Another of my loves besides Disney and Westlife is Dancing and Irish Dancing in particular so when Jig the movie was released I had to go along to see it. It is a Sue Bourne Documentary about Irish Dancing which is packed full of haunting Celtic tunes starts with fantastic treble rhythms. The story follows a number of Irish dancers as they prepare for the 2010 World's.
There's ten year old Brogan Mc Cay from Derry in Northern Ireland. Brogan's story is a touching one as her Nanny bought her dress. However her Nanny passed away from cancer the day after Brogan qualified for the worlds. Ten year old Julie O'Rourke from the Petri School in New York. Julie's dedication to dancing is so strong that even when she broke her foot she continued to dance on it as she didn't want to miss upcoming competitions. Brogan and Julie compete against each other.
It then moves to the stories of Simona from London, nineteen year old Susan from Glasgow and Claire Greally from Galway who all compete in the 19-21 age group and have all taken turns at coming in the top 5 of their competitions. At the competitions everyone supports each other but at the same time are hoping they themselves will win and there's a very funny moment in the movie where 19-21 year old competitors smile at winning dancer but then their faces fall and they can't help but show their disappointment at not making it to the top spot.
Jig also follows the story of two dancers from Birmingham who dance for the World champion, teacher and choreographer John Carey. There's ten year old John who gives dancing ten out of ten but football only two and Joe Bitter. Joe's family moved to England from California, his father even giving up a medical practice just so Joe could get the best dance training possible. His mother talks about how Joe would spend 7 hours in the living room with the carpets rolled up and the furniture pushed back playing the reel over and over but then he won the first 17 events he entered so the practice was worth it.
John Carey highlights how every dancer is different and how some with natural talent have to work harder as those without natural talent work so hard and have everything so perfect it makes it harder for those with natural talent to get anywhere. Every dancer is different though as well and some need the steps for longer than others or else they get confused while dancing. John Carey also highlights how at these major competitions everything has to be foot perfect, arms have to be by your side, legs straight and there is no room for error. The story of the two boys dancing also highlights how it is harder for boys than girls in the dancing world. There are more female dancers and also boys can get bullied more for Irish dancing as some may see it as "gay" for a male to dance. Joe and John however don't let it bother them and are both amazing dancers.
In Russia the movie follows an adult Ceili team who all started dancing in their 20's for something to do in cold winters. They describe Irish dancing as the only sport that allows you to fly.
While in Holland we hear the story of "The Flying Dutchman" who says without dancing he would probably have turned to drugs for amusement but dancing keeps him out of trouble and he loves it. He talks about how he came 7th the year before so anything below 7th will be a disappointment to him.
Jig follows the dancers in their schools hard at work with their teachers. It is clear for this world of dancing that everything in the dancers lives goes into dancing. They give up parties for practice, they travel all over the world to various competitions, alot of money goes into their look with dresses, shoes and wigs. Dresses, wigs, make-up, shoes, tan, socks all have to be perfect.
Then over 6, 000 dancers, parents and teachers descend on Glasgow for competition time with consists of a hard shoe dance, a soft shoe dance and if they're lucky they'll get a recall for a second hard shoe dance. Everyone is working for that recall and many dancers fight injuries and blisters all year to practice hard for what could be just 60 seconds of dancing. Only 50 dancers will get to that last round and you can almost feel the nerves while watching this documentary. Each round is judged by five judges who have a total of 100 marks to award.
Jig of course stays with each dancer until the end and you can almost feel the tension and nerves as results are announced and then there's tears of joy for some and disappointment for others. For the Flying Dutchman he is left questioning whether to continue dancing when he doesn't get the result he wants but then doesn't know what else he'd do if he wasn't dancing. Brogan seemed to me to be the most gracious of all the dancers as when she came second she showed no disappointment instead gave hugs to other competitors and seemed happy to have gotten to second place.
With music by Patrick Doyle, Jig is an exciting and informative look at the competitive side of Irish dancing and for anyone that was introduced to Irish dancing through Riverdance this will show them a completely different side to dancing. I think the movie will mean more to Irish dancers who understand the world of competitive dancing but it is well worth the watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment