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Irish dancing classes in Adelaide:

Glenelg North
Tuesday

Campbelltown
Thursday & Sunday

Mitchell Park
Friday

Email
0413 960 182

Intro to Irish Dancing

Irish dancing is a traditional form which developed over several centuries in Ireland and has since been popularised by shows like Riverdance. There are various different forms but the Roberts Academy teaches Irish Step Dancing. This combines complicated footwork with a straight body and arms.

The Dances

There are two different types of solo dancing - soft shoe and hard shoe. Soft shoe combines movement and big leaps with footwork such as twists and rocks. Hard Shoe is the "noisy" type.. dancers wear shoes with fibreglass tips and steps include trebles and drums which create intricate rhythms in time with the music.

Dancers will start learning the soft shoe dances first, with the Beginner's Reel. They will then progress to learn other soft shoe dances and then move onto the hard shoe dances such as the Jig and Hornpipe. For competition these dances are performed solo. However for shows and displays, special group dances may be choreographed.

We also teach and compete in team dances - Ceilis and Choreographies. Ceilis (pronounced kay-lee) are traditional dances, usually for 4 to 8 dancers and have specific steps and movements, so every school will dance the same steps. Choreographies are modern, unique dances created by each teacher, so each school has their own, and they may include anything from 2 to 16 dancers.

The Music

Irish dancing, not surprisingly, is usually performed to traditional Irish music! The tunes include Reels, Jigs, Slip Jigs and Hornpipes, each of which has it's own characteristic beat and rhythms. The instruments used vary widely and may include the fiddle (violin), flute or pipes. The most common instrument played Irish dancing though is the accordion.

Shoes

As mentioned above , there are two types of solo dances and therefore also two types of shoes!

The first are soft shoes, which are worn by girls and are made from soft leather. The front is open with loops through which they are laced up. The soft leather forms to the foot and accentuates the point. For boys, the equivalent is the reel shoe which encloses the whole foot, with a flexible sole. They also have a small fibreglass heel which allows the clicks in boy's reels.

Both boys and girls wear the same hard shoes. These enclose the whole foot, with straps across the ankle. They have a fibreglass heel and also a fibreglass "tip" under the toe which produce the distinctive sounds of Irish dancing.

Costumes

Irish dancing is known for is distinctive costumes. These have developed over many years and are subject to many trends. New parents shouldn't worry too much about the costumes though, as the school has beginner and team costumes available for hire to keep the costs down.

Team costumes are like a school's "uniform" and are worn for team events, and by dancers who do not yet have a solo costume. These are generally a more traditional style with a Celtic design which is distinctive to the school in question.

Solo costumes, being a dancer's own individual choice, are unique. The dancer can choose the colours and designs so it leaves huge scope, and hence there is huge variation! Many families opt to purchase second hand costumes to begin with. Though quite often, dancers at the higher levels will opt to have a dress made specially for them.

Competition

An Irish dancing competition is called a "feis" (pronounced fesh, plural feiseanna). Dancers are able to compete against dancers from other schools in solo and team competitions and work their way through various levels (Beginner, Primary, Intermediate & Open). At the highest level, Open, dancers compete in Championships where the result is worked out by three or more judges, over three rounds.

As well as local feiseanna, there are also annual major championships including the State Championships and Australian Nationals. At the very highest level dancers are even able to qualify and compete at the World Championships, which are held annually over the Easter week.

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