hop jigs and stepdancers

I’m of the ilk that thinks a hop jig is a different rhythm than a slip jig, a slip jig (to me) has more of a 123 223 323 kind of a feel whereas a hop jig has a 3/2 feel with quarter/eighth pairings some popular examples would be "The Rocky Road to Dublin" or "The Boys of Ballisodare" or the way Michael Coleman played "The Foxhunter’s" and "Comb your Hair and Curl it" http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Foxhunter+s+Jig+Comb+Your+Hair+And+Curl+It/3NiiUt?src=5

Anyway, I was itching for some new ones and went to the youtubes and found lots of videos of stepdancers doing a particular step to what seemed like whatever they pleased - slides, waltzes or polkas depending on the video. (One had smallpipes playing what seemed to be ‘whiskey before breakfast" What’s next? A saxophone playing ‘God save the queen"? but, I digress)

What’s the stepdancing world’s take on hop jigs? Is it just a step or does it have anything to do with the rhythm of the tune?

I’ve been seeking out hop jigs the past while myself and I’m interested about the rhythm of the dancing steps. I haven’t found much on it though.
You might find this video interesting, there’s dancing on the last hop jig of the set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeUCIM8sGS4

play video

Also, just last night I uploaded a track on my soundcloud with two of my hop jig composition attempts.

https://soundcloud.com/alfranreid/two-hop-jigs

Nice video and nice clip. Your banjo sounds class.
The Joey Abarta house concert set up seems like a nice atmosphere.
Thank you for posting these.

Ancient step-dancer here. Slip jig rhythm is 1 23 45. Never came across a hop-jig. Perhaps it’s more of a Scots rhythm?

Dancers count totally differently than musicians. For a musician, the only slip jig counted that way is Dave Brubeck’s Favorite.
I remember many years ago, the first time I accompanied a dance class. The instructor counted "1-2-3-4" and off I went, not understanding why she was glaring at me until I heard her yelling "5-6-7-8" at the top of her lungs.

The hop jig rhythm is 1 23 45 where a slip jig is 123 223 323 Joey is playing a hop hig in the above video with the 1 23 45 and here’s drops of brandy with the slip jig rhythm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIhKBE-J9-I

play video

I’ve heard many an ethnobolloxologist say, ‘slip and hop jigs are the only native Irish forms’. It’s not a Scottish thing - just wanted to clear up the conjecture.

I had a feeling this topic would go in that direction, but my question is about stepdancers - are they supposed to dance a hop jig step to a hop jig tune or is it irrelevant or, worst case scenario, are the top youtube searches example of people who claim to dance but can’t even pick out a polka from a jig?

What about "1 and 2 and 3"? The feel of three-time is still there, and the counter won’t be confused by other numbers than the very beats.

Yep, talking about music is like dancing about architecture (or however the saying goes.)

Think Rocky Road To Dublin….1 23 45. Slip Jig. The Dancer counts 1 23 45. Dancer in first video is very good. In my half-century of Irish step-dancing, I’ve never seen that dance performed.

1 23, 223,etc, is used as a lead-around in a set dance such as Sweets of May.

Rocky Road to Dublin is a hop jig