Grade 7 Dance Project Information
|
|
2) The origins and development of French and Scottish jigs.
|
|
|
The JIG Link
Metis Jig
Metis Jig
- The traditional music of the Métis was up-tempo and lively, which made it perfect for dancing. Extra and irregular beats were added to give bounce to the music, making the dance a lot faster.
- The Métis dances were a blend of European (French, Scottish, Irish) and Native influences.
- Red River Jig
- The traditional dance of the Métis people was the Red River Jig. In a jig, the faster the fiddle music, the faster the dancers’ feet had to move (dancer always followed the fiddle muic). The rhythm was kept by toe tapping or playing the spoons.
- The jig had two parts:
- One part: traditional jig steps, where the fiddle played the high section
- Second Part: fiddle played the lower section, and there was fancier, faster footwork
- Dancers often competed with one other dancers for the fastest, most complicated footwork.
http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_metis/fp_metis5.html