Tir Conaill Academy of Irish Dance

Irish Dancing Competition Made Simple –A Primer

An Irish dance competition is called a feis (from the Irish, meaning “festival”). At these events, there are hundreds of competitions taking place. How to make sense of it all? Well, here we go with a simple explanation. . . .

Irish dance competitions are divided in several different ways. An initial first division is whether the dance is performed by an individual (called solo), or group (called ceili) dancing. Competitions are also broken into categories based on the type of dance/music performed. For example, dancers compete in a jig, a reel, a hornpipe competition, etc. The next major divisions are by age, which are usually in one or two year increments – eg, under five , under 7, through adult categories. The last category is based on the level of proficiency. For the newcomer, there are seven basic solo dances (danced to different types of music) and four levels of proficiency through which to pass: beginner, advanced beginner, novice, and prizewinner. After that the going gets tougher, as a dancer enters championship competition, which has two levels of achievement as well. The first level of championship competition is called preliminary championship. Winning several of these leads to open championship status, the highest level a competitor can reach in a local competition. Once a dancer has attained “open” proficiency, the next goal is to qualify for the World Irish Dancing Championships, held annually in Ireland. To qualify, a dancer must place in the top 10% of their competition at the regional qualifiers, or Oireachtas, held around Thanksgiving every year. Other high reaching goals would be to qualify and place at the North American Irish Dance Championships, or several of the “majors” held annually overseas (e.g., the All-Irelands, the All-Scotlands, the Great Britains, the British Nationals, etc).

Of course, all this complexity disappears when it comes to adult competition. Basically, no one is forced to admit to an age group, and the proficiency levels are limited to beginner, novice and prizewinner. The steps are limited in complexity and length, which saves a lot of money on water, oxygen supplements, and broken bones every year. Adults compete most frequently in ceili competitions, which are both fun to watch and great exercise as well!

The last category is the group dancing, or ceili. Competitors dance in groups of two, four, six, or eight, and the dances must come from the official Irish dance book, An Rince Foirne. A well-danced ceili is a joy to behold, and an embodiment of Irish dancing tradition, as these dances have been preserved in their original form since they were documented in the early 1930s and 40s. At major competitions, Irish dance instructors also may create “figure choreographies” which contain up to sixteen dancers, are based on a theme or story, and often have multiple changes in music and tempo, not to mention exciting costuming. Another, most innovative category is the dance drama, which also provides an opportunity for telling a story through dance. Dance dramas are very similar to a danced play, and include stage props, non dancing sections, and range from the humorous to the religious, to the melodramatic.

Hopefully this information will help you to bravely attend the next feis, armed with some rudimentary knowledge of how Irish dancing works. Hope this helps!

Back