What is a Feis in Irish dance?
“FEIS” (pronounced FESH) is a Gaelic word that means festival. Many years ago in Ireland, the local towns would hold a Feis where the community would gather–Many entered contests to show their baking, music, dance and art skills. We keep these traditions alive today!
Why do you not move your arms in Irish dancing?
It’s thought the clergy didn’t like the idea of young men and women being allowed to hold hands or even put their arms around each other as happened in most dance forms. To ensure there was no chance of any sneaky canoodling going on, they insisted that dancers always kept their arms strictly by their sides.
Why do Irish dancers keep their hands down?
So they made the dancer carry a heavy stone in both hands so that they had to keep them by their sides when dancing with the opposite sex as to prevent them from holding hands during the dances.
What do Irish dancing judges look for?
What do judges look for in an Irish dancing champion? “The formal criteria are timing, appearance, execution and carriage,” says Kerry Kelly Oster, a bubbly, friendly woman from Putnam, N.Y. Like many judges, she also has her own dancing school.
What are Irish points?
The Irish Points are vaguely logarithmic, in that 1st place= 100 points, 2nd place = 75, 3rd place= 65 etc, until 50th place = 1. This gives higher marks by single judges more weight than average marks by more judges.
How do you move up levels in Irish dance?
In Primary competitions where there are 10 or more participants, dancers who place 1st or 2nd will move up, where there are 5 – 9 participants, dancers who place 1st will move up. In Intermediate competitions where there are 5 or more participants, dancers who place 1st will move up.
What are the rules for Irish dance competitions?
Any storyline but only instrumental music (nor words, no voices) is allowed. The dancing must only be Irish dancing. Dance must occupy a majority of the performance time. Any team or dancer who does not follow the footstep and music requirements of their respective competitions may be penalised or disqualified.
What are the dance requirements for the Feis competition?
Dancers are required to dance on the spot either 16 jump-2-3s or 16 hop 1-2-3s (promenade step). A dancer can only take part in a First Feis competition once.
What are the different types of Irish dance organisations?
There are other organisations such as WIDA (WorldIrish Dance Association), CAID (Celtic Association of Irish Dance) CRN, CRDM, IDTA etc who sometimes do not agree with the approach of the ‘big 2’ and have started up their own organisations.
Who is not allowed to dance in the competition?
Dancers who are not in full costume will not be allowed to accept an award. Dancers and teams must dance in numerical order. Dancers who arrive at the stage late and join the end of the line or who are not standing in correct numerical order will not be allowed to dance.