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Irish Dance Sport

Irish dance sport is competitive Irish dance with fast footwork, upright carriage, solo and team dances, feis structure, soft-shoe and hard-shoe disciplines. CLRG, WIDA and regional organisations define classes, music, costume/shoe requirements, scoring and progression.

LevelMain sport FamilyDance Sport CategoryDance sport

AI-generated illustration: Irish Dance Sport — AI-generated illustration

Classification

Category Dance sport

Family Dance Sport

Level Main sport

Getting started

Kurzbeschreibung Irish dance sport is solo and team competition dance with set dances, music and feis structure.

Geeignet für Suitable for people who like rhythm, precise footwork, tradition, stage pressure and clear level progression.

Cost Low to medium for a beginner class; comfortable clothing and socks/ballet shoes or soft shoes by school are enough at first. Medium to high through tuition, shoes, feis fees, registration, costume and travel. Irish dance school, CLRG/WIDA-adjacent organisation, IDTANA teacher or local feis context. Hard shoes and competition costume come later; rhythm basic…

First progress Basic rhythm and first steps develop after a few weeks; clean competition technique takes longer.

Fitness level medium to high

Was du brauchst

Irish dance school or teacher
smooth dance floor
comfortable clothing
socks/ballet shoes or soft shoes
later hard shoes
music

First steps

find a local Irish dance school
attend a beginner class
learn reel or light-jig basics
practise soft-shoe technique
then explore feis options

Irish dance school, IDTANA/CLRG/WIDA directory, cultural group or local feis community.

Warm up calves/feet, manage jumping load, use suitable shoes and avoid hard floors.

Weitere Angaben

Aliases Irish dance, competitive Irish dance, Irish Dance, Irischer Tanzsport

Tags Irish dance, feis, soft shoe, hard shoe, Irish Dance, Feis, Soft Shoe, Hard Shoe

Rules and format

Die Grundlagen

Ziel

Perform set Irish dances with rhythm, clean technique and strong presentation.

Teilnehmer

solo, pair/team or ceili formats depending on the competition.

Teamgröße

solo to team, by dance and organisation.

Spielfeld

feis stage or dance floor.

Dauer

Depends on dance, tempo, level and competition.

Wertung

Judges assess rhythm, technique, carriage, execution and presentation.

Gewinnbedingung

Best placing, qualification or progression under scoring and rules.

Ausrüstung

soft shoes
hard shoes
music
dance floor
costume by class

Wichtige Regelpunkte

wrong dance/level
timing error
costume/shoe breach
start/stage rule breach

Regelquellen

Federations and sources

Federations

An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG)
World Irish Dance Association (WIDA)
An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG)
World Irish Dance Association (WIDA)
Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA)

CLRG Rules V1 Jan 2025 An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha · rulebook · high
WIDA Competition Rules World Irish Dance Association · rulebook · high
How to Get Started Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America · beginner-guide · high
Choosing the Right Irish Dance Shoes: A Beginner's Guide Rise Irish Dancing · beginner-blog · medium
Competitive Irish Dance 5 West Magazine · feature · medium