How long have you been doing Irish Dancing?
JON: 4 years.
Did you have to work hard to get to Prelims?
JON: Yes, I did. My sister says I'm kind of obsessed, but after I started dancing and saw some great guys, (dancers) I just wanted to be really, really good.
Do you think it's harder or easier for boy dancers?
JON: It's sorta harder, and then it's sorta easier. It's harder because in (my region) there aren't a lot of boys and if it's boys only you don't have enough to move up if you win.
What do you mean?
JON: Well, you have to have five people in your class for it to count. I mean, if you win 1st and there are only 4 (dancers) then it doesn't count to move you up to the next level.
And how is it easier for boy dancers?
JON: Well, I think we stand out. If there are like 20 dancers in my competition and I'm the only boy, and I dance good, then that's an advantage for me. Our style is a little different, too. Maybe the judges get tired of seeing all those toe-stands! (laughs)
You went to Worlds last year. What was it like?
JON: It was really something. I mean, I was so nervous. I didn't dance well and I was pretty disappointed, but then it hit me like wow, look where you were dancing. It was awesome. It really was!
Has it made a difference in your dancing since?
JON: Oh, yeah, really. I mean, now I go to a feis and I think, it's just a feis, you know? I'm more relaxed and I dance better. I've placed in every feis this year. Not first yet, though.
I'm sure it'll happen soon, Jon. Thanks!

"I have to admit I was blown away by Lord of the Dance. I saw it, and I was just transported." -NATALIE R., ADVANCED BEGINNER, 26

How long have you been doing dancing, Natalie?
NR: Two years, I'm in the middle of my second year.
How did you get started dancing?
NR: (sighs) I have to admit I was blown away by Lord of the Dance . I saw it, and I was just transported. I said, "I've just got to do that!"
So what was it like when you started class?
NR: (laughs) A rude awakening! You have no idea how hard 3's and 7's are when all you've ever done is line dancing or school mixer stuff!!
They still have those? (laughs) Explain 3's & 7's.
NR: Those are the basic moves. And you count dance music differently than you would if it was just "music-music". I mean, it's not 1-2-3-4. You'd count it like, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. It's like learning a new language!
What are adult classes like?
NR: Well, they don't seem to be much different from kid's classes except that you have all different levels sometimes.
How many in your class?
NR: Usually 10-15. There are a couple dancers who have been dancing longer, and they compete.
Is that a problem?
NR: Right before a feis, a competition, it is, because they want to go over their dances and the rest of us want to work on our new steps.
How does the teacher handle it?
NR: Well, she tries to do both but if we do figures too there just isn't enough time. The ones who compete, they're too intense, you know? It's not like they were going to qualify for Worlds (Championships), ya know?
They're not good dancers?
NR: They're good dancers, but they don't have competitions for 30 year olds.
They don't?
NR: No, Worlds is considered a kids' competition for the most part. There may be some older for figures, I don't know, but my teacher would not send adult dancers to do over 21's. She says they're laughed at.
Really? Do you compete yourself?
NR: In Worlds? NO! (laughs) Well, I did in our school's feis but I'm not, I mean, I'm not much into competition.
Do you perform?
NR: No, because our adults don't really do performances. But I couldn't anyway because most of them are on weekends and I have other obligations. I think I would like to, though.
Thanks, Natalie.

"But boy, does it feel good when you place against younger dancers or people who have been dancing for 15 or 20 years!" -RACHEL O., NOVICE, 45

Rachel, how long have you been doing Irish Dancing?
RO: 3 years.
Do you enjoy competing?
RO: Well, I get pretty nervous still but I feel like it makes me work harder at my dancing. I've always been a shy person and I feel like this whole dancing experience has been good for me.
Why did you start dancing?
RO: Long ago I had a cousin who did Irish. I always wanted to do it, but I lived in "the boonies" and it simply wasn't available to me when I was growing up. Plus I needed to do something energetic. I was becoming a couch potato in my "old age"! (laughs)
Are there a lot of people your age who compete?
RO: Well, there are several, but I wouldn't say a lot. There aren't any age divisions in my region, so I do a lot of competition against 20- somethings with ballet or dance background, and needless to say I realize I'll be in Novice a long, long time! (grins)
Why don't they have age divisions?
RO: There aren't many rules regarding adult dancers, and if feisenna include adults at all, they cut time and money corners by just having one big happy adult category. Period. Then this year they were supposed to have a "beginner" category for adults who had never danced before. So they did. But that didn't help the rest of us.
You mean they don't have beginner, advanced beginner, novice, prizewinner(open), preliminary and open champion?
RO: I understand that they do some places, but most of the feisenna I've been to don't. I've been to a few who did have beginner/advanced beginner/ novice/prizewinner.
Then how do you advance?
RO: You don't. Or at least, not till you've been dancing a very long time. I expect I'll always be Novice.
I've seen you dance, and you're a good dancer. Why do you say that?
RO: Well, I'm 45 and I dance against 25-year-old dance majors who want to learn Irish, or against 35-year-olds who danced Open Champion as children and are back to recapture the experience, or against people who have a lot of dance background. I don't expect to do as well as they do.
But that doesn't seem fair.
RO: It isn't "fair" in the sense that the children's competitions are. I think that the Commission that makes the rules could level the playing field a little bit if they would hold adult dancers to the same rules, levels,(as the kids) and add age divisions. I don't know what they can do about the dance background thing though. I mean, kids haven't lived as long as we have! Even the teens that have dance backgrounds haven't been dancing all that long. But I think adults who begin at my age will just have to accept that many adults will have an edge on us. That's what will make some of us permanent Novices. But boy, does it feel good when you place against younger dancers or people who have danced for 15 or 20 years! (grins)
Why don't the adults have the same rules?
RO: Apparently adult competition, at least in the past twenty-five years, is a new thing. And it still doesn't happen in Ireland, or at least not that I know of. After about age 26 you're meant to go get a teaching certificate if you're that keen on dancing. Most Irish learned to dance as kids, and they don't need adult classes. They move on to set dancing or recreational dancing. Of course that doesn't wash in the competitive USA. (grins)
Thanks, Rachel.

"I guess you could say that before it was more of a cultural thing, and now it's a fad." -MARTI P., PRIZEWINNER, 35

How long have you been doing Irish Dancing, Marti?
MP: 5 years.
How did you get started?
MP: When my husband and I moved to this area, we saw a performance by my present school, and I asked if they taught adults. They did. I started out with their ceili classes, but then did solo and found that I loved competition!
So you've been competing how long?
MP: 5 years. I started out with a figures competition my first feis. We won. The next feis I danced as beginner. I medaled in all my soft shoe. 5 years ago you moved into Novice, there was no Advanced Beginner here. I was in Novice in all my dances at the end of my first year dancing.
So you're saying competition has changed in the past 5 years?
MP: Oh my gosh, yes. It's much harder now. When I started, I was lucky if there were five in my class. Now I've competed in adult classes with as many as 40 or 50!
Are most of the dancers your age?
MP: Not at all. They're from 20 to 55 or so, and I've even seen a couple older. A wide range. There are more young dancers in adults than there were when I started.
Why do you think that is?
MP: Oh, it's the shows, I think. Irish dancing has gotten a lot of publicity thanks to Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and the clone shows that have hitched on to the popularity. There are a lot of dance people and college students now that we didn't see before. I guess you could say that before it was more of a cultural thing, and now it's a fad.
But you'll continue competing?
MP: Well, I've had thoughts about that. Technically, I've qualified for Preliminary Championships, but they don't offer that category for adults in the feises within reasonable traveling distance. So, I may stick around Prizewinner to see if I can start placing first more consistently, or I may retire. I haven't decided. See, there's nowhere for me to go competitively.
You don't do figures?
MP: I do, but we don't have a very competitive team of adults.
You don't have any qualms about dancing Prizewinner even though you've qualified for the next level?
MP: What next level? (sighs) Yes, I do have qualms, because it's not fair to other dancers. If they would just offer prelims, pretty soon they'd have enough adults qualifying up to make it worthwhile. I mean, it's like a traffic jam. If you could take the average adult novice dancer, say, and put her against a novice kid, the adult would probably win because she's been in novice dancing against very good adults. There are some very good adult dancers if you go to the bigger feises, the quality of dancing is very high.
Thanks, Marti.

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