Types of Dances -- Soft Shoe

When I first watched Riverdance, I was mesmerized by the intricate footwork of the hard shoe dances, but was also impressed by the graceful elegance of the soft-shoe dances. I’ve decided to break up the Irish dances by the shoes worn for each.

Each dance school choreographs its own steps to reel, jig, slip jig, or hornpipe music. The only dances that have common steps are the traditional set dances, which I will talk about later.

Dances are referred as "soft shoe dances" when the dancers wear shoes without the fiberglass taps. Girls wear ghillies (bottom picture), which are similar to ballet shoes, while boys wear shoes similar to hard shoes (top picture), only without a fiberglass tip on the front.

There are three solo dances that are performed in soft-shoes, and all ceili dancing is done in soft-shoe. These dances are the reel, light jig, and slip jig.

Reel
Both boys and girls dance reel dances. Reels are performed in 4/4 time and at a very fast pace. For girls, the reel steps are light are very quick with many fast jumps and intricate footwork. Boys steps have evolved quite a bit within the past few years to include many high jumps and clicks with intricate legwork.

Light Jig
Like the reel, both boys and girls perform the light jigs. The light jig steps are the most basic and contain the essential movements of Irish dance. The music for light jigs is in 6/8 time. Since these steps tend to be the most basic, a dancer does not compete in light jig after reaching a certain level.

Slip Jig
The slip jig is the only dance that is performed by only girls because it is the most graceful of all the dances. Performed in 9/8 time, slip jigs usually have high kicks, leaps, sharp turns and points, and quick footwork that let the dancer glide across the floor. Done properly, a girl dancing a slip jig seems to literally float across the stage.

Sources:

Dudney Irish Dance School. (1996). Irish Step Dancing – A Brief History. Retrieved March 19, 2008 from http://www.dudneyirishdance.com/options/history.html

Flynn, Arthur. (1999). Irish Dance – The Dances. Retrieved March 19, 2008 from http://www.irelandseye.com/dance.html