Grade 7 Dance Project Information

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​1) The evolution of Maritime Acadian folk dances into Louisiana Cajun dances such as fais do do and the Mardi Gras dance Krewes. 

Acadian History Link
Traditional Music of Acadia Link

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2) The origins and development of French and Scottish jigs. ​

​Jig link
History of the jig
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Jigs in Scotland are relatively fast and lively with melodies featuring sequences of quavers and semiquavers, and often with dotted rhythms throughout the tune.

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​3) The evolution of the Métis jig out of imitations of wildlife movements [prairie wild birds] and the intricate footwork of Native dancing and European jigs)

The JIG Link
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

Prezi Slideshow