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Lesson 7 of 12

Irish Dancing: Ireland

I can choreograph using the style of a traditional Irish Jig.

Lesson 7 of 12
New
New

Irish Dancing: Ireland

I can choreograph using the style of a traditional Irish Jig.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Move: listening and responding to music using different time signatures requires control and accuracy.
  2. Move: pupils can perform the Jig steps using the correct posture with control, balance and accurate timings.
  3. Think: learning new actions involves deciding what, where, when and how to move our body.
  4. Feel: consistently applying the posture used in Irish dancing requires resilience.
  5. Connect: cooperating with others when giving feedback is important when suggesting ideas for improvement.

Keywords

  • Jig - a type of traditional dance that involves jumping

  • Posture - the position the body is held in

  • Hop - to jump on one foot

Common misconception

In dance, you count all music in 8's.

In dance, counting corresponds to the musical time signature which varies enormously. Many are 4/4 timing and can be counted in patterns of 4's or 8's, others may be in contrasting patterns such as 3/4 or 6/8, so would need to be counted accordingly.

Encourage the pupils to 'feel' the music by swaying, tapping, travelling or nodding along to it.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Suggested music.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - physical activity

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What is meant by ‘traditional’?

modern
futuristic
Correct answer: long-standing

Q2.
What describes how a group of dancers are arranged?

jump
balance
Correct answer: formation

Q3.
What skill does joint decision making require?

Correct answer: cooperation
creativity
time keeping

Q4.
What word do we use in dance to describe moving from one location to another?

tension
Correct answer: travel
turn

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What action would be seen in a Jig?

turning
travelling
Correct answer: jumping

Q2.
In Irish dance, which musical time signatures might be used?

just 12/8
just 8’s
Correct answer: 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8

Q3.
What is needed to sustain posture?

Correct answer: resilience
elegance
energy

Q4.
What does cooperate mean?

move freely
Correct answer: work together
direct others

Lesson appears in

UnitPhysical education / Dance: traditional dances of the British Isles

Physical education