Feis Preparation Info and Checklist
The world of competitive Irish Dancing can be a confusing one, especially for those who are new to the feiseanna! Here you will find some more information on what you’ll need on Feis Day and how you can help your dancer prepare for their Feis!
Hello Dance Families!
Here are a few last minute details that may answer questions for all of you who are new to the feis world:
SCHEDULE
-Feis Schedule is up on feisworx.com. you should have all received an email from feisworx about it.
-Arrival Time - If you aren't in the first competitions of the day, you need to arrive an hour before your scheduled dance time. If things are running ahead of schedule, your competitions will start early.
-First Feis competitions should arrive at 7:30. Doors will be open by 7:15 if you wish to be a little earlier.
-Print your dancer's number and bring it to the feis. Log on to your feisworx account and in your registrations there will be a "Print Number" link.
- If you have an outstanding payment amount on your registration, you wont be able to print your card from home. You'll have to go to the registration table at the feis, pay your outstanding amount and have registration print your card.
- If you are dancing both days, you need to print a number for each day.
Katie and Rachael will be at the feis to help with new dancers and parents. They will be taking turns running the Beginner Stage. Look for them if you have questions.
PROCEDURES DURING THE FEIS
-After a dancer finishes a dance, scores for that competition will go to the tabulation room and will be tallied.
-Once the scores have been processed, that competition's results list will be posted on the windows outside the ballroom doors.
-If your dancer's name appears on those lists, it means they've qualified to receive a medal for that dance.
- Go to the awards table with you dancer and their number to collect any medals they've won. I highly recommend NOT looking at results if your dancer still has competing to do. Often times, if they don't receive a medal in their earlier dances, it can affect how they dance moving forward that day.
Trophy Special awards are not posted but announced either in the lobby or in the main competition ballrooms.
- If your dancer places in a special, they will be called up to collect their award in front of everyone.
-Please note on the schedule when and where your dancer's trophy awards will be presented. There will also be announcements throughout the day about trophy special awards.
LEVEL ADVANCEMENT
-Each dance is individually judged and therefore individually advances. For instance, if you place in Reel high enough to advance, you would move up in your reel, but not your light jig.
- If your dancer qualifies to advance in level on certain dances (see attached document)) at Feis at the Falls, you need to go to the registration table and advance their level for Deirdre Abeid Memorial competitions.
-Changes must be made by the end of day on Saturday.
-There is a $5 flat rate per dancer to move competitions around.
What to WEAR-
COSTUMES-
If this is your dancer’s first feis, they will wear an all black leotard and skirt combo with white poodle socks.
Boys will wear black slacks and dress shirt.
Please note that the Deirdre Abeid Memorial Feis is a Blackout Feis, which means ALL dancers in all levels need to wear all black the 2nd day of Competitions.
The goal of a blackout feis is to remove the added distraction of fancy costumes and bling. All dancers (from first feis through and including open champions) are asked to leave the formal costumes at home and dance in modest, simple attire.
Here are the Blackout Feis North American Feis Committee guidelines:
• No solo costumes
• No school costumes
• No school branded attire on stages
• No bling on clothing, hair, shoe buckles, jewelry, etc with the exception of stud earrings which are permitted. No hoops or dangling earrings.
• No wigs, hair pieces, crowns, tiaras – hair should be kept neatly off the face.
• No makeup or very minimal, natural-looking makeup.
• No obvious graphics or lettering. A small logo (ex: Nike ™ swoosh on hip) is acceptable.
• Black tights or poodle socks for girls
• Tops for girls: black leotard, long sleeved. Necklines must be at the collarbone level or above - low scoop or v necks that do not cover the collar bone are not permitted. No tank tops or cami tops are permitted.
• Black skirt or skort for girls. It should be comfortable for dancing and adhere to NAIDC requirements for length. “Tight sport skirts or gym skirts are not suitable.”
• Boys: Boys should wear long black pants and a black top conforming to the same requirements as the girls.
-COSTUME LINKS-
Girls Skirts
Girls Leotards
Womens Leotards
Women’s Skirts
Option 3
Poodle Socks
Number Holders
-Boys/Mens Costume- Our guys have things a little easier in the Irish Dance World! Boys need only wear semi-formal attire, black dress pants and dress shirt. As they get older, they may choose to wear an embroidered vest over their dress shirt to make their costume a little more interesting. Below are some examples.
Other info on Costumes
Apparel is an important aspect of competition. There are two types of dresses, school dresses and solo dresses. In the beginner and advanced beginner levels, dancers are permitted to wear a school dress. These are dresses unique to each school. They are available at the studio and require a $45 yearly costume fee. When your dancer gets into the novice level, they are allowed to wear a solo dress. Every solo dress is unique, you’ll never see two of the exact same design. They are available for sale at many Feiseanna and can be costume ordered from experienced solo-dress seamstresses. If you are going to purchase one online, ask for a 48 return policy as fit and suitability of colors are hard to measure and predict. Please show me any dress you are considering for purchase to your Instructor before you buy!
-DANCE SHOES-
All dancers will need the proper shoes in order to compete. Girls wear Irish Ghillies and boys wear black leather jazz shoes in Softshoe. Both boys and girls wear the same style of Hardshoe. PLEASE NOTE- We will not have a Shoe Vendor at the Feis! You will need to order shoes online through one of our approved vendors- Check out our Shoe Buying Guide Here
What to BRING -
FEIS CHECKLIST
Competitor number (PRINT your competitor number so it is easier to see on stage- write or print your dancers Competitions on the back side of their Competitor number so they can read it.)
Print out of stage schedule with dancer’s competition numbers highlighted or circled
Dance Shoes
Irish Dance socks. Poodle Socks for girls and Black dress socks for boys. (Please make sure your socks are cleaned and unstained since it is very obvious when standing next to other dancers!)
Costume- Dance dress/school skirt and leotard (and tights/bloomers if needed) Boys Dress pants and shirt (vest optional)
Water and a healthy snack
First aid kit- blister care and KT tape are valuable to have on hand!
Tissues/wipes
Wig (if you’re wearing one)
Hair brush/comb, hair ties, bobby pins, etc.
Safety pins or number holder
Sock glue & electrical tape if you need it for your hard shoes
FEIS DAY 101
I made it to the feis, now what?
First things first, you will need to check in with the front desk attendant and ask any questions you may have. You will have your Competitor Number and Competitions List with you so you know what Stage you need to go to. The attendant will direct you to the appropriate ballroom. Note: Competitor numbers are different from Competition numbers: competitor numbers are unique to each dancer while competition numbers indicate the dances the competitor is registered for. Pin the competitor number to your dancer’s waist or use a number holder and ribbon if you have one.
Next you should find the stages your dancer’s competitions are on. If your dancer is in the same level for all of his or her dances, the stages are usually all in the same room. Sometimes all of the competitions will even be on the same stage back-to-back so you won’t have to move around at all! While you are at the stage, check what competition is currently on; there will probably be a stage schedule nearby. If it seems that two of your dancer’s competitions will conflict, let the stage managers (not the judge or the musician) know, but do not panic! There will most likely be others in the same situation as you and oftentimes the stage manager will already be aware. Your dancer will not miss the competition/be penalized for a scheduling conflict.
Now that you know where your stages are and how much time you have until your dancer’s competitions start, find a place to “camp” (put all of your stuff) ideally near the stages your dancer will be on. If you haven’t already, get your dancer dressed and ready to dance. This includes putting on a wig/pulling the hair away from the face and putting makeup on (for dancers in U11 and up only). It is also a good idea to do this preparation before arriving to the feis so you don’t have to rush once there! Have your dancer ready, checked-in, and standing by the stage entrance/lining up with other competitors in their competition at least one competition before their own. This way you can be sure not to miss your competition and your dancer can listen to the music and get used to it before getting on stage.
In grade-level competition, there will be a stage hand to line the dancers up and count them in if necessary. Dancers usually dance three at a time, however, some feiseanna will dance two dancers at a time. While it may seem nice to stand next to your friend from the same dance school, you should always space yourself at least two dancers away from anyone else in your dance school.
Videotaping your dancer or another dancer at a feis is not allowed. Solo-step choreography is unique to each dance school and copying steps is forbidden. The Irish Dance Commission has made this rule to prevent copying. If the judges notice videotaping they will notify an attendent and your dancer may be disqualified. You may take photographs without flash!
I’m done dancing, did I place?
At this point in the feis you have probably already seen a sign with an arrow pointing toward “Results” or “Awards”. This is usually a room or hallway with posters hung that have all of the grade competition numbers written with boxes that indicate the competitor numbers that received a placement. Find your dancer’s competition numbers. If the boxes for placements are still blank you have to wait a little while longer to find out if your dancer placed (depending on how organized, or unorganized, the feis is, and the number of people in the competition, you may be waiting for about an hour). If there are numbers written in the boxes, check to see if your dancer’s competitor number is in any of them. If it is, congratulations, you placed! Go to the trophy room with your competitor number in hand to collect your prize (beginners will most likely get medals, not trophies). If not, congratulations, you did your best! With some more practice and experience you will get to see your number up there in the future.
Marks- If you want to see how your dancer compared to others in the competition you can get their individual “marks”. Marks show the number score of the dancers who placed, the number score of your dancer, and the judge’s comments. Sometimes marks are automatically emailed to participants after the feis and sometimes you can purchase them on the day. The marks table will usually be in the general area of the results and trophies.
-PREPARING FOR A FEIS-
Practice is the most important element of preparation for a feis and a foolproof way of improving your dancing in general. It is easy to get nervous and forget your steps on the day of a feis, it has happened to the best of us, but the best way to ensure this doesn’t happen to you is practice! Grade level dancers should practice for 15-20 minutes 3 times a week. Time spent at the studio before class begins and after class ends is perfect for working on moves and drills that need improvement! Class time is when dancers show their teachers the improvements they have made outside of class and it is just as important as practice time.
Plan to arrive at the feis 45 minutes before your first competition is set to start, so that you have time to find the stage, put on dance shoes, warmup, and stretch. It is also a good idea to pack your “feis bag” the day before a feis so you won’t forget anything in the morning. Here’s a list of essentials everyone should have at a feis:
What do all these letters mean?
A.D.C.R.G. – “Ard Diploma Choimisiuim Le Rinci Gaelacha” or “Highest Diploma in Gaelic Dancing”, a Certified Adjudicator.
T.C.R.G. – “Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rinci Gaelacha” or “Gaelic Commision Dancing Teacher”, a certified teacher.
T.M.R.F. – “Scrúdú Teastas Rince Céilí” or “Certified Ceili Dance Instructor”, a certified ceili teacher.