VCS Dancers

Dances

Irish solo stepdances fall into two broad categories based on the shoes worn: hard shoe (or heavy shoe) and soft shoe (or light shoe) dances.

There are four soft shoe dances: the reel, slip jig, light (or double) jig and single jig . Reels have a 4/4 (or sometimes 2/4 or 2/2) time signature. Slip jigs are in 9/8 time. Light and single jigs are in 6/8 time, with different emphasis within the measure distinguishing the music. Hard shoe dances include the hornpipe in syncopated 2/4 or 4/4 time, the heavy jig (also called the treble jig or hard jig) in a slow 6/8, the treble reel (heavy dance done to reel music) and traditional sets, which are a group of dances with set music and steps. Many traditional sets have irregular musical phrasing. There are also more advanced "non-traditional sets" done by advanced dancers. These have set music, but not steps. There are four traditional sets: St. Patrick's Day, Blackbird, Job of Journeywork, and Garden of Daisies.

Competitive dancers generally dance two or three steps at a time, depending on their dancing level. Each step lasts eight bars of music. They are each danced starting with the right foot, then repeated with the left foot. Set dances, however, have a different format. The dancer usually dances one step, which lasts for eight bars of music and is then repeated, resembling the steps of other dances. Then the dancer usually dances a "set", which lasts for 16 bars of music and is not repeated.

The céilí dances used in competitions are more precise versions of those danced in less formal settings. There is a list of 30 céilí dances which have been standardised and published in An Coimisiún's Ar Rinncidhe Foirne as examples of typical Irish folk dances; these are called the "book" dances by competitive stepdancers. Most Irish dancing competitions only ask for a short piece of any given dance, in the interests of time.

Shoes and costume

There are two types of shoes; soft shoes (also known as ghillies) and hard shoes. The hard shoe is similar to tap shoes, except that the tips and heels are made of fiberglass, instead of metal, and are significantly bulkier. The hard shoes were originally made of wood in the 19th century and early 20th century. The first hard shoes had wooden or leather taps with metal nails. Later the taps and heels were changed into resin or fiberglass to reduce the weight and to increase the footwork sounds. The soft shoes, which are called ghillies, are black lace-up shoes. Ghillies are only worn by girls, while boys wear black leather shoes called "reel shoes", which resemble black jazz shoes with a hard heel. Boy's soft-shoe dancing features audible heel clicks.

Several generations ago, the appropriate dress for a competition was simply "Sunday Best" (clothes one would wear to church). Irish Dance schools generally have school dresses, worn by lower-level competitors and in public performances. As dancers advance in competition or are given starring roles in public performances, they may get a solo dress of their own design and colors. In the 1970s and 1980s, ornately embroidered dresses became popular. Today even more ornamentation is used on girls' dresses. Solo dresses can range from 100 to 5000 dollars, and are unique to each dancer. Today most women and girls curl their hair or wear a wig or hairpiece for a competition. Most men wear a shirt, vest, and tie paired with black trousers.

Competition structure

An organised step dance competition is referred to as a feis (pronounced "fesh", plural feiseanna). The word feis means "festival" in Irish, and strictly speaking would also have competitions in music and crafts. Féile (/ˈfeɪlə/) is a more correct term for the dance competition, but the terms may be used interchangeably. Dance competitions are divided by age and level of expertise. The names of the levels and other organising rules vary between countries and regions. Dancers are scored based on technique (placement of the feet, turn out, off of their heels, etc.), style (grace, power, etc.) and other items such as timing, rhythm, and sounds in their hard shoe dances.

An annual regional Championship competition is known as an oireachtas (/oʊˈrɒktəs/). Each of the major Irish stepdance organisations hosts a World Championship; dancers qualify in various ways, typically by scoring well at an oireachtas.

The World Championships (for An Coimisiún dancers) first took place in Dublin in 1970 at Coláiste Mhuire, a school in Parnell Square. In 2009, for the first time, the World Championships were held in the United States, in Philadelphia. The 2011 championships were held once again in Dublin. The 2012 championships are scheduled for Belfast.

An Comdhdail's All Ireland and International championships (the equivalent of An Coimisiun World Championships) takes place each Easter week, with the competition being held in Ennis in 2011.

The Largest NAIDF (North American Irish Dance Federation) competition currently is The Nationals held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem Pa in 2010, and at The Valley Forge Convention Center in Pa in 2012.

The WIDA (World Irish Dance Association) which is mainly dancers from European countries, also hold their own World and European Championships over the Easter week, with the competition being held in Berlin in 2011, and scheduled for Poland 2012.