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regular competition. Grade dances are when competitors dance, are judged and are placed in each dance separately. Championships consist of three rounds, an initial soft (reel or slip jig) round and a heavy (heavy/treble jig or hornpipe) round danced by all entrants, the scores from the soft and heavy round are combined, and a percentage (usually circa 50%) of dancers with the highest combined score dance a third round of a modern set dance, the winner is the dancer with the highest combined score across all three rounds. Championships must be judged by a minimum of three judges, preliminary championships in the UK may offer a recall of the heavy dance not danced in the initial heavy round instead of a modern set dance upon recall. Modern set dances are of the teacher and/or dancers own choreography and are danced to a specific set dance chosen from a list compiled by the overseeing organisation. Modern set dances are rarely offered to dance outside of championship competitions, though may occasionally be present as a 'special' competition. Slip jig is only danced by girls, with the exception of male dancers from the CRN organisation.
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dancers who take lessons with a teacher certified by that particular organisation. However, there are a number of organisations (primarily CRN and WIDA along with its affiliated organisations) who organise 'open feisanna', which are open to any dancer regardless of their teacher's organisation (or if they are self-taught). The organisers of 'closed feiseanna' frown upon dancers from their organisation competing at such open competitions, and there are rumours that organisations may sanction competitors/teachers found to participate in such open feiseanna. This, however, has never been confirmed by any organisations, teachers or dancers and could be construed as a way to keep teachers/dancers within one organisation.
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must be combined to determine overall placing, an additional method of scoring is used. Each individual adjudicator derives from their own scoring, a final placing. Ties in these placings are discouraged but do happen. Each of the placings from 1st to 50th are assigned an Irish Point Value, which when combined with the other adjudicators, determines final placing. The Irish Points per individually judged place are vaguely logarithmic, in that 1st == 100 points, 2nd == 75, 3rd == 65 etc., until 50th == 1. This gives higher marks by single judges more weight than average marks by more judges.
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some competitions, ceili categories are offered for teams of 4 or 8 dancers, the ceili dances performed must be done so as espoused in the book 'Ar Rince Foirne' which lays down 30 of the traditional Irish ceili dances. Competitions for teams of 2, 3 and 8â16 dancers, called figure dances, may also be offered, choreography for these dances is made up by the teacher and/or dancers themselves, though must adhere to certain rules and parameters, a notable rule for figure dances being that 'any move in which a dancer is thrown across the stage is prohibited'.
342:. When competitors begin to dance in these competitions, they traditionally wear a dance costume decided on by their dance school. When these students reach a competition level decided on by the dance school, they can design or choose a costume of their own. Girls wear ornate dresses with long sleeves and short skirt. The skirt panels are sometimes stiffened with cardboard inserts, but ballet-like "soft-skirts" have become the norm. They usually wear their hair curled, in a wig, in a bun wig or just down. Boys usually wear a
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standard 3 judge Feis competition, a unanimous 1st place score is 300 (100 from each judge). At
Regional Oireachtas competitions, there are 5 judges who rate all three dance programs, creating the possibility of a perfect score of 500. At the CLRG World Championship Oireachtas (Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne), there are 7 judges, which means that 700 would be perfect if all 7 judges agree that one dancer performed the best.
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for adults, to be eligible the adult dancers must not have competed in the standard age-defined competitions for a stipulated amount of time (usually circa 4 years). Some feiseanna in the US also offer a 'first feis' category for the youngest dancers, to give them a more gentle introduction into the world of competitions.
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get first with 2 judges agreeing that 1st place is warranted, since with 200 Irish points, the 3rd judge would need to place a dance 7th or worse to overcome the 25 point bonus between 1st and 2nd. This scoring method helps ensure that a single bad adjudicator does not unfairly ruin the results. At a
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Preliminary and Open
Championship competitions are judged by at least 3 adjudicators (Judges) and at regional, national and world "Oireachtas" competitions, there can be 5 or more. Because of the subjective nature of judging, the varying scales used by each judge, and fact that the scores of 3 dances
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For
Individual dance competitions, placing is based entirely on a single judges subjective opinion. Ties are common, and can result in slightly skewed final results. For instance, a tie at 2nd place would result in the 4th best dancer receiving 3rd place (1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, instead of 1st, 2nd, 2nd,
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In CLRG affiliated competitions in the US, Canada and Mexico these levels of competition are offered: beginner, advanced beginner, novice, open/prizewinner, preliminary championship, and championship. The names of categories vary by region. In some regions of the USA there are also special categories
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However, in many regions a dancer can only win 3 competitions with fewer than 6 dancers before they must move up to the next level. Teachers may also choose to move a dancer up a level. Once a dancer has met the requirements to move up a level they are no longer allowed to compete at the lower level
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The commonly competed dances are reel, slip jig, light jig and single jig, in soft shoe, and heavy/treble jig and hornpipe in hard shoe. Treble reels (hard shoe reels) may be offered as 'special dances', as may traditional set dances and special trophy dances in soft and hard shoe in addition to the
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movement came about when a group of parents and other individuals â including Fr Colin MacInnes, Dr Angus MacDonald, Kenna
Campbell and Isbhbel T MacDonald â on the Isle of Barra became concerned that local traditions were dying out and that island children were not being taught traditional music in
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In the UK, Europe, Australia and New
Zealand almost all of the organisations separate the competitions into beginner (sometimes referred to as novice), primary, intermediate and open levels. In recent years a preliminary championship level has begun to be introduced at many feiseanna, unlike in the
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There are different levels of competition offered at all feiseanna, however the number of levels, and the names of each level vary by country (and even region within that country). Competitions are offered for both solo and team dancing, and are separated based upon the age of the competitors. At
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Feiseanna are held all over the world, Republic of
Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, all over Europe, South Africa, Australia, the United States and Canada. Feiseanna are held by all the organisations which oversee Irish dance, with most feiseanna being confined to only those
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Competitions for each individual dance are scored on a 100-point system, which indicate the subjective opinion of each different judge. Most scores seem to be in the 60â95 point range, and can vary wildly depending upon the judge. However, each competition is judged in its entirety by the same
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US this level is not compulsory, and is an optional level to bridge the gap between placing out of intermediate and entering the open level. Apart from in the younger age groups, the majority of feiseanna in the UK operate only an open championship competition, rather than open grade dances.
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is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in
Ireland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional music and culture. Although it is Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, the accent is important because there is a difference of meaning and pronunciation between
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These feiseanna were a rich opportunity for storytellers to reach a large audience, and often warriors would recount their exploits in combat, clansmen would trace family genealogies, and bards and balladeers would lead the groups in legends, stories, and song.
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is an opportunity for individuals to come together to develop skills in the Gaelic arts â song, dance, drama, and traditional music on a wide range of instruments. Commitment to Gaelic language and culture is central to the
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Most schools in North
America, are registered with An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha and its subsidiary the Irish Dance Teacher's Association of North America. However WIDA and Rince Tuatha Nua are also present as are CRN.
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of competition, however in the UK if a dancer in the open level has not placed in the top 5 for a period of more than a year, they may return to the intermediate level of competition.
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are a highly valued aspect of the informal education of young people, as demonstrated by the level of volunteer commitment and parental support in local areas. Most importantly, the
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The most common way for dancers to advance between levels is through winning a dance when there are 6 or more competitors in the competition, although this depends on organisation.
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competitions in
Eastern and Western Canada, Northeast, Midwest, Southern and Western US, plus locations in Europe (Especially GB and Ireland) and Australia. Regional
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Tuition is accessible and fun, but professional and effective. The focus of activity for most
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could come together in song, dance, music, theatre and sport. The largest of these was the
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FeisWorx.com: Popular website for the registration and results of Irish Dancing Feiseanna
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These gatherings eventually gave rise to athletic and sporting competitions, including
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offer a full programme of year-round follow-on classes to ensure sustained provision.
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ethos, with opportunities for the use and transmission of Gaelic language within each
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Feis Productions: a smaller site to register for several US Western Region feiseanna
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eFeis.com: Another popular website for the registration of Irish Dancing Feiseanna
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experience is valued by the young participants themselves. At national level, the
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are seen by many as one of the most successful arts initiatives in Scotland.
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judge(s), so what really matters is the relative placing of each dancer.
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was held on the island in 1981. Inspired by the success of this first
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the context of formal education. To address this issue the first
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communities placed great importance on local festivals, where
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movement has rapidly gained momentum across Scotland. The
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The most prestigious competition for top dancers is the
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In a 3 judge competition it is almost impossible to
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668:A place to register for NAIDF sponsored feiseanna.
85:arts and culture festival. The plural forms are
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646:Irish dance community & Annual Online Feis
199:, as well as feats of strength and endurance.
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716:Feis/Feiseanna throughout the world
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682:The Pan-Celtic Festival in Ireland
534:Feis, now used of Irish political
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543:, the Welsh equivalent of a Feis.
379:competitions. There are regional
213:Over the past thirty years, the
474:Complete List of Irish Points:
1017:An CoimisiĂşn Le RincĂ Gaelacha
651:North American Feis Commission
628:North American Feis Commission
74:Scottish Gaelic pronunciation:
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1034:World Irish Dance Association
530:, originally the name of the
170:, which was then the city of
1226:Public Dance Halls Act 1935
1106:Dancing on Dangerous Ground
1070:Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne
1039:Comhaltas CeoltĂłirĂ Ăireann
410:Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne
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144:means sexual intercourse.
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689:Am Mòd Nà iseanta RÏoghail
338:are generally centred on
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397:. Important National
284:The skills taught at
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32:Feis (disambiguation)
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916:Haste to the Wedding
781:in the United States
708:Feisean nan Gaidheal
644:WorldIrishDancer.com
608:Fèisean nan Gà idheal
547:Fèisean nan Gà idheal
99:[ËfʲÉĘÉnĚŞË É]
57:Irish pronunciation:
30:For other uses, see
1270:Culture of Scotland
450:Competition scoring
365:The most important
81:) is a traditional
1265:Culture of Ireland
1185:Graham Killoughery
1180:BreandĂĄn de GallaĂ
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604:"What is a Fèis?"
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418:Dance competition
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590:Learn Gaelic
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580:
571:
562:
516:
510:
508:
473:
469:
466:Irish Points
458:
457:
453:
444:
441:
437:
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429:
425:
421:
405:
364:
332:
315:
283:
268:
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212:
190:
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151:
119:). The term
103:
86:
65:
48:
46:
36:
1275:Irish dance
1244:(2011 film)
1205:Daire Nolan
1190:Tony Lundon
1160:Colin Dunne
1150:Dean Crouch
1140:Jean Butler
1135:Cara Butler
813:Rinnce Fada
803:Ceili dance
751:Irish dance
344:dress shirt
247:The modern
138:ââthe word
1259:Categories
1236:Hard shoes
1231:Soft shoes
1092:Riverdance
1065:Oireachtas
985:Mixed time
911:Treble jig
772:Step dance
765:Individual
666:FeisKeeper
554:References
541:Eisteddfod
400:Oireachtas
394:Oireachtas
388:Oireachtas
382:Oireachtas
375:Oireachtas
316:Today the
209:(Scottish)
1175:Dan Furey
808:Set dance
368:Feiseanna
352:waistcoat
335:Feiseanna
309:Feiseanna
182:High King
89:feiseanna
946:Slip jig
876:Hornpipe
694:Archived
528:Ardfheis
522:See also
328:Scotland
350:and/or
312:(Irish)
306:Modern
299:Fèisean
287:Fèisean
278:Fèisean
272:Fèisean
241:Fèisean
206:Fèisean
203:Modern
172:Ireland
148:History
106:fèisean
1048:Events
969:dances
939:dances
899:dances
864:dances
758:Styles
613:12 May
586:"feis"
568:"Feis"
462:4th).
354:, and
195:- and
180:, or "
163:Aonach
102:) and
95:Irish:
83:Gaelic
1075:CĂŠilĂ
976:Slide
827:Music
796:Group
358:or a
193:horse
177:ArdrĂ
158:Gaels
64:) or
1060:Feis
871:Reel
849:and
615:2021
360:kilt
319:Feis
293:Fèis
263:fèis
257:Fèis
250:fèis
235:Fèis
222:Fèis
216:Fèis
168:Tara
141:feis
135:fèis
132:and
129:feis
122:feis
68:Fèis
51:Feis
1242:Jig
511:Not
348:tie
184:".
174:'s
152:In
1261::
606:.
588:.
570:.
362:.
346:,
47:A
962:8
932:8
892:8
857:4
842:2
783:)
779:(
743:e
736:t
729:v
617:.
592:.
574:.
110:(
93:(
72:(
55:(
34:.
20:)
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