Feis Info

Section 1: What is a Feis?

Feis (pronounced fesh) is the Irish word we Irish dancers use to refer to our competitions. Translated literally,
it means festival. Feiseanna (plural for feis) used to consist of music, story telling, singing and of course,
dancing. Although most modern feiseanna consist only of Irish dance competitions, some current feiseanna
have music and other competitions held at them.

How a Feis works

Solo dancing
Dancers are usually divided into groups based on skill level, age and sometimes gender. There are six levels of
solo competition: Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Novice, Prizewinner, Prelims and Open. The qualifications
and dances used for each level are discussed in detail in section 4 and 5.

A dancer's score at a competition can be quite subjective and is to some extent based on a judge's particular
style preferences but, the general things every judge is looking for are the same. And a dancer's mark will be
based on the following:

Timing: The dancer's timing with the music and whether or not their hard shoe rhythms are correct.

Carriage:
-Arms close to their body and straight.
- Back straight and not bending forward on jumps and kicks Shoulders back
-Head straight ahead at all times, eyes straight ahead, and chin held level or slightly up.

Steps: Difficulty level of steps. But, please note that this is irrelevant if the dancer executes the steps poorly.

Execution:
-Feet crossed and knees crossed or close together
-Feet turned out
-High up on toes
-Knees fully straightened when lifting, jumping, pointing etc.
-Back leg lifting fully up to the bum for jumps, lift backs, skip forwards, etc.
-Toes fully pointed whenever off the ground
-Flexibility

Figure dancing
Competitions also involve group, figure, or "ceili" dancing. In figure dancing, we use the word "hand" to refer
to the number of dancers in the dance. Ex: a "three hand" would consist of three dancers.

There are 30 ceili dances that are recognized by Commission and teachers are required to learn each and
every one to pass their exams. These dances consist mostly of 4 hands, 6 hands, and 8 hands but there are
also some with 10, 12, and 16 hands. These dances are used in competitions at both the local, national and
world championship level, if the team qualifies.

Besides the ceili dances, dancers may also learn and compete in two hands and three hands that have been
choreographed by their teacher.

Once a school becomes large enough, dancers can compete in a "teacher's choreography" or a "dance
drama". These dances can also be performed at the national and world championship level and are usually the
biggest attractions.

Teachers choreographies consist of dancing only and can sometimes tell a story or, are most often danced to
a theme. Dance dramas always tell a story and often have sections of acting, mime, and speech contained
within them.

Costuming for a teachers choreography consist of either a class dress or a special "Riverdance" style costume
for the occasion.

Dance Dramas use elaborate costumes, makeup, props, backdrops and sometimes, lighting.

In both teachers' choreography and dance dramas, there is the option of having a poem or short story read
at the beginning to introduce the piece. Often, the dancers themselves are encouraged to take part in
creating, or to actually write the story or poem.

The music used for both types of choreography is usually non traditional and can include techno or other
influences.

Both teachers choreography and dance dramas are usually very large dances of 8-16 dancers and are usually
quite long (up to four minutes). The teams can consist of all girls, all boys or mixed.

Section 2: How to get Feis Hair
There are two options to achieve curls for competition: 1. curl their hair or 2. use a wig.

Option 1- How to curl hair

The most commonly used curlers are spike curlers, plastic rollers or sponge curlers. Most curlers can be found
at drug stores and the spike rollers can be purchased at competitions, online, or can be purchased locally
(Calgary, AB) at Steele Celtic dancewear.

If you are curling your hair, its best to put it in a hair net overnight instead of re-curling if you are dancing for
two or three days in a row.

To achieve curls that last:

1.) Wash hair and leave to air dry until damp. Or, use unwashed hair and dampen with a spray bottle. It's
good to have a spray bottle near-by in case hair gets too dry while curling.
Optional: For better hold: Apply a small amount of hair gel or mouse to each section before wrapping. Be
careful not to apply too much as it can cause hair not to dry in time.

2.) If you want to have the front hair pulled back in a small ponytail, put in the ponytail first. Then curl from
there. Putting hair into a ponytail after will ruin the curls.

Section 3: What to wear:

Costumes:

School dresses
Each Irish dance school has a dress of certain colors and design that are unique to their school. These dresses
are used in Figure dances at competition and can also be worn for solo competitions for First Feis, Beginner
and Advanced Beginner. Dancers in these competitions can also wear a skirt and blouse.

Solo dresses
A solo costume/dress can be worn only after a dancer has won their way into Novice level.
Any solo dress purchased or ordered should be okayed by the teacher fist to ensure it is up to date and suited
to the dancer's look and level of dancing.

Shawls
Shawls, also called capes, come in many different styles. Traditionally, the shawl is made of soft, flowing fabric
and runs from the left shoulder and down to the right hip. Some shawls now are stiffened with embroidery and
attach straight down.
Whichever style you have, be sure it is securely attached with pins, snaps, and/or Velcro before you head up
onstage as it is usually the last thing a dancer will put on.

Commission costume rules to be aware of:
Costumes must have a full front and back. Cut aways are not acceptable.
Materials: Must be of equivalent weight as traditional costumes: gabardine, velvet, wool mix etc.
Skirt length: Cannot be more than three inches above the knee. So, be sure to stay on top of your growing girl's
height.
Neck line: must be collar bone or above.
Sleeves: Must start at the shoulder and end at the wrist.
Appropriate underwear must be worn. (AKA bloomers)

Shoes
If your shoes are older, you may want to replace the shoe laces to ensure they wont break at a critical moment.
To make quick shoe changes easier, elastics can be treaded through soft shoes, hard shoes or both instead of
shoe laces. The elastic can be bought at fabric stores or at Zellers or a similar store.
Be sure to polish both pairs of shoes and repair any holes well before the feis so that they are shiny and new
looking.

Socks
Irish dancers wear white socks for competitions. The socks are called "bubble" or "poodle" socks.
They can be purchased at feiseanna or locally in Calgary at Steele Celtic Dancewear.
Socks should be fairly long (about 2-3 inches below knee cap or, about mid-calf)
Socks should never touch the knee cap as that is too long.
To keep socks up, use a glue stick or sock glue. Put glue over at least half of the lower leg, then pull sock up
snuggly and pat it into place.
There are socks available now that have rhinestones on them. They give the socks a subtle sparkle onstage and
are fine for solo dancing but dancers should have a plain pair for figures (group dancing) unless the whole team
decides to wear matching rhinestone socks.

Tiaras
Some solo dresses come with Tiaras. If yours does not, you can purchase one from the feis vendors or, you can
get creative and make your own. Some dancers prefer even more sparkle onstage and will place a rhinestone
tiara in front of their cloth ones.

Whatever you choose to wear, be sure to secure tiaras and headbands very well using plenty of pins and again,
have the dancer do the "shake test" to ensure it will not come lose on stage

Make-up
Make-up is not permitted for dancers under the age of 12.
If the dancer is over 12, here are some tips:

Irish dancing competitions are rarely held on brightly lit stages. Therefore, make-up used does not have to be
overly dramatic or very much darker then regular street make up.

Eyes
If the dancer will be on a large, brightly lit stage (as is the case at some major competitions) fake eyelashes are
helpful to make the eyes really stand out from a distance. Drawing a small "fake eyelash" at the outer corner of
each eye will also help the eyes from disappearing onstage. A bit of white eyeliner on the inside corner of the
eyes will help make the eyes look larger.

If your solo dress is sparkly, a bit of glitter on or around the eyes is nice. Try not to go overboard as a sparkle in
your eye at the wrong moment can be detrimental to your performance onstage.

Cheeks
If your cheeks are not naturally rosy, rouge will help stop the "washed out" look from bright stage lights. Pick a
colour that is only a shade or two darker than your natural skin colour. When applying, use long sweeping
strokes starting at the cheek bones and sweeping up to the hairline. Afterwards, use your fingers to blend the
edges to avoid getting a clown look.

Lips
When choosing a lipstick, pick one that is not too much darker than the natural lip colour. A nice way to make
the lips stand out but not look too overdone is to apply a dab of very light pink in the center of the lips and
blend in, finishing off with a coat of shimmery or sparkly lip gloss.

On younger dancers in particular, often a shiny lip gloss with a bit of tint is nicer than a deep colour.

Jewelry

Many girls like to wear sparkly earrings that match their solo costume. But, DO NOT wear dangling earrings as
they can snag and catch.

No jewelry or watches for figures. Small, silver or gold studs or hoop earrings are fine. Fancy earrings in figures
will only be permitted if all dancers in the figure are wearing the same earrings. Again, if you are not an MJP
dancer, please check with your teachers regarding this.

Section 4: General Dance Information
Irish dances
Reel
This dance is in 4/4 time. From Beginner up to Prizewinner, dancers complete 32 bars (two steps)
In Prelim and Open championships, dancers must dance 48 bars (three steps).

Light Jig / Single jig
Both of these dances are in 6/8 time.
Dancers perform 32 bars (two steps).
These dancers are usually only danced up to Prizewinner level.

Slip Jig
This dance is in 9/8 which causes it to be difficult to count and also to be the longest soft shoe dance since
each measure contains more beats.
Beginners dance 32 bars (2 steps) to a speed of 128-130bpm (beats per minute)
Older dancers dance to a slower speed (Oireachtas speed) which allows them to complete more difficult
movements. Novice speed is 124 and Prelim / Open is 120.
Prelim and open championship dancers must dance 40 bars (two steps and a half)

Hornpipe
This is a hard shoe dance. It is in 4/4 time.
Again, beginners use a faster speed of 144 which is also referred to as "traditional speed".
Beginners dance 32 bars (2 steps)
Prelim and open championship dancers must dance 40 bars (two steps and a half) at the slower "Oireachtas"
speed of 113.

Treble Jig
A Hard shoe dance in 6/8 time. Danced at either traditional or Oireachtas speed.
Beginners dance 32 bars (2 steps)
Prelim and open championship dancers must dance 48 bars (three steps)

Set dances / Traditional Sets
There are 38 set dances in total. Some in 2/4, 4/4, 6/8 and one in 9/8 time. A set dance in 2/4 or 4/4 is
considered to be in "hornpipe timing". A set dance in 6/8 is in Treble jig timing.

What is a set dance?
A set dance is danced to a specific tune with a set number of bars. The dances are named for the tune they are
danced to.

What is a Traditional Set?
Traditional sets have a specific tune, number of bars AND use choreographies that have been passed down
from generation. Of the 38 set dances used today in Commission competitions, only 7 of them are traditional
sets.

The seven Traditional Set dances are: St. Patrick's day, The Blackbird, Job of Journeywork, Garden of Daisies,
King of the Fairies, Jockey to the Fair and Three Sea Captains.

And, just in case your weren't confused already, some of the Traditional Set tunes are also used as set dances
such as the King of The Fairies and the Job of Journeywork.

Some traditional sets have more versions floating around then others. For example, the St. Patrick's day has
only one version whereas the Garden of Daises and the King of the Ferries have many.

What is the difference between Set dances and Traditional Set dances?
The traditional dances are used from the Beginner to the Novice competitions while set dances are used in the
higher categories (Prizewinner, Prelims and Open).

The speed of Traditional Set dances is predetermined but the speed of a set dance is chosen by the teacher
depending on choreography, a dancer's skill level and timing of the tune. For example, The Three Sea Captains
(in 6/8 time) is usually danced from a speed of 69 to as fast as 72.

Advancing to the next level in competition
This is probably the most confusing part of Irish dancing. Here is a quick reference guide. A detailed description
can be found in the "Feis rules" section below.

Number of dancers required in the competition to move dancer(s) to the next level:
Less than 5: no placing advances
5 - 9 dancers: 1st place moves up
10 - 19 dancers: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place move up
20 - 29 dancers: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th place move up
30 or more dancers: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th place move up

Trophy competitions and Championship:
-A dancer who wins two first place trophies in Beginner/Advanced Beginner Trophy advances to
Novice/Prizewinner Trophy
- A dancer who advances to Novice or Prizewinner for the majority of their solo levels (hard shoes
in particular) automatically advances to the Novice/Prizewinner Trophy.
- A dancer who wins two first place trophies in Novice/Prizewinner Trophy advances to
Preliminary Championships.

Section 5: Feis Rules*

*Compiled from North America Feis Commission (NAFC). For a complete listing of rules, please visit the
North American Feis Commission website.

1. In the case of all solo and team competitions in all grades, the age of a competitor on 1st January of the year
in which the competition is held will determine the right of entry. For the purposes of this Rule a competitor
whose birthday occurs on 1st January shall be deemed to be under the age attained on that date.

3. A competitor may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:
a) Conduct unbecoming a lady or gentleman.
b) Failure to report on time to compete. (Penalty: disqualification from said event)
c) Falsification of age or other important facts - i.e., teaching, award winning, competing under another
competitor's name or number, etc.

Penalty for a) or c): Competitor will be disqualified from the Feis at which the occurrence happened and from
all NAFC - registered Feiseanna for a period of one year beginning at the date of the occurrence.

5. Solo competitors in First Feis (if offered), Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Novice or Open (Prizewinner)
competitions:
a) Must compete in their own age group.
b) Must be prepared to perform two steps in each event.
c) Cannot change competition on the day of the Feis.

6. Steel taps or "bubble" heels on dancing shoes, display of awards, wearing of shorts or other unconventional
dress is prohibited. Authentic Gaelic dress is desired. First Feis (if offered), Beginner and Advanced Beginner,
aka Beginner I and II, must wear a class costume, or a skirt and blouse. All other categories are excluded from
this rule. Modest attire is encouraged when a competitor is not dancing.

7. Competitor's number must be worn and visible to adjudicators when performing in all competitions, except
in Championships; use of plastic number covers is discouraged.

9. Complaints must be in writing stating names and other factual information and signed by the complainant. A
ten-dollar fee must be enclosed and presented to the Feis Chairman within one hour of the occurrence. The fee
will be returned if the complaint is upheld.

18. The status of the dancer does not change unless there are five or more dancers in a competition.

19. A Feis Committee may combine two consecutive age categories into the higher of the two categories within
that grade when less than five (5) competitors are entered.

Beginner Grade: A beginner is a competitor who has not yet taken a full year of Irish Dance lessons, thereby
giving beginners a full year with such status. A Beginner must move into the Advanced Beginner category the
next year.

Advanced Beginner Grade: An advanced beginner who wins 1st, 2nd or 3rd place will advance to the Novice
category in that particular dance. Competition dances are reel, light jig, slip jig, traditional treble jig and
traditional hornpipe, as a minimum requirement.

Novice Grade: A novice who wins a 1st place will advance to the Open (Prizewinner) category in that particular
dance.

Open Grade (Prizewinner): A competitor who does not qualify as a beginner, advanced beginner or as a novice.

Adult Beginner: An adult beginner is a competitor who never took Irish dancing lessons as a juvenile and is
over 18 years of age.

15. Preliminary Championships are open to those who, at any NAFC recognized Feis:
a) Have won 1st place in both an open/prizewinner light and heavy shoe competition, and

b) Have never won 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Open Championship. A dancer who wins two first place awards in one
calendar year will move on to Open Championship the following year, or as soon as the second win is achieved,
in any age category, in the following years. Only in the case of back-to-back Feiseanna (successive days), in
which case the first win in the first Feis will not change the dancer's status for the second Feis. A dancer is
required to perform a light shoe dance (reel or slip jig for ladies and reel only for men), and a hard shoe dance. A
Feis can opt to offer either a) a set dance or b) a jig/hornpipe.

13. a) Dancers must qualify for open championship via the method now in place for preliminary championship,
i.e. two 1st place wins.

17. First place winners in the Open Championship category cannot return to a Preliminary or Open
(Prizewinner) competition. Placing in a Regional or National Oireachtas does not change the status of a
competitor. If, after dancing for two years in Open, a dancer has not won, he/she may return to preliminary
championship status.

20. Musicians and adjudicators cannot be approached during a competition by anyone except the Feis
Committee. No one can approach them while a competitor is performing.

25. First Feis (if offered), Beginner, Advanced Beginner and Adult dancers are required to dance at traditional
speeds. Novice and Open/Prizewinner dancers may choose between traditional and Oireachtas speeds.

26. Any form of unauthorized photography which has the capability to capture a dancer's image while in
motion, using electronic or manual means, i.e. mobile phone, standard camera, video camera, or commercial
film, with or without enhancement is expressively forbidden in competition.

27. No block, en Pointe, toe walking movements, stationary or moving is allowed to be performed for all ages
up to and including the under 12 age group. However, after September 1 of each year an exception is made for
those dancers who are 11 dancing in the under 12 age group.

28. Make up is prohibited on a dancer in the first three grades up to and including the under 12 age group.

29. Any competitor found to be using artificial carriage aids and subsequently refuses to remove same, will be
subject to disqualification from that particular competition. Medically prescribed aids (proof of which may be
required) will be exempt from this rule.

Section 6: Day of the feis tips:
If the feis you are attending has a web site, download and print the program before the feis and highlight your
dances so that you can see what time and what stage you are dancing on. When you arrive at the feis, find your
teacher, and get your number.

Be sure to get good nights sleep two nights before the feis.

Eat healthy food with lots of energy the night before and the day of. Eg: Pasta

Bring lots of snacks for the day of. It can be a long day, waiting, then dancing.

The day before, do at LEAST one full run of each and every dance you will be performing the next day. Be sure
you get at least one GOOD run of each before finishing your practice.

Be sure to warm up (at least 10-15 minutes) AND stretch before you compete as nerves can make it harder to
warm up and can make your muscles stiff which can lead to injury.

Bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.

If you can find me (or rather, your teacher) ask me (them) to watch you run through one of your dances. It can
help make you feel more confident. But, make sure you have plenty of time to make it to your competition on
time!

Section 7: Preparing for the worst

No one likes to think of the following happening to them but, the truth is, that these things can happen to any
competitor. The important thing is to be prepared, keep your head up and if at all possible, remember to KEEP
ON DANCING!

Falling
If you do fall onstage, the rule is: Get up and keep dancing! Try and find your place in the music by continuing
to say the step in your head even as you push yourself up from the ground. Obviously it takes practice to get
good at this but, try your best.

If you do stand up to find yourself completely lost, do one two threes or, make it up until the beginning of the
next step. DO NOT just give up and walk away as you will be disqualified. If you get up and dance, you may or
may not be docked any marks, depending on the judge.

If you are hurt very badly onstage either from a fall or a slip and cannot dance, then do your best to move out
of the way of the other dancer as they are not allowed to stop dancing unless the judge rings the bell.

But, not to worry, usually, if the judge sees that one dancer is badly injured, or if the judge sees a bad fall that
ISNT faked, they will ring the bell and stop the competition.

Missing a dance
If you arrive side stage and your competition is already running, do NOT freak out. Calmly talk to the
volunteers side-stage and they will most likely put you onstage after the other competitors or, they will send you
on up late. Never just head up onstage on your own as you may enter on the wrong side and/or distract the
dancers currently onstage.

If you have missed your dance entirely, try to shrug it off and dance the rest of your dances to the best of your
ability. Remember, the people working the feis are volunteers and are not there to be treated badly. Also, there
will always be another feis where you can make sure you are on time.

Falling items
The most embarrassing occurrence of this is probably losing a wig onstage. Other things that can come lose
are: Tiaras, shoelaces, shoes, shawls, hairpins and, sometimes even a heel or a tip off of your hardshoe!

Obviously, some of these things are preventable and dancers should be very picky about double checking how
securely everything is tied up and pined on before they head for the sage. Other things (such as a broken shoe
or a projectile hairpin) are things that no one can predict.

In any case, your best bet is to try to forget about the object and keep dancing without tripping over it. If the
object is dangling or obstructing your view, try to grab it with one quick motion and hold it by your side until
you finish dancing.

If your shoe breaks in such a way that you cannot dance, there really is nothing you can do except hobble
through your dance and hope that the judge notices and (might) ring the bell. But, be very careful you do not
injure yourself in the process.

Making a mistake in your steps
It happens to everyone: You are totally prepared, your hair is perfect, you're smiling, you've just counted yourself
in and you lift your leg to start the first perfect move and realize that your brain is empty!

The best way to beat this is to mentally rehearse each dance before going up onstage and then, while you are
waiting in line counting yourself in, go through the first few movements of your step in your head so that you
are ready when the time comes.

But, if you do blank out at any time onstage, the best thing to do is to keep going. Keep smiling and keep
making up steps until the next set of eight starts. It is very rare that a judge will let you re-dance if you forget
your steps unless you are either very young, or in beginner.

If you start doing the wrong dance
This usually only happens in the beginning stages so, usually if it happens and the dancer notices that they are
doing the wrong dance, the judge will often ring the bell. The other option is to try to switch to the correct
dance as soon as possible or, you can try to make the dance fit as best you can to that tune. The second option
works very well for light jig and single jig but, not so well for slip jig or reel.

Bumps and bruises
Since everyone onstage are from different schools and doing different choreographies, the chances of bumping
into another dancer are quite high.

So, always try to be aware of where the other dancer is and do your best to avoid them. If you do bump, kick
or get kicked by the other dancer, continue on dancing the best you can. If the other dancer falls, KEEP
DANCING until the judge rings the bell or you will be disqualified. Unless you can really hear that the other
dancer is in serious pain. In that case, you should probably just stop dancing.

Judges will take off points for aggressive behavior or for purposely refusing to move out of the way to avoid a
bump when the other dancer can't see you. So, please, always be aware when onstage and use good stage
manors.

Section 8: Feis check list
-Dress (solo and or school dress)
- or skirt and blouse (make sure both are clean)
- Bloomers
- Headband/ Tiara/Hair scrunchie
- Poodle socks/ Tights
- Sock glue or Glue stick
- Both pairs of shoes: Ghillies (soft shoes) and Heavy shoes
- Spare shoe laces or elastics
- Shoe shine and or Black marker
- Black duct tape (for bottom of hard shoes if the stage is slippery)
- Wig
- A Bag For Your Curlers or a Wig box
- A Hairnet
- Make-up (if you're old enough)
- Competitor number holder
- Yarn / String or Ribbon for number
- Extra rhinestones
- First aid kit
- A pen and highlighter to mark the dances you are in
- Safety pins
- Bobby Pins
- Hair Spray
- Water Bottle
- Snacks
- Something to do in between dances
- Practice shorts or pants for warm-up