Irish dance is taught, it probably doesn't surprise you very much, in dance-class. Unfortunately, if you are in Holland, you will not find many schools. Especially outside the Randstad you will have to be willing to travel quite a lot to be able to practice Irish dance, though a lot has changed around the new millennium and the number of schools is slowly rising.

Not everyone can teach Irish dance. You are only allowed to call yourself an Irish dance teacher after being certified by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), freely translated, The Irish Dance Commission.
A few different levels of education can be acquired and the (tough!) exams not only require a lot of knowledge of the dances, but also general knowledge about the country, the language (Gaelic) and general history.

Competitions

Though Irish dance is a hobby for many (a hobby that takes up a lot of time), it is also a very competitive type of dance. Many schools strive to get their students attend competitions and having many champions as a school does earn a certain reputation.
This doesn't mean that you really need to attend competitions: If you really don't want to, that will be respected.

An Irish dance competition is called a 'Feis' (pronounce: fesj). A Feis originally was about more than dancing alone and could involve the production of local food or practice in Irish musical instruments. Today, dancing is the main subject at many competitions.

Many schools hold an annual competition. Those competitions can be 'closed', which means that only dancers from a certain organisation can attend (besides CLRG there a few other dance-organisations)
If you think that those competitions are something you won't find in the Netherlands: you're wrong! Here, the 'underground' character of Irish dance really comes into play. Did you ever see a poster in public space announce an Irish dance competition? Exactly. Unless you are comitted to a danceschool yourself, you have parents that dance or you are a parent with kids into dancing, you probably won't know anything about the subject.

Welcome to all who are interested

That the Irish-dance scene is a rather reserved world, does not mean you can't visit a Feis as a complete outsider. Everybody can enter after paying the entry-fee and if it's not a superbusy one, you can find a seat. If you're lucky, there is also a catering with home-made pie and other (local) treats and there can also be a small market with all kinds of products for dancers but also Irish souvenirs.

But, you should not expect Riverdance-like scenes on a Feis. There is no lightshow, there aren't any smoke-machines and really don't be surprised when multiple competitors in the same competition require the musician to play the same tune 5 times in a row (or more).
This is the main factor why Irish dance doesn't really step out to the great public. Many will probably find it rather boring and quit after 1 visit. Besides that, there is rather much jargon being spoken by the dancers, who also look rather 'strange'.

Main language and a word of caution

English is the main language at a Feis most of the time, even though competitors from many countries can be attending a Feis, also the ones held in the Netherlands.
Caution: no matter how beautifull or interesting you find the dances, taking pictures or videos is not always permitted at a Feis.

• Part 5: show and tradition: Clothing and looks
• Part 7: Fables and myths

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