Leprechaun Irish Jig Line Dance How To

Do holidays make you want to dance? St Patrick’s Day is a delightful holiday to dance an Irish Jig. For my St Patrick’s Day dance party, I put together this lovely Leprechaun Irish Jig line dance. Have fun learning this dance.

St. Patrick’s Day

Everyone’s favorite Irish holiday is St Patrick’s Day. As a youth, St. Patrick was kidnapped by Irish and taken to Ireland around 400 AD. He escaped his captors and returned to England as an adult. After he was ordained a priest, he returned to Ireland to convert them to Catholicism. He used a 3-leaf clover to explain the Holy Trinity and drove the snakes of paganism out of Ireland. For this March 17^th, the date of his death, is celebrated worldwide.

Leprechauns

So how did leprechauns come to be associated with a saint’s holiday? Leprechaun’s pre-date St Patrick and are the cobblers and bankers of the fey. Their favorite dance is a Jig, and some suggest they dance holes in their shoes, so they became cobblers. In 1959 Leprechauns became associated with St. Patrick’s Day when Disney released the film “Darby O’Gill and the Little People.”

Irish Jig

The Irish love to dance, and the Jig is their favorite dance. Jig comes from the French word to Jump (giguer). The Irish Jig was promoted by Queen Elizabeth l during the Renaissance period. This hoppy happy dance has been an Irish favorite for centuries.

Leprechaun Irish Jig Line Dance How To

Step 1 Heal, Toe, heal, Stomp.

Begin with your right foot,
Heal to side, Toe In front of left foot, Heal to side, Close right foot next to left foot. Count 1,2,3,4.
Repeat with your left foot.
Heal to side, Toe In front of right foot, Heal to side, Close left foot next to right foot. Count 5,6,7,8.

Step 2 Heal, heal.

Begin with your right foot,
Tap heal in front 2 times count 1,2, close right foot to left foot, count &
Repeat with your left foot.
Tap heal in front 2 times count 3,4, close right foot to left foot, count &

Step 3 Four kicks

Kick step Alternating right then left foot forward, 5,&,6,&,7,&,8,&.

Step 4 Progressive Jig forward and back

Back rock, Right foot rock back, 1, replace weight to left foot, 2.
Jig forward, right foot forward, left foot close to right foot, right foot forward, 3&4.
Forward rock, left foot forward, 5, replace weight to right foot, 6,
Jig Back, left foot back, right foot closes to left foot, left foot back, 7&8.
Back rock, Right foot rock back, 1, replace weight to left foot, 2.
Jig forward, right foot forward, left foot close to right foot, right foot forward, 3&4.

Step 5 Walk around turn and close.

Left foot forward ½ turn to the right, 5, replace weight to right foot, 6, close left foot to right, 7, tap right foot, 8.

Begin again from the beginning.

Song:

I used a clean you tube song “Banish Misfortune” but any Irish jig would work, like “Dance above the rainbow” By Ron Hardiman.

Leprechaun-Holly Tomazin

Location- Holly’s sewing room. Yes, I sew in there. Everyone has their castle, mine is in my sewing room.

Holly Tomazin
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