig'' was probably derived from the French ''giguer'', meaning 'to jump' or the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''giga''.<ref>Ling, J.; Schenck, L. & R., ''A History of European Folk Music''. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 1997, p. 194.</ref> The use of 'jig' in Irish dance derives from the [[Irish language|Irish]]  ''jigeánnai'', itself borrowed from the [[Old English]] ''giga'' meaning 'old dance'.<ref name="Lyons2012">{{cite book|last1=Lyons|first1=Reneé Critcher|title=The revival of banned dances: a worldwide study|url=https://archive.org/details/revivalofbannedd0000lyon|url-access=registration|date=2012|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=9780786465941|page=[https://archive.org/details/revivalofbannedd0000lyon/page/161 161]}}</ref> It was known as a dance in 16th-century England, often in {{music|time|12|8}} time,<ref>Wilson, C. R. & Calore, M., ''Music in Shakespeare: a dictionary'' (Continuum International, 2005), p. 233.</ref> and the term was used for a [[stage jig|post-play entertainment featuring dance]] in early modern England, but which 'probably employed a great variety
of dances, solo (suitable for jigs), paired, round, country or courtly';{{sfn|Clegg|Skeaping|2014|p=10}} in [[John Playford|Playford's]] [[The Dancing Master|''Dancing Master'']] (1651) 'the dance game in "Kemps Jegg" is a typical scenario from a dramatic jig and it is likely that the combination of dance metre for steps and non-metrical passages for pantomime indicates how a solo or ensemble jig might have been danced by stage players.'{{sfn|Clegg|Skeaping|2014|p=8}} Later the dance began to be associated with music particularly in {{music|time|6|8}} time, and with slip jigs {{music|time|9|8}} time.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Casey|first1=Marion|last2=Lee|first2=J. J.|title=Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States|date=2007|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814752180|page=418|language=en}}</ref>

==Ireland and Scotland==
During the middle of the 16th century the dance was adopted in Ireland<ref>in 1569 Sir Henry Sydney sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth in which he expresses his enthusiasm for the Irish jigs of Galway https://www.libraryireland.com/IrishMusic/XVI.php</ref> and in the 17th century Scotland, where it was widely adapted, and the jig is now most often associated with these countries, especially Ireland.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Raven|editor1-first=Michael|editor1-link=Michael Raven|title=One thousand English country dance tunes|date=1999|publisher=Michael Raven|location=Market Drayton|isbn=9780906114315|edition=2nd}}</ref> The jig is second in popularity only to the [[reel (dance)|reel]] in traditional Irish dance; it is popular but somewhat less common in Scottish country dance music. It is transcribed in [[Metre (music)#Compound metre|compound metre]], being {{music|time|6|8}} time. The most common structure of a jig is two eight-bar parts, performing two different steps, each once on the right foot, and one on the left foot.  As with most other types of dance [[tune (folk music)|tunes]] in [[Music of Ireland|Irish music]], at a session or a dance it is common for two or more jigs to be strung together in a set, flowing on without interruption.

==In Irish step dance==

The following distinction is primarily observed in modern competitive Irish dance and should not be confused with the general notion of how the jigs are played and classified among traditional Irish musicians.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rhythm (Tune Type) Definitions |url=https://www.irishtune.info/rhythm/|website=irishtune.info|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref>

===Light jigs===
[[File:Jig shoe 3.jpg|thumb|Feet shod in Irish dance hard shoes]]

A light jig is the second-fastest of all jigs. The performer's feet rarely leave the ground for long, as the step is fast, typically performed at a speed around 116 at [[feis]]eanna. There are several light jig steps, varying with each dance school, but the rising step, or the rise and grind, is standard in almost all light jigs. The right side version of the rising step is performed by putting weight on the left foot, lifting the right foot off the ground then hopping on the left foot once. Hop on the left foot again, bringing the right foot back behind the left foot and then shift the weight onto the right foot, leaving the left foot in the air. Dancers use the phrase "hop, hop back" for these three movements, and there is a slight pause between the hop, and hop back. The next movement is a hop on the right foot. Then shift the weight, left-right-left-right. The phrase for this whole movement is: "hop, hop back, hop back 2-3." To do the step on the left foot, reverse the left and right directions.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Machaffie|first1=Scott|title=Footwork for Irish and Scottish dancing|url=http://www.nonvi.com/sm/footwork.html#irish|website=NonVi|access-date=4 November 2017|date=5 November 1999}}</ref>

===Slip jigs===
[[Slip jig]]s are in {{music|time|9|8}} time. Because of the longer measures, they are longer than the [[reel (dance)|reel]] and the light jig, with the same number of bars to the music.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cowdery|first1=James R.|title=The melodic tradition of Ireland|date=1990|publisher=Kent State Univ. Press|location=Kent, Ohio|isbn=0-87338-407-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/melodictradition00cowd/page/17 17]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/melodictradition00cowd/page/17}}</ref> The dance is performed high on the toes, and is often considered the "ballet of Irish dance" because of its graceful movements that seem to slip the performers across the floor. Slip jigs are performed at a speed of 113 bpm at feiseanna.

===Single and double jigs===
[[File:Swallowtail Jig - Irish Fiddle Tune!.webm|thumb|[[Swallowtail jig]], a double jig<ref>{{cite web |title=Swallowtail Jig |url=https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Swallowtail_Jig_(2)_(The) |website=[[The Traditional Tune Archive]] |access-date=15 February 2021 |language=en |date=5 July 2019}}</ref>]]
Single jigs should not be confused with [[Slide (tune type)|slides]]; they are the least common of the jigs, performed in ghillies, in a {{music|time|6|8}} or less commonly a {{music|time|12|8}} time. Musically, the single jig tends to follow the pattern of a quarter note followed by an eighth note (twice per {{music|time|6|8}} bar), whereas the pattern for the double jig is three eighth notes twice per {{music|time|6|8}} bar.

===Hop jigs===
Hop jigs are the fastest of all jigs next to light jigs, but the term ''hop jig'' causes some confusion, as some people use it for a single jig, while others use this term to refer to a tune in {{music|time|9|8}} time.

Among the latter, some do not distinguish it from a slip jig, while some reserve the term to a slip jig variant that has special characteristics, in particular an emphasis on [[quarter note]]–[[eighth note]] pairs.

===Treble jigs===
Treble jigs (also called the hard or heavy jig) are performed in hard shoes, and also to a {{music|time|6|8}} time metre. They are characterized by stomps, trebles, and clicks. Many set dances are performed in treble jig time, a few being Drunken Gauger, Blackthorn Stick, The Three Sea Captains, and St Patrick's Day. Two types of treble jigs are performed at feiseanna: the traditional and non-traditional (slow) treble jigs. Beginners will do a treble jig at traditional speed (92 bpm), while more advanced dancers will dance the non-traditional (slow) treble jig at 72 bpm.

{{listen|filename=Dancing Willow - Demo-CD 2007 03 - The old grey goose.ogg|title=The Old Grey Goose|description=A jig featuring the tin whistle|format=[[Ogg]]}}

==Straight and sand jigs==
In 19th-century America, the jig was the name adopted for a form of step dancing developed by enslaved African-Americans and later adopted by [[minstrel show]] performers. Danced to five-string banjo or fiddle tunes in {{music|time|2|2}} or {{music|time|2|4}} metre played at [[schottische]] tempo, the minstrel jig (also called the "straight jig" to distinguish it from Irish dances) was characterized by syncopated rhythm and eccentric movements. Jig dancers employed a repertoire of "hits" on the heel or toe, "hops" on one foot, "springs" off both feet as well as various slides and shuffles.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=James|title=Jig, Clog and Breakdown Dancing Made Easy|date=1873|location=New York|url=https://lccn.loc.gov/ca05001769|access-date=4 November 2017|language=en}}</ref>  The most famous early jig dancer was [[Master Juba]], an African-American who inspired a host of white imitators, many of whom performed in [[blackface]]. [[John Diamond (dancer)|John Diamond]], an Irish-American who competed with Master Juba in a series of "challenge dances", was among the most prominent of these white minstrel jig dancers. Minstrel jigs, as well as [[clog dancing|clogs]] and breakdowns, were crucial to the evolution of 20th-century [[tap dance|tap]] and soft-shoe dancing.

A variant of the straight jig was the "[[sanding (dance)|sand jig]]" or "sand dance", performed as a series of shuffles and slides on a sand-strewn stage. The most prominent sand jiggers of the 19th century were two women, both born in New York in 1855: Buffalo native [[Kitty O'Neil (dancer)|Kitty O'Neil]] and her Manhattan-born rival Kitty Sharpe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blarneystar.com/Kitty_090114.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://blarneystar.com/Kitty_090114.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Kitty O'Neil and Her 'Champion Jig': A Forgotten Irish-American Variety Theater Star|last=Meade|first=Don|date=September 2014 |access-date=4 November 2017}}</ref> Sand dancing was a staple of minstrelsy, variety and vaudeville, and was kept alive in later decades largely by African-American tap dancers, including [[John Bubbles]], [[Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Harriet Browne (dancer)|Harriet Browne]] and, most prominently, [[Howard Sims|Howard "Sandman" Sims]].

==See also==
*[[Shakespearean dance]]
*[[The Irish Washerwoman]]
*[[Swing (jazz performance style)|Swing]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last1=Baskervill|first1=Charles Read|title=The Elizabethan jig and related song drama|date=1929|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|language=en}}
* {{cite book|last1=Brissenden|first1=Alan|title=Shakespeare and the dance|date=1981|publisher=Macmillan|location=London|isbn=978-0-333-28523-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Clegg|first1=Roger|last2=Skeaping|first2=Lucie|title=Singing Simpkin and Other Bawdy Jigs: Musical Comedy on the Shakespearean Stage : Scripts, Music and Context|date=2014|publisher=University of Exeter Press|isbn=9780859898782 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Cullinane|first1=John|title=Further aspects of the history of Irish dancing in Ireland, Scotland, Canada, America, New Zealand and Australia|date=2001|publisher=John Cullinane|location=Cork|isbn=0952795256|edition=2nd}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jigs (dance)}}
*[http://www.nonvi.com/sm/footwork.html#irish Irish footwork]

{{Irish dance}}
{{Dance}}
{{Cape Breton folk music}}
{{English folk music}}
{{Irish folk music}}
{{Scottish folk music}}
{{Welsh folk music}}
{{Music of Ireland}}
{{Music of Scotland}}
{{Ireland topics}}
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