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This page was originally added at my cousin Elaine's request. A non-dancer, she was flummoxed as to the pronunciation of a lot of the words and asked for a guide. Here it is, Elaine!

Feis Technically, a festival of competition. Usually features Irish step dancing, music, and art. Sometimes includes livestock and sports competitions. More widely used to refer to what is properly called a feile. Say it: FESH

Feiseanna Plural of feis. Say it: fesh-AH-nuh

Feile An pure Irish step dancing competition--no other varieties of competition. Generally much smaller than a full-fledged feis. Say it: FAY-luh

Oireachtas Regional or national Irish step dancing championships. Basically just a really big feile, with ten times the tension. Say it: or-ROK-tuhs. To remember how to spell it, some genius from the message boards uses this trick: think Oh I REACH To A Star! It's spelled using all the capital letters.

Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne The world championships of Irish dancing. Held yearly, this is the ultimate Irish dancing experience. You must qualify by placing highly in your Oireachtas. It's a tremendous honor even to get to the Worlds, let alone to place. In 2002, the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. Say it: Or-ROK-tuhs RIN-kuh na KREEN-yuh.

Ghillies Black, soft leather shoes with criss-crossed laces. Used to perform reels, light jigs, slip jigs, single jigs, and most figure dances. A.K.A. soft shoes, pumps. Say it: GIL-ees

Hard Shoes Black leather shoes with fiberglass heels and taps on the toes. Used to perform hard or double jigs, hornpipes, traditional set dances, and, in exhibitions and special competitions only, treble reels. Also called jig shoes, heavy shoes.

Bruises, Blisters A part of daily life.

A Word About Rankings

Please keep in mind the fact that these differ greatly from region to region. This is the American version. Recent adjustments of the North American rules by the NAFC have ensured standard levels in North America, but the levels vary outside of the continent. Also, remember that except for Preliminary and Open championships, a dancer may be in several different levels. For example, one girl might be just fabulous at her slip jig and may rank as a prizewinner in it, but her St. Patrick's Day could be way back in beginner.

Beginner A dancer who has competed, but has not won a third place or above in that particular dance. Also, a dancer who has not taken lessons before September of the previous year.

Advanced Beginner (previously known as Beginner 2) A dancer who has placed third or better in that particular dance in Beginner. (A beginner must move up to Advanced Beginner when he or she has taken lessons since or before the September of the previous year.)

Novice A dancer who has moved up through the previous levels, earning at least a third in Beg. 1 and and a second or first in Advanced Beginner.

Prizewinner A dancer who has won a first in novice in that dance. A dancer cannot move out of this level until he or she meets the requirements for...

Preliminary Championships A dancer cannot be Preliminary in just one dance. Requirements vary from school to school as to moving up to Prelims, as most people call it for short. Some require a first, second or third in every prizewinner dance, while some teachers require one or more first in each. The championship usually has two or three rounds: a reel or slip jig, a hard jig or hornpipe, and a set. There are three judges, whose scores are combined to produce a overall score, which is weighed against the other dancers' scores to result in your final ranking. The light and single jigs are not danced at all in this level. Gee, shucks.

Open Championships This is the ultimate dance level. It is not possible to move up from Open. A dancer moves from preliminary to open after winning first place in two preliminary championships.