Reels
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Reels are a very fun form of Irish dancing. They can be done by one's self or in a group. They are danced in 2/4 time and the beat can vary from moderatly fast to fast.
The reels one does by ones self usually travel all around the floor and take up a lot of space. They usually have leaps of some sort in each step so you go very far with each beat. Reels are done in soft-shoe or hard-shoe, by males and females.
The hard-shoe reels are actually called a treble reel and are usually not done to music. If they are done to music there are probably more than one dancer at a time and it's there just to make sure all the dancers are on the same beat.
The reels one does in groups are also known as figure dances. (Of course not all figure dances are reels.) These are done with 2 to as many as appropriate to the dance. These consist of dances that look a lot like American square dances. They are most often done at social functions and can be easy to learn. :-)
The reels one does by ones self usually travel all around the floor and take up a lot of space. They usually have leaps of some sort in each step so you go very far with each beat. Reels are done in soft-shoe or hard-shoe, by males and females.
The hard-shoe reels are actually called a treble reel and are usually not done to music. If they are done to music there are probably more than one dancer at a time and it's there just to make sure all the dancers are on the same beat.
The reels one does in groups are also known as figure dances. (Of course not all figure dances are reels.) These are done with 2 to as many as appropriate to the dance. These consist of dances that look a lot like American square dances. They are most often done at social functions and can be easy to learn. :-)
