A crisp Irish solo dance in 6/8 time, performed in hard shoes and judged on rhythm, clean sounds and precise, controlled footwork.
The single jig is a solo Irish dance in 6/8 time, danced in hard shoes. Unlike the soft-shoe jigs, it is a percussive item: the dancer’s shoes make the rhythm audible, so the sound of each step is part of what the panel hears as well as sees. The single jig tune has a lilting two-beat feel to the bar, and the steps are built around clear, evenly spaced beats, with the dancer staying light and upright rather than driving hard into the floor.
A round runs like the other solo items in a feis-style programme. Dancers of the same age group are called to the stage in small groups, commonly two or three at a time, and each group dances the prepared steps in turn while a panel of adjudicators watches from the front. The organiser sets the tempo and the number of bars, so every dancer is judged to the same music.
In the feis format reproduced in this template, the single jig is an Individual item open to boys and girls together, with age groups from Under 6 up to Under 19 plus a Senior group. A dancer competes in their own age group, separate from the competitive grade they have reached. Each adjudicator marks out of 100, and the template sets a ten-minute ceiling on the item rather than a per-dance time.
Organisers run the single jig because it sits between the soft-shoe jigs and the heavier hard-shoe items. It is a natural test of whether a dancer can keep clean, quiet-bodied footwork while the shoes are doing the talking, and it adds an audible, rhythmic contrast to the soft-shoe section of the programme.
Where Single Jig is run
The single jig is run at Irish dancing competitions called feiseanna, and in this template it comes from a feis syllabus built around age groups and competitive grades, where it sits among the hard-shoe items beside the treble jig and hornpipe. Beyond feiseanna it appears at Irish cultural festivals, school and community dance shows and diaspora events where a dance school enters its pupils.
- Ireland
- Irish dance communities worldwide
Key facts
- Individual item, boys and girls together on this template
- Age groups from Under 6 to Under 19, plus a Senior group
- Danced in 6/8 time in hard shoes, with a prepared sequence of steps
- Marked out of 100 by each adjudicator; the template sets a ten-minute item ceiling
- Competitive grade is separate from age: dancers move up by results, not birthdays
- Not to be confused with the light jig (6/8, soft shoe) or the slip jig (9/8, soft shoe)
On eTalenter, Single Jig is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Single Jig is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Single Jig
What a Single Jig panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Rhythm and timing: every beat of the shoes lands exactly with the music, and drifting ahead of or behind it is the quickest way to lose marks.
- Clarity of sound: taps and strikes should be crisp, even and distinct, with no muddy or double sounds where a single clean beat is needed.
- Footwork precision: steps are clearly formed, feet are pointed and crossed cleanly, and the dancer lands where the step requires.
- Posture and carriage: an upright, lifted body with still, straight arms; swinging or tense arms stand out against controlled legs.
- Lightness and control: the single jig should look light and bouncy, not heavy-footed; stamping loudly is not the same as dancing rhythmically.
- Stage use and finish: even coverage of the space, steady pace across the round and a clean finish on the last beat.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Single Jig under Scoring Setup, or start from the full folk dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Single Jig
How entrants and their teachers usually get Single Jig right on the day:
- Count the 6/8 bar aloud, two beats of three, until the lilt is automatic before adding any steps.
- Practise each step slowly to a metronome with the shoes on, and speed up only once every beat is clean and even.
- Listen to recordings of your practice: sound faults such as late or muffled beats are easier to hear than to feel.
- Film each run and check posture, arm position and foot placement against the music.
- Rehearse the exact step sequence and bar count the organiser sets, and practise ending on the last beat rather than guessing the finish.
- Practise on a hard stage-like floor in the shoes you will wear, in a line of two or three dancers, since spacing, pace and sound all change on the day.
Ready-made event templates that include Single Jig
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feis – Irish Dancing (CLRG) | On Stage | Marks | 15 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Single Jig judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What time signature is a single jig?
The single jig is in 6/8 time, the same time signature as the light jig, but it is danced in hard shoes rather than soft shoes.
Is the single jig danced in hard shoes or soft shoes?
Hard shoes. The sound of the shoes is part of what is judged, which is the main difference from the soft-shoe light jig and slip jig.
Is a single jig the same as a light jig or a slip jig?
No. They are separate items in the programme: the light jig is the 6/8 soft-shoe dance, the slip jig is the 9/8 soft-shoe dance, and the single jig is the hard-shoe item with its own steps.
Is the single jig judged individually or as a team?
Individually. Dancers may take the stage two or three at a time for practical reasons, but each is marked on their own performance out of 100.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full folk dance judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Single Jig in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Single Jig, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.