Welsh Jigs are not always as Morris Jigs, dances mainly for solo dancers. Often, they are dances like many others.

Solo jigs and hornpipes had continued, even after the religious revival put an interdict on other kinds of dance. We hear of two brothers dancing two distinct kinds of jig at the Ball at Pont Nedd Fechan. John Parry, Bardd Alaw, in his collection of Welsh airs, gives "Twm yn dawnsio at i'w gariad" (Tom dancing to his sweetheart), a jig to the tune of 'Cwrw Da' in 9/8 time. John Parry, Nicholas Bennet and Edward Jones, all give a number of Welsh jigs and hornpipes; and Nancy Richards, who plays the old Welsh triple harp, has many of them at her finger tips and did much to help and encourage the dancers.

Pipes Jig

'Croen y Ddafad Felan' has been widely used for "trick" dancing. Pennant, in his tour of Wales, c 1773, came across some farm labourers dancing to it after their work was done. SirJohn Morris Jones, collecting folk songs in Caernarvonshire, was told that they used to dance to it, over two clay pipes, laid on a sheepskin; and anyone who broke a pipe had to pay for around of drinks.

 

Lord of Caernarfon's Jig

This is not a jig, but a dance for eight dancers. It includes foot-ups, whole gyp, casts, repeating the sequence.

The Lord of Caernarvon's Jig 1650, was one of our earliest choice. It was evidently popular in the 17th century, for it re- appears in succeeding editions of Playford. Cecil Sharp, for some reason, set it to the tune of 'Jack o' Lent', but we have kept the original tune, which according to W.S.Gwynn Williams, has a Welsh affinity.

 

 

The Knight's Dance (Dawns Y Marchog)

This Nantgarw jig is similar to the Lichfield dance "All the Winds". The dancer, with a horse bell in each hand, imitate a horse trotting to the four points of the compass. Finally he limps away and the women would cry out that he was hurt. This is said to represent the fall of Llewellyn the Great. Another item was 'Dawns y Marchog' (the Knight's dance or the dance of the war horse). This was always danced by Daniel Edmunds, who used to draw a circle on the floor or mark out a space with some handy objects and dance within it. He had four points towards which he danced, apparently imitating the trotting, cantering and capering of a horse. Finally, with three diminishing leaps, he would turn and go, dragging his feet; and the women would cry out that he had been hurt. Everyone believed this portrayed the fall of Llewellyn the Great, in battle. Mrs. Thomas has an impression that the dancer had a horse bell in each hand, which he held level with his ears, throughout the dance. In the similar dance at Lichfield, the man marks four points of the compass with hats, slightly elevated, so that the foot can slip under the brim. He dances to each point in a different style and finally, kicks up each hat in turn, placing them on his head. Needless to say they are not the size of Welsh hats.

 

Llanwddyn Jig

This dance was noted in 1950 from the dancing of a Shepherd in the Berwyn Hills, between Bala and Vyrnwy. Without being offered drinks by the researcher, he claimed to know four dances handed down to him from his father and grandfather, but all were the same name "Croen y ddafad felan", which is the name of a tune widely associated with this kind of dance in North Wales. This particular version is performed in ordinary shoes by one man, or sometimes two in competition. In other districts, not far away, similar dances are performed in clogs. The Shepherd accompanied himself on a mouthorgan.This is a bit like the Bacca Pipes jig and has five variations : the first three use two split sticks, one shorter than the other. The fourth uses a lighted candle and the fifth uses a besom.

 

 

Bishop of Bangor's Jig and others

Named after a scandal of the day in 1703. It is dance for eight people although it is annotated as "Longways for as many as will". A book of dances, known as 'Creurwyrion', was discovered at the farm of that name, in Caernarvonshire, by Gwyn Williams of the BBC. This contains another version of the Bishop of Bangor and another quite different dance called 'Lumps of Pudding'. Other dances for eight include "Of Noble Race was Shenkin" (Playford 1695), "Welsh Morris" (Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing Master 1735) and "Dainty Davy" (Playford'sDancing Master 1701). It is believed that the latter two were originally danced with six dancers by Morris teams, very long ago.

The Bishop of Bangor's Jig 1703, was composed at a time when a semi-political controversy, known as Bangorism, involved the Bishop, Benjamin Hoadley, or his predecessor. It is possible that there may have been a popular song on the subject. This is a simple dance, generally used as a Sicilian circle.