Jig
The jig (Irish: port, Scottish Gaelic: port-cruinn) 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,[1][2] and was adopted on mainland Europe where it eventually became the final movement of the mature Baroque dance suite (the French gigue; Italian and Spanish giga).[3] Today it is most associated with Irish dance music, Scottish country dance and the Métis people in Canada.[4] Jigs were originally in quadruple compound metre, (e.g., 12
8 time), but have been adapted to a variety of time signatures, by which they are often classified into groups, including double jigs (6
8), slip jigs (9
8) and single jigs (12
8).
Ireland and Scotland[edit]
During the middle of the 16th century the dance was adopted in Ireland[11] and in the 17th century Scotland, where it was widely adapted, and the jig is now most often associated with these countries, especially Ireland.[12] The jig is second in popularity only to the reel in traditional Irish dance; it is popular but somewhat less common in Scottish country dance music. It is transcribed in compound metre, being 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 tunes in 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.
Straight and sand jigs[edit]
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 2
2 or 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.[17] 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, 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 clogs and breakdowns, were crucial to the evolution of 20th-century tap and soft-shoe dancing.
A variant of the straight jig was the "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 and her Manhattan-born rival Kitty Sharpe.[18] 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 and, most prominently, Howard "Sandman" Sims.