About Jig and a Swig
Building community in London through adult Irish dancing 💚
What do we do?
Jig and a Swig is a social adults Irish dance class in central London.
What started as a small gathering of friends has grown to become the world’s largest community of adult Irish dancers: from total beginners to Riverdance pros!
We’re on a mission to bring people together through Irish dancing (the jig) and making new friends over a chat or a pint (the swig).
We have 17 classes a week to get involved in, for every type of jigger.
Who is it for?
Irish dancing is ridiculously feel-good. It brings together people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities. Everyone is welcome.
We have absolute beginners through to 5-time world champions. The focus is always on craic, cardio and building a welcoming community - we are non-competitive!
We believe Irish dancing is best done together, is for everyone and should feel joyful.
Meet Jessie
Hello! I’m Jessie - founder of Jig and a Swig. My mum started teaching me when I was 6 and I’ve danced ever since.
Over the past 27 years, I won multiple international titles, toured the world with shows including the Riverdance, qualified as an Irish Dancing Teacher and have - together with our amazing teaching team - taught over 2,000 adults to Irish dance.
Building Jig and a Swig has been the greatest joy and privilege of my life. I love meeting new people each week and them make new friends, learn something new and leave each class with an extra spring in their step!
Jig and a Swig was created by friends, for friends.
Our Origin Story
By 2019, aged 25, I had spent 21 years of my life Irish dancing. My mum - whose mum had moved to London from Tipperary in 1960 - had taught me my first steps as a child, and I spent my childhood and teens working my way up the competitive (and crazy!) Irish dancing feis scene.
By 22, I had achieved my life’s dream of touring with Riverdance, had qualified an Irish dance teacher, and had started a day job in London at a brilliant women’s rights charity. Trying to balance both passions, I started turning down once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to dance because of my day job, and spent all my time at a desk and virtually no time jigging.
Being an Irish dancer felt incompatible with adult London life, and I longed for a little after-work club where I could just dance with other people for the joy of it, without having to prove myself, be judged by others or go on a 3-month international tour away from friends and family!
One Wednesday in summer 2019, I booked the community hall below my charity office in Waterloo, bought some cheap wine, put on some Irish music and invited 15 friends to join me to learn an Irish ceili. I simply wanted to dance with other people, practice teaching and have some craic.
It was the most natural and joyful evening, and I couldn’t quite believe Irish dancing was something my friends were enjoying this much. At the pub after, my friend James suggested we make this our weekly ‘jig’ and a ‘swig’.
That evening was a breakthrough moment, where I stopped seeing Irish dancing as something that I only did with other Irish dancers, but something that I could do together with my friends, and their friends, and maybe some day total strangers. A thing that for my whole life had been mine, was now through Jig and a Swig becoming ours.
Fast forward 6 years, and over 2000 adults - of all ages, backgrounds and abilities - have joined for a jig. Some are total beginners, some have a few steps from childhood, some former professionals who just want to dance for the craic. The mission to bring people together, to have fun, belong and connect with friends through Irish dancing has become a reality and continues to grow.
Now, jigging through my thirties and beyond, it’s safe to say that building this community - and being able to dance every week with you all - has been the greatest joy and honour of my life. I cannot wait to meet the next person who walks through our doors for a jig.
Jig and a Swig's story
