Heavy dances are very rythmical, musical dances. The dancer wears jigshoes or heavies, and beats out a rhythm on the floor when dancing. That is why Irish Dancing very often - and very wrongly - gets called "Irish Tapdancing".
Irish heavy dancing and American tapdancing are two very different disciplines, although there is a very obvious link: during the big immigrations of the Irish into the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, the Irish took their traditional music and dances with them. From there on, they developed into different, new rythmic dance forms, under the influence of other ethnic groups. We can mention clogging - as it is still found in f.ex. Canada to this day. And with the influence of the African communities, and the large success of jazz music in that era, the dances that the Irish brought with them developed into what is today known as tapdancing.
So you could say that Irish Dancing is the great-great-grandfather of tapdancing.
But that is where the comparison stops.
The heavy jig: the first heavy dance you learn
The heavy jig is also called "double" jig or "treble" jig, but those names are often a source of confusion and discussion, as the names "single", "double", and "treble" refer to the speed at which the music is played (upon which even musicians tend to disagree), rather than to the dancing. Therefore, we believe it is safer to use the term "heavy jig", i.e., a heavy dance in jig time.
The heavy jig is a heavy dance in 6/8 time, just like the light jig, but it is played at a much slower tempo, the standard competition speed for an advanced heavy jig being 73 bpm (with two beats to the bar).
Usually, the heavy jig is not known for being rythmically complicated (although there are always happy exceptions, of course  ), it gets its difficulty rather from the high speed of the steps (yes, don't get the wrong end of the stick: the music may seem slow, the steps danced to it are usually very fast). That is why, even though the rhythm may be a rolling one, it is not always so easy to execute the dance properly as it may seem: the dancer should be able to articulate all the rhythm decorations cleanly at a high speed, and that takes a lot of practice.
An example of a heavy jig is the traditional setdance "Saint Patrick's Day"; this dance is danced at a higher tempo (of 92 bpm) though, as the steps are not too complicated.
The hornpipe: the joy of rhythm
Aaahhh, the hornpipe.
Hated and feared by many (yes, we have heard the term "horrorpipe" used many a time  ), the absolute favourite of others.
The hornpipe is a dance in 2/4 timing (or 4/4 with shifted accents), often with complicated and off-beat rhythms. Where the heavy jig may give the dancer the opportunity to hide technical imperfections by counting on gravity, inertia, and high speed (although you can be sure that someone knowledgeable will notice!), the hornpipe is all about control, and leaves no room for technical or rhythmical sloppiness. If a hornpipe is not danced well, it will not only be noticed by the specialist, but by everyone.
The hornpipe demands a well developed ankle- and sound control, a well developed - almost jazzy - understanding of rhythm, and a clean technique. That is probably why so many dancers are frightened of it to begin with, only to make it their favourite dance once they master it.
Originally, the hornpipe was only danced by men, but thankfully, that has changed. Gents and ladies alike dance the hornpipe in competition these days.
The standard competion speed for advanced dancers is again 113bpm, with 4 beats to the bar.
Heavy reel: no business like showbusiness!
Traditionally, the heavy reel is not a competition dance, so it is rarely given full attention at feiseanna. But it is fun to dance, so there is usually a heavy reel competition for very wide age groups, with dancers dancing a step down the line, 16 bars each. No grade advancements can be earned in these competitions.
It is, however, popular in showdancing, and one of the main ingredients in shows, especially in the group heavy dances.
The music used for heavy reel dancing is the same as for light reel dancing: 4/4 timing, with no hard and fast rules about the tempo - usually, the music is played as fast as the dancer can possibly keep up! Rhythm and steps are generally fairly simple, but the high speed make the heavy reel both difficult to dance and impressive to watch.
Set dances: back to the roots
Moving back to the more traditional roots if Irish Dancing, the Set Dances form a separate group within the heavy jigs and the hornpipes. Structures, rules, music and speeds are different from the standard jigs and hornpipes, so the setdances get a chapter all to themselves.
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