Reel (dance)
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The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. It is one of the four dances which comprise Scottish country dancing, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz.
Description
It is believed that the reel was originated from an old Irish dance called the Hey in the mid 1500sTemplate:Fact. Today many Irish reels are supplemented with new compositions and by tunes from other traditions which are easily adapted as reels. It is the most popular tune-type within the Irish dance music tradition.
It is transcribed in a 4/4 or 2/4 time. All reels have the same structure, consisting largely of quaver movement with an accent on the first and third beats of the bar. Most reels have two parts (AABB) which are repeated. Each part (A or B) has eight bars, which again are divided into four and then into two. These are called phrases. The structure obeys to a scheme of question-answer where A is the "question" and B is the "answer" to A. The group of thirty-two bars (AABB) is repeated three or four times before a second reel is introduced. The grouping of two tunes or more in this manner is typical in all dance tunes.
Reels are popular in the folk music of South West England. They were also adopted in Quebec to become a prominent part of its folkloric music. It crossed the Atlantic ocean with the important Irish immigration and entered the Quebec tradition (see Irish Quebecers). Reels are featured in many pieces of local singers and bands; for example: La Bolduc, La Bottine Souriante and even the more modern néo-trad group Les Cowboys Fringants (like the song Mon Pays suivi du Reel des aristocrates).
The reel is very rythymic and a very quick tempo. It danced in softshoes and is one of the first taught to students. Normally, though not always, it has very simple steps, executed very quickly, this is so in feisanna (FESH-Ah-Na), competitions, it is easier to judge. It is hard to judge if one girl does three leaps in a row and a high kick in her dance somewhat well, and another girl does three points and a quick jump perfectly.
See also
- Music of Ireland
- Music of Scotland
- Music of Quebec
- List of Scottish country dancesTemplate:Dance-stub