Ireland was inhabited by the Celtics (or Gaels) in the 3rd century B.C. Not much survived from this period except for ornate artwork from the late 7th and early 8th centuries because of an invasion by the Vikings in the late 8th century that lasted until their defeat in 1014, notes the website Redhead Dancer. For this reason, no documented material about dances that were performed during Ireland's early history still exists. It is known that ancient Celtic artwork has inspired some of the ornate costumes worn by Irish step dancers today.
Some documentation cites the jig as being a popular folk dance with origins in Ireland, probably around the 1500s. Often performed to the sounds of the fiddle, the jig consisted of a dancer performing extremely rapid footwork while maintaining a rigid upper torso in order to keep the focus upon the intricate foot movements. A power struggle during the 1600s between the English and the Irish resulted in many of the jigs and other dances being performed in secrecy until the introduction of the dance master around 1750 continued to spread the jig and other step dances across Ireland, according to Redhead Dancer. A dance master would find a host family within a village for a few months and teach the jig to as many students as he could.
The popularity of competitions with jigs and other Irish step dancing were common back in the olden times and continue today. Even though the English tried to forbid Irish dancing, Queen Elizabeth I was rather fond of it and made the jig a popular dance for her court in the 16th century. King Louis XIV of France eventually caught on with the stylish dance. It became equally popular in France during the 16th and 17th centuries, where it was known as the gigue (from the French word "giguer," meaning "to dance"), cites StreetSwing. Spain also developed its own form of the jig.
It its beginning, the jig was meant to be a solo improvisational dance performed by a single dancer or a couple. Ballads often accompanied the music. The fast-paced music is constructed in 6/8 time, meaning there are six beats per bar, with the eighth note being the unit for a beat. The Irish have developed many forms of the jig, including the single (or soft), double, treble and slip (performed in 9/8 time), according to Redhead Dancer. A lot of stamina and energy is needed to perform the jig. StreetSwing reveals that in olden times, the Irish believed the person who could outlast all the others and keep up with the pace of the music was considered the best dancer.
Many modern dances derived from the original Irish folk dance. Italy created a similar folk dance for couples, the giga. Clog dancing in the United States and northern England are similarly influenced by Irish jig. Single and slip jigs are performed by women with soft shoes, which include a criss-cross pattern of laces at the feet. The typical dance shoe worn by Irish dancers is also known as a Jig Shoe. These black leather shoes have fiberglass heels and tips with taps to create the rhythmic sound audiences are accustomed to hearing in Irish dance steps.