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In Irish dance there are basically 3 distinct rhythm patterns. They are the reel, the jig and the hornpipe.

The Reel

The reel is in 4/4 time. There are two kinds of reels - light reels and treble reels. The music used for both of them is the same. The light reel is the first dance a beginner will learn and is performed in softshoes and is danced at just about every level. The treble reel is done in hardshoes but it has lost its popularity at competitions. Nowadays it is mostly done in shows. Below are some samples of reels, click on the name to hear it:

The Rakes of Mallow Father Kelly's Reel Drowsy Maggie The Three Sisters

The Jig

The jig is probably the best known Irish dance and is in the 6/8 time signature. There are 3 types of jigs - light jigs, treble jigs and slip jigs. The light jig is performed in softshoes and is also known as the single jig or hop jig. A dancer would learn this dance after mastering the light reel. The treble jig is done in hardshoes and is the first hardshoe dance one would learn. The treble jig is also known as the double or heavy jig. Treble jig music is much slower than light jig music. Below are some audio samples of jigs:

Maggie Pickens I Will if I Can Sean McGlynn's Jigs

The third jig is the slip jig, which is very unique and has the unusual time signature of 9/8. It is done exclusively by women in competition and is danced in softshoes. It is the most elegant of Irish dances. Here are some music clips of slip jigs:

The Fox Hunter's The Humours of Whiskey

The Hornpipe

The final dance is the hornpipe, which is in 2/4 time, although some hornpipes can be in 4/4 time. It is danced in hardshoes only. There are two kinds of hornpipes - fast (traditional) and slow (advanced). It is somewhat difficult to master for beginning dancers because it's hard to time. Here are some audio clips of hornpipes:

The Boys of Blue Hill The Brown Chest/Murphy's Hornpipe King of the Fairies

How the Dance Levels Work

There are various levels of competition. To illustrate this, I'll use my (geographic) area as an example. In my area the levels are beginner, advanced beginner, novice, open, and championship. To move from beginner to advanced beginner and from advanced beginner to novice, a dancer must place in the top three in said dance. It is possible, especially in the lower levels, to have one dance in one level and another dance in a different level. To move out of novice, a dancer must win a 1st place in a particular dance. To advance to championship, a dancer musy have ALL of his/her dances in 1st place at the open level. However, it is not compulsory for a dancer to compete. The dancer is allowed to move to the next level whenever the teacher thinks is appropriate.

The first dance a beginner is taught is a light reel. Then the dancer moves on to the ligt jig and slip jig. Once the dancer has mastered these three dances, he/she moves on to the treble jig and hornpipe. Each school has its own steps for each dance in each level, which are choreographed by the teahcer. In each dance, a dancer performs two steps, and each step is danced once starting with the right foot and then again starting with the left foot. Each step is 8 bars of music long, so a dancer ends up dancing 32 bars in total.

However, there are four traditional set dances whose music and choreography is universal - these are St. Patrick's Day (treble jig), The Job of Journeywork (hornpipe), The Blackbird (hornpipe) and The Garden of Daisies (hornpipe). Along with these four traditional set dances are 26 non-traditional set dances, which means that the music is universal, but each school has its own choreography. Set dances work a little different than regular dances. Each set dance has a lead around (one step done once on the right and once on the left foot) and a set, which is longer than a normal step and is done only on the right foot. The 26 non-traditional set dances are:

Plaxty Drury (treble jig) / Planxty Davis (hornpipe)
The Downfall of Paris (hornpipe) / Kilkenny Races (hornpipe)
Rub the Bag (treble jig) / The Ace and Deuce of Pipering (hornpipe)
The Rambling Rake (hornpipe) / The White Blankets/Suisin Ban (hornpipe)
The Humors of Bandon (treble jig) / The Piper Through the Meadow Straying (hornpipe)
Is the Big Man Within? (slip jig/treble jig) / The Three Sea Captains (treble jig)
The Blackthorn Stick/An Caiplin Ban (treble jig) / The Funny Tailor/The Drunken Gauger (treble jig)
Hurry the Jug (treble jig) / Rodney's Glory (hornpipe)
The Hunt (hornpipe) / King of the Fairies (hornpipe)
The Lodge Road (hornpipe) / Youghal Harbour (hornpipe)
Madame Bonaparte (hornpipe) / Bonaparte's Retreat (hornpipe)
The Hurling Boys (treble jig) / Jockey to the Fair (treble jig)
The Orange Rougue (treble jig) / Miss Brown's Fancy (treble jig)

All of the mentioned above are called solo dances. There are also figure dances, such as 2-hand (meaning 2 people dance it) or 3-hand (3 people dance it) reels, jigs, and slip jigs, which are often done in competition. Each school has its own choreography to figure dances. There is a second group of group dances called ceilis. The choreography to ceilis is universal everywhere. Ceilis can have from as 4 to to 16 or even 32 dancers. Some examples of ceilis are The Walls of Limerick (reel), The Siege of Ennis (jig), and The Three Tunes (reel, jig and hornpipe).