Dance Worthy

It’s hard enough to convince someone that there actually is an Irish Dancing World Championship, but it might impossible to convince anyone that there have been over 40 of them.

However, after watching Sue Bourne’s documentary “Jig,” you’ll never forget the event, or the people involved.

Emotional throughout, you’d never think their was so much sacrifice involved in dance. From a small child dancing with a broken foot, to an adopted Indian teen that excels in the sport in spite of never being able to stick to anything else in his life, this documentary is filled with amazing characters that are fighting for what they love.

In less than two hours, Bourne is able to not only prove that the sport is a legitimate one, but one that is extremely captivating as well.

Excellent access is a key component in any solid documentary and this is perhaps where Bourne’s film shines the most. In a short period of time, Bourne is able to show how loved the sport of Irish Dance is worldwide. Taking you to dance studios as local as the United States and as far away as Russia, Bourne sets the scene marvelously. Each studio has its own story to tell and wunderkind to keep an eye on.

As a result, every scene change and new character introduced does a phenomenal job of advancing the story and adding a layer to the drama.

Nonetheless, even after the first half of the film, it’s still easy to think of the jig as a niche dance, but by the time you get the actual tournament and emotions begin to be expressed more, you’ll see it’s much more. The competition for the world championships is fierce and despite the fact that it appears at times that the parents involved want their children to succeed more than they do, this is a far cry from a beauty contest.

At the same time, it’s easy to see the same spectacle involved, with the expensive clothes and wigs adorned on the female contestants. As well, the judges admit during the course of the documentary that the way the sport is scored is completely subjective, which hurts its overall appeal. Even after watching, you’ll have a hard time being able to tell who’s better than whom, which makes it feel like a popularity contest at times.

Nevertheless, it’s impossible to deny the talent these contestants have and the hard work they put into their craft. Towards the end of the documentary, it’ll be quite a challenge to hold back tears.

It’s that emotional.

Expensive and bad on the body, it’s not a sport for everyone. But for the people involved, Irish dance provides a creative outlet and a way of life. Beautifully shot and with top-notch sources, “Jig” is ultimately a study of character and life that makes the sport intriguing to anyone that watches it.

That alone is a huge accomplishment.