The McTeggart Irish Dancers Of South Texas

Oireachtas 101

Overview

The word, “,” is used for major championships held around the world.

When most people refer to “The Oireachtas” they are usually referring to their Regional Oireachtas. These World Qualifying competitions are held in each geographical region around the world and are open only to the dancers living in a given region.

Texas is in the Southern Region of the U.S. so we compete in the Southern Regional Oireachtas (SRO). The Oireachtas is hosted and run by the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA). This is different from regular feisianna which are run by the North American Commission (NAFC).

The solo portion of the SRO is the qualifying event for both the North American Irish Dance Championships (commonly known as Nationals) and the World Championships.

Travel

The SRO is a three-day event and it is always held the first weekend in December. Dancers should plan to arrive the afternoon before their first day of dance and return no earlier than the morning after they dance (or drive back the last night they dance, after awards). Expect that the awards ceremonies may not be over until after 9 PM each evening.

Entering the Regional Oireachtas. Who is Eligible?

Since this a world qualifying event, solo and team dancers may enter the Oireachtas by invitation only. As a general rule, Preliminary and Open Championship level dancers are eligible to enter solos. Experienced Prizewinner dancers are generally permitted to dance solos to gain experience for Championship. Some Novice level dancers under 10 may be invited to dance solos at the teachers’ discretion. All solo and team dancers must be entered by the teacher. Entries are due October 1st.

Costumes

Solo dresses for girls and vests or jackets for boys are worn for the solo portion of the Oireachtas. School costumes are worn for teams.

www.irishdancehouston.org P.O. Box 131542, The Woodlands, Texas 77393

Competition Format

Solo Championships

All dancers dance in age groups according to their year of birth, regardless of regular feis level. Boys and Girls dance in separate competitions.

For instance, all female dancers born in 2000 will dance in Girls Under 15. These dancers might be in Prizewinner, Preliminary Championship, or Open Championship level in regular feiseanna. Many of the dancers in the younger age groups (Under 8 and Under 9) will still be in Novice and Prizewinner, but the majority of competitors in older age groups are in the Preliminary and Open Championship levels.

Rounds One and Two: All dancers dance two rounds of dancing: a hard shoe round ( or treble ), and a light shoe round ( or ). These dances are predetermined according to age group based on the Worlds syllabus for the following year.

The dancers dance for a panel of 3 judges. Younger dancers dance both rounds three dancers at a time. Older dancers dance their light-shoe round two dancers at a time.

Recall Round: After the scores of the first two rounds of dancing are combined, the top 50% of each age group will be recalled. The recalled dancers then dance a set piece. A set is a hard shoe dance choreographed to a specific dance tune. Sets are danced one dancer at a time in front of a panel of three judges.

Teams- (Ceilis and Figures)

At McTeggart ALL dancers dancing champship solos at the Oireachtas must dance in the teams their teachers assign. Teams are not optional. We enter teams in each age group our numbers will allow. All dancers must look as uniform as possible. Costumes must be neat and clean, all socks must be the same length, female dancers must purchase team wigs and wear team makeup.

Ceilis: Only 4-hand and 8-hand ceili (team book dances) dances are danced at the Oireachtas. Teams are judged based on attention to details. The teams must not deviate from the official ceili book, all feet and hands must be timed precisely. No dancer can be on the wrong foot or hand at any time. Feet must always kick the seat!

Figure Choreographies: Choreographies are team dances consisting for 9-16 dancers. These are not book dances and are choreographed by the teachers.

Results

Results for each day are presented after the last competition held that day. All solo dancers who recalled will be called up and receive a place. Top dancers will qualify for Nationals and the Worlds. Only dancers in the Under 10 age group or older will qualify for worlds. That is the youngest age group offered at the World championships. Qualified dancers of any age group may dance at the North American Irish Dance Championships (often nicknamed Nationals, though it is open to all overseas and North American dancers.)

For more information, see the official IDTANA Southern Region website: http://www.idtana-southernregion.com/

www.irishdancehouston.org P.O. Box 131542, The Woodlands, Texas 77393