First Feis Information
Congratulations on entering you First Feis (or your First Feis with the Doherty Petri - Lancaster Branch!)
Doing an Irish Dance Competition for the first time can be overwhelming and they’re always different because they’re always at different venues and held by different organizations so we always encourage any new parent who is attending a feis to have a conversation with Esther or another experienced dance parent to go through everything. Below are some basic FAQS that may be of help to you. Feel free to reach out with further questions!
1.What does “Feis” mean? The Word “Feis” is Irish Gaelic for “Festival.” You may also hear the plural of the word which is “Feiseanna.”
2.How do I sign up? There are many different registration companies in the United States that are hired by Feiseanna. www.feisweb.com is the most common registration company used in our region but it may also be www.efeis.com or www.feisworx.com or another! The best way to know is to refer to newsletters from DP - Lancaster Branch or google the Feis website directly to see what company they use. You will need to set up accounts on these websites, add your dancers and then go back in and register for the feis of your choosing.
3.How do I know what dances to sign up for? This is constantly changing as dancers move up and master new material. You will need to stay in touch with Esther about what dances are ready for competition. She may also send out a master list for closer feiseanna detailing all the dances a dancer should sign up for.
4.What time will my dancer dance? To be completely frank – no one knows. It is wise to block out 8am-5pm in your mind so you aren’t blindsided by schedule changes. Beginners almost always dance at the beginning of the day; however, there are a few feiseanna where the beginners dance after lunch. Schedules for the day aren’t released until one week before the competition. Esther typically alerts the school when the schedule has been released but you can also follow their Facebook page and check there as well. Irish dance comps have 800-1000 dancers at them so each of the 7-9 stages will have a list of competition numbers and they will go through them at their pace which is why exact times are never known until it’s actually happening. Competitors wait around until they see that their comp is coming up.
5.How do I read a stage schedule? It is REALLY important to print your own copy of the stage schedule and bring it to the event. Some people choose to access it on their phone; however, it can be difficult to read and follow on a small digital device. When you first look at a stage schedule, you will see endless competition numbers. You will need to return to your online registration or the syllabus to remember which competition numbers your child signed up for. When you know your child’s competition number, find them on the stage schedule and highlight them. You’ll also want to write down which dance is which (i.e. reel, jig, etc…)
6.How do I know which dances are which? Your child will probably forget the names of their dances, so it is important that you know them and can help them to remember which one is which. You can videotape them in class or write them down or print out the document online under the “Members” page that says “Beginner” or "Advanced Beginner" depending on their level.
7.We want to practice at home – What music do we use? Please look on iTunes for the following songs:
a.Reel – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Beginner Reel (123)
b.Light Jig – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Light Jigs (115)
c.Slip Jig (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Beginner’s Slip Jigs (122)
d.Traditional Treble Jig (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Traditional Heavy Jig.
e.Traditional Hornpipe (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Traditional Hornpipe
*Dancers must dance to live music at every competition. We practice to many different types of reels, light jigs, slip jigs, etc… in class to help prepare dancers for any tune they hear. Having several different “reels” or “light jigs” etc… for your child to practice with is not a bad idea.
8.How do I find the DP families? Typical competitions are spread out over large areas and dancers may be in different halls, etc… Dancers also arrive at different times depending on whether they’re dancing before or after lunch. DP families tend to “camp” together but we also split up in groups depending on where our children are dancing. Try to find a DP group near your child’s stage to “camp” with.
9.Do I bring a chair to the event? Each feiseanna uses different venues so you will need to refer to the syllabus or the website to see what they require. It’s normally a good idea to bring “bag chairs” just in case there isn’t enough seating in the venue or in case you’re located in a large convention hall or high school where seating for spectators is not provided.
10.What should my child wear? Please refer to the DP - Lancaster Branch handbook for a full Tier 1 costume description for boys and girls.
11.How should my child do their hair? Boys should try to wear their hair in an attractive manner (i.e. brushed or with gel.) Girls can wear their hair in any attractive manner (barrette in the back, pony tail, pretty hair clip, curled, etc…) but preferably pulled back from their face.
12.What about food? Each feis offers different options. Some allow coolers, some do not. Most Feiseanna will offer food on site. You’ll need to refer to the feis website and/or syllabus to see what they offer.
13.Do I need to pay to enter the event? Feiseanna entry fees are almost always covered in the “event fee” you pay upon registration. It is very rare for a Feis to offer a cover charge (the only local one that does this is the Celtic Fling Feis at the Renaissance Faire.)
14.How many people will be in the competition? Your child will only ever compete against dancers of their same level and age. Even though a typical competition has 800-1000 competitors your child will probably only compete against a maximum of 20 dancers during each dance. *Since there are several stages running at the same time, the attention of the room is never on one single stage or competition and spectators are typically limited to the parents of the children who happen to be competing at that time.
15.Will a DP Member be there to help us? The parents are the principle people in charge of their dancer; however, when we have new competitors, we always make sure there is someone to help them through the process because it can be daunting.
16.How can I know which DP Families will be there? To find out which DP families are attending a feis, to to www.feisweb.com and click on the feis you will be attending. There will be a link that says “Paid Entry List.” Click on this link. A page will open with the names of every dancer attending the event. Hit CTRL + F (at the same time) and a search box will appear. Enter “Doherty Petri” in to the search box and it will highlight every DP dancer and will show a special mark in the “scroll box” on the right-hand side denoting where each highlighted entry is. You can also post on the DP Family Closed Facebook Group Page and ask who else will be attending.
17.Will the child be recognized by the School? After every competition, the Doherty Petri - Lancaster Branch facebook page makes a general post with the results and a photo of each dancer who places (we typically don’t list the dancers who didn’t place so as not to advertise it to the world that they didn’t have their best day – we’re always proud of them but most dancers prefer being left off the results list if they didn’t earn anything on the day.) We ask that you text your final results to Esther (dance & placement) with a photo of your child with their awards. Children may bring awards to class to show their friends but we don’t spend much time on this during class so as not to put too much emphasis on placements.
18.How do I get my results? How do we get our competition numbers? Etc… PLEASE review the following helpful link which is a photographic description of what will happen at a first feis: http://teelin.com/TSID/about-competitions/first-feis/
Doing an Irish Dance Competition for the first time can be overwhelming and they’re always different because they’re always at different venues and held by different organizations so we always encourage any new parent who is attending a feis to have a conversation with Esther or another experienced dance parent to go through everything. Below are some basic FAQS that may be of help to you. Feel free to reach out with further questions!
1.What does “Feis” mean? The Word “Feis” is Irish Gaelic for “Festival.” You may also hear the plural of the word which is “Feiseanna.”
2.How do I sign up? There are many different registration companies in the United States that are hired by Feiseanna. www.feisweb.com is the most common registration company used in our region but it may also be www.efeis.com or www.feisworx.com or another! The best way to know is to refer to newsletters from DP - Lancaster Branch or google the Feis website directly to see what company they use. You will need to set up accounts on these websites, add your dancers and then go back in and register for the feis of your choosing.
3.How do I know what dances to sign up for? This is constantly changing as dancers move up and master new material. You will need to stay in touch with Esther about what dances are ready for competition. She may also send out a master list for closer feiseanna detailing all the dances a dancer should sign up for.
4.What time will my dancer dance? To be completely frank – no one knows. It is wise to block out 8am-5pm in your mind so you aren’t blindsided by schedule changes. Beginners almost always dance at the beginning of the day; however, there are a few feiseanna where the beginners dance after lunch. Schedules for the day aren’t released until one week before the competition. Esther typically alerts the school when the schedule has been released but you can also follow their Facebook page and check there as well. Irish dance comps have 800-1000 dancers at them so each of the 7-9 stages will have a list of competition numbers and they will go through them at their pace which is why exact times are never known until it’s actually happening. Competitors wait around until they see that their comp is coming up.
5.How do I read a stage schedule? It is REALLY important to print your own copy of the stage schedule and bring it to the event. Some people choose to access it on their phone; however, it can be difficult to read and follow on a small digital device. When you first look at a stage schedule, you will see endless competition numbers. You will need to return to your online registration or the syllabus to remember which competition numbers your child signed up for. When you know your child’s competition number, find them on the stage schedule and highlight them. You’ll also want to write down which dance is which (i.e. reel, jig, etc…)
6.How do I know which dances are which? Your child will probably forget the names of their dances, so it is important that you know them and can help them to remember which one is which. You can videotape them in class or write them down or print out the document online under the “Members” page that says “Beginner” or "Advanced Beginner" depending on their level.
7.We want to practice at home – What music do we use? Please look on iTunes for the following songs:
a.Reel – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Beginner Reel (123)
b.Light Jig – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Light Jigs (115)
c.Slip Jig (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Beginner’s Slip Jigs (122)
d.Traditional Treble Jig (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Traditional Heavy Jig.
e.Traditional Hornpipe (if applicable) – Anton & Sully, The Feis Album, Vol. 111. Traditional Hornpipe
*Dancers must dance to live music at every competition. We practice to many different types of reels, light jigs, slip jigs, etc… in class to help prepare dancers for any tune they hear. Having several different “reels” or “light jigs” etc… for your child to practice with is not a bad idea.
8.How do I find the DP families? Typical competitions are spread out over large areas and dancers may be in different halls, etc… Dancers also arrive at different times depending on whether they’re dancing before or after lunch. DP families tend to “camp” together but we also split up in groups depending on where our children are dancing. Try to find a DP group near your child’s stage to “camp” with.
9.Do I bring a chair to the event? Each feiseanna uses different venues so you will need to refer to the syllabus or the website to see what they require. It’s normally a good idea to bring “bag chairs” just in case there isn’t enough seating in the venue or in case you’re located in a large convention hall or high school where seating for spectators is not provided.
10.What should my child wear? Please refer to the DP - Lancaster Branch handbook for a full Tier 1 costume description for boys and girls.
11.How should my child do their hair? Boys should try to wear their hair in an attractive manner (i.e. brushed or with gel.) Girls can wear their hair in any attractive manner (barrette in the back, pony tail, pretty hair clip, curled, etc…) but preferably pulled back from their face.
12.What about food? Each feis offers different options. Some allow coolers, some do not. Most Feiseanna will offer food on site. You’ll need to refer to the feis website and/or syllabus to see what they offer.
13.Do I need to pay to enter the event? Feiseanna entry fees are almost always covered in the “event fee” you pay upon registration. It is very rare for a Feis to offer a cover charge (the only local one that does this is the Celtic Fling Feis at the Renaissance Faire.)
14.How many people will be in the competition? Your child will only ever compete against dancers of their same level and age. Even though a typical competition has 800-1000 competitors your child will probably only compete against a maximum of 20 dancers during each dance. *Since there are several stages running at the same time, the attention of the room is never on one single stage or competition and spectators are typically limited to the parents of the children who happen to be competing at that time.
15.Will a DP Member be there to help us? The parents are the principle people in charge of their dancer; however, when we have new competitors, we always make sure there is someone to help them through the process because it can be daunting.
16.How can I know which DP Families will be there? To find out which DP families are attending a feis, to to www.feisweb.com and click on the feis you will be attending. There will be a link that says “Paid Entry List.” Click on this link. A page will open with the names of every dancer attending the event. Hit CTRL + F (at the same time) and a search box will appear. Enter “Doherty Petri” in to the search box and it will highlight every DP dancer and will show a special mark in the “scroll box” on the right-hand side denoting where each highlighted entry is. You can also post on the DP Family Closed Facebook Group Page and ask who else will be attending.
17.Will the child be recognized by the School? After every competition, the Doherty Petri - Lancaster Branch facebook page makes a general post with the results and a photo of each dancer who places (we typically don’t list the dancers who didn’t place so as not to advertise it to the world that they didn’t have their best day – we’re always proud of them but most dancers prefer being left off the results list if they didn’t earn anything on the day.) We ask that you text your final results to Esther (dance & placement) with a photo of your child with their awards. Children may bring awards to class to show their friends but we don’t spend much time on this during class so as not to put too much emphasis on placements.
18.How do I get my results? How do we get our competition numbers? Etc… PLEASE review the following helpful link which is a photographic description of what will happen at a first feis: http://teelin.com/TSID/about-competitions/first-feis/
For More Information on Levels of Competition, Moving Up, Costuming, Etc... Please Refer to the Doherty Petri - Lancaster Branch Handbook:
Doherty Petri - Lancaster Branch Handbook |