Welcome to Irish Dancing!
Brief Overview
We are happy to welcome you to the Inishfree School of Irish Dance! It is a wonderful place for your child to learn life long lessons, excel at a unique talent, and create lifelong friendships. This pages is designed to help you have a better idea of what Irish dancing is, and what to expect your first couple of classes.
Irish dancing is a bit different from ballet, tap, and jazz, in the sense that it is predominately competition based. We do have shows and recitals that we host and perform in; however, we do focus on competitions. Competitions are called a “Feis.” (Fesh) Competitions are held throughout the state, country, and world. At our school we have dancers that qualify to compete at the World Championship level. With all of our beginners, we teach them 4 beginner level dances that they are able to compete in. Each dance is done to different music, and has specific and distinct steps. For the beginning months of class, the focus is building a solid technique base, so that your child can perform these dances to the best of their ability.
We know that leaping into the world of Irish dance opens the door for questions you may have about being a new dancer. We have compiled a list of questions and answers that we routinely get from our newest parents…
Q: What age should my child be to start dancing?
A: Irish dance requires the ability to know your left from right, and count from 1-8. That being said, from our experience, we find that 4 years old is the youngest age to begin dancing. If you have a 3 year old, that you believe could handle the counting, and step memorization, feel free to bring them for a trial class. We will be able to determine if it is a good fit, or if they will need to wait a year.
*** You’re children are never too old to start Irish dance. We have beginner dancers from age 4- adults.***
Q: What should my child wear to class?
A: We ask that everyone comes to class in athletic clothes. (Something you would wear to soccer practice) T-shirt and athletic shorts work great. We do have students who wear ballet outfits, but this is by no means mandatory.
Q: What shoes should my child wear to their first class?
A: It is not mandatory that children have dance shoes to begin Irish dancing. For the first month or two, it is fine to wear tennis shoes or socks in class. If your child has ballet slippers from a previous class, they are fine to wear as well.
