Slip jig
Encyclopedia
Slip jig refers to both a style within Irish music, and the Irish dance
Irish dance
Irish dancing or Irish dance is a group of traditional dance forms originating in Ireland which can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances. Irish social dances can be divided further into céilí and set dancing...

 to music in slip-jig time. The slip jig is in 9/8 time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....

, traditionally with accents on 5 of the 9 beats — two pairs of crotchet/quaver (quarter note/eighth note) followed by a dotted crotchet note
Dotted note
In Western musical notation, a dotted note is a note with a small dot written after it. The dot increases the duration of the basic note by half of its original value. If the basic note lasts 2 beats, the corresponding dotted note lasts 3 beats...

.

The slip jig is one the four most common Irish stepdance
Irish stepdance
Irish stepdance is a type of performance dance originated in Ireland from traditional Irish dance, characterised by solo dancers who dance with hands by their sides and upper body stiff, making quick, intricate movements of the feet, often with a troupe. Irish stepdancing was popularized by the...

s, the others being the reel
Reel (dance)
The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure ....

, the jig
Jig
The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...

 and the hornpipe
Hornpipe
The term hornpipe refers to any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and elsewhere from the late 17th century until the present day. It is said that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels...

. It is danced in soft shoes. At one time only men danced it, then for several decades only women, and today slip jigs can be danced by any dancer, though at a competitive level they are almost exclusively danced by women. This dance is graceful and controlled, with heels very high, often called "the ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 of Irish dance". There are also traditional Irish céilí
Céilidh
In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...

dances which are slip jigs, though these are much less common than reels and double jigs.

Because of its timing, the slip jig is longer than the reel for the same number of bars of music. In Irish stepdance
Irish stepdance
Irish stepdance is a type of performance dance originated in Ireland from traditional Irish dance, characterised by solo dancers who dance with hands by their sides and upper body stiff, making quick, intricate movements of the feet, often with a troupe. Irish stepdancing was popularized by the...

 competition, the tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

 of 113 beats per minute is the same as other dances, but as each bar is longer, instead of dancing to 48 bars of music the dancer is only required to dance 40 bars of music (each of 2 steps). Stepdance judges prefer sliding motions with the feet and graceful movements that seem to slip across the floor.

Slip jig timing can also be used for strip the willow
Strip the willow
Strip the willow is a country or barn dance. It has variations depending upon whether it is being performed as a movement in a larger dance or a complete dance in itself.The form described here is that commonly used as part of a Scottish country dance....

dances in céilidh
Céilidh
In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...

 folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....

, although the fact that most social dancers do not dance the step limits its use in set dance
Set dance
Set dancing, sometimes called "country sets", are a popular form of folk dancing in Ireland. Set dances are based on quadrilles. The latter were court dances which were transformed by the Irish into a unique folk dance of the Irish rural communities...

 and ceili dance socially. The tunes are fast-paced and lively in contrast to the slower Irish stepdance tunes.

Other dances

Other dances in 9/8 time are the Scottish Lilt in Highland dancing and the karsilama
Karsilama
Karsilamas , is a Turkish folk dance spread all over Northwest Asia Minor and carried to Greece by Asia Minor refugees...

 of Turkish dance.
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