Jig

There’s a tried and tested format for documentaries like ‘Spellbound’ or ‘Smells Likes Teen Spirit’ about kids from wildly different backgrounds entering quirky championships. First we get the talking-head interviews at home, preferably in bedrooms full of trophies, then comes training and the event itself with the inevitable highs of winning and lows of losing – at which stage we wonder: what happened to the less interesting contenders ditched along the way?

‘Jig’ applies this winning formula to the lightning heels of Irish dancing as teens and pre-teens from Ireland, Russia and elsewhere prepare to tap their way to victory in last year’s world championships in Glasgow. As ever, the insight offered into the kids’ lives is as interesting as the competition, although there’s real tension over the friendly rivalry between driven American dancer Julia and sweet Derry lass Brogan.

The big wigs and dresses make the little ones look cute, but the contestants in their late teens and early twenties start to look frightful in their gaudy gear – all of which adds to this swift and slick film’s kitsch appeal.