The shoe-myth

There are a few urban myths concerning Irish dance, with some being hard to get rid of.
Probably the most persistent one regards the shoes.

Almost everyone is familiar with the thundering hard-shoe performances and many think that the shoes have tips and heels made of metal.
That is a general misconception, probably deriving from tapdance, where the shoes indeed carry metal tips and heels and are smaller (the hard parts of the shoes, not the shoes itself).
Metal tips and heels like they can be found under Irish dance-shoes would be far too heavy, so they are made out of a plastic or resin, sometimes reinforced with glass-fibres.

The many shows on TV didn't really contribute to get rid of this myth, as the dancers sometimes do wear shoes with metal edges or even complete metal pieces. There is a show-technical reason behind that: it can be polished to a nice shine.

History does provide some entries for this myth, as it tells that the shoes probably carried metal parts in the past, but than only to reinforce a leather or wooden tip and so aid in the lifetime of the shoe.
It wasn't until later that the parts that strike the floor were made out of resin, which showed a spectacular decrease in weight and heightened the volume on each hit against the floor.

With the rise of shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, where the speed of movements is so great that some basic 'rules' of traditional dancing become impossible to follow, shoes with an extra bulge on the inside of the heel became rather common. This makes clicking the heels together easier.
Those shoes and shoes with metal tips and heels are prohibited to use in competitions.

The 'All Irish can do this'

For some reason that is unknown to me, many people tend to think that every Irish person gets taugt Irish dance as soon as they leave the cradle. In reality, it doesn't differ from any other type of folkdance. Not everybody dances and the country of birth has nothing to do with it at all.
There has been a top-dancer in a Belgian TV-program, who stated Irish dance was probably obligatory at school in the past but he didn't know that for sure. That statement was immediately busted by one of my Irish classmates, who could not recall that her parents nor her grandparents ever said something about that.

There is a resemblance with the 'I'm not Irish so I can't do it' fable. As stated already, country of birth has nothing to do with a certain dance you like to practice. Just as there are Dutch people that practice salsa-dance, there are also Dutch people that practice Irish dance. Even in Asia, Irish dance is making it's way to a greater audience, a progression many people held for impossible.

I'm too old to start now...

Allthough there is a limit to where it isn't such a good idea anymore to start learning Irish dance, in general you won't have much trouble. But, if you are in your twenties, thirties or fourties and your body-condition isn't the best, Irish dance will tell you what the score is during a try-out class. Even though, it is still possible, I started at age 23 myself.
You probably won't reach the top and you probably won't advance as quick as the youngsters, but if you want it, you can achieve anything.
Michael Flatley even kept dancing at a 'high level' even though in his fifties. ('high level' is between quotation marks on purpose, as the opinions about his level differ).

Concluded: you really don't have to start dancing before you are a grown-up, considering the fact you don't have a lack of a sense of rhythm.

Before i conclude, some facts:

Did you know that:

• The girls in Irish dance-competitions can use sock-glue to hold up their poodle socks? As far as I know it won't get you points deducted, but the appearance is off when one or both socks drop down during dancing
• the adjudicator in a competition can use a kind of hotel-bell to let the dancers know she has seen enough and both dancers should stop dancing right away?
• the hard-shoes are incredibly slippery on a wooden dance-floor? (And can even be a little on a floor with an anti-slip layer?)
• you have to buy hard shoes one size smaller than your regular shoe size? Because of all the movement, they will eventually stretch so they will have a good snug fit
• You are comitted to a certain 'set' of movements during the first levels of competition and a prohibited movement can lead to disqualification right away?
• a traditional Irish dance lasts anywhere from a mere 32 seconds to about 1,5 minutes?
• That the time-limit is there because when it comes to endurance, it's hard to keep going for longer? (Yes, think about all the shows again and try to imagine how top-shaped those dancers are)
• there are danceschools (and competitions) in Taipei and Hongkong?
• The Riverdance-cast consists of different 'troupes'? The show became such a succes in a short while that soon 3 troupes were formed to 'service' different parts of the world, to eliminate the need for time-consuming (and expensive) travel around the world

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