Irish Dancing

Started by bennydorano, November 05, 2018, 10:03:57 PM

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bennydorano

I'll freely admit knowing next to nothing about Irish Dancing but I'd be ambivalent enough about what I do see.  Is it a big addition to Irish cultural life? Is it culture, a sport, a beauty pagent. It does seem to attract a lot of competitive parents.

podge

I have taken my daughter to a few competitions and I have to say I have been totally put off by the apparent lack of basic organisation, the sitting around packed venues for literally hours on end waiting for a dance that might last 30 seconds or a minute. I have known people to go off to these events regularly and they might sit around for 10 hours and arrive home with their x year old child at close to midnight on a Sunday with school the next day.

Sorry, it's  not for me.

Itchy

Don't go near it! You have been warned.

brokencrossbar1

I regularly go with my daughter and I think it's brilliant. The festivals I go to are very well organised generally and in my opinion it's great for the girls. It's festival and not feis so there's no wigs and limited makeup as the dresses are more plain and stylish so that helps. It's about the girls and not the parents in my experience and of course there's competitiveness but a hell of a lot less than I've seen on the sidelines at u10 and u12 games to be honest. It's a great social thing too and I have made great friends and my daughter has all her best friends through it. It's also great exercise for them if they do it right. She trains 2-3 times weekly for 2 hours so gets plenty of cardio

el_cuervo_fc

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on November 06, 2018, 07:29:33 AM
I regularly go with my daughter and I think it's brilliant. The festivals I go to are very well organised generally and in my opinion it's great for the girls. It's festival and not feis so there's no wigs and limited makeup as the dresses are more plain and stylish so that helps. It's about the girls and not the parents in my experience and of course there's competitiveness but a hell of a lot less than I've seen on the sidelines at u10 and u12 games to be honest. It's a great social thing too and I have made great friends and my daughter has all her best friends through it. It's also great exercise for them if they do it right. She trains 2-3 times weekly for 2 hours so gets plenty of cardio

My experience would be largely from the feis side.  Through sisters dancing and the wife teaching it (now retired from it).  It's a horrible industry and the parents can be a disgrace.  The whole thing has become too much of a pagent/americanised.  The bitching,fighting and politics that goes on is absolutely outrageous and it's largely down to the parents.  It's not a nice environment for children. 


Tony Baloney

The make-up, curly wigs and expensive outfits are a joke. A woman in work removed her daughter from it as it just appeared to be a racket and had become totally Americanised.

Itchy

Quote from: el_cuervo_fc on November 06, 2018, 10:49:22 AM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on November 06, 2018, 07:29:33 AM
I regularly go with my daughter and I think it's brilliant. The festivals I go to are very well organised generally and in my opinion it's great for the girls. It's festival and not feis so there's no wigs and limited makeup as the dresses are more plain and stylish so that helps. It's about the girls and not the parents in my experience and of course there's competitiveness but a hell of a lot less than I've seen on the sidelines at u10 and u12 games to be honest. It's a great social thing too and I have made great friends and my daughter has all her best friends through it. It's also great exercise for them if they do it right. She trains 2-3 times weekly for 2 hours so gets plenty of cardio

My experience would be largely from the feis side.  Through sisters dancing and the wife teaching it (now retired from it).  It's a horrible industry and the parents can be a disgrace.  The whole thing has become too much of a pagent/americanised.  The bitching,fighting and politics that goes on is absolutely outrageous and it's largely down to the parents.  It's not a nice environment for children.

100% agree

They trap the kids in with glitter and medals for everyone. Its a million miles from what it once was as a custom and tradition. Then when your kids gets good prepare for demands to train 3/4 nights a week for 1.5 hours a pop. Forget about your kid having a childhood. As for the Feis, well if you enjoy attending a packed hall full of psycho mammies where nothing runs on time and you get home from it at midnight and give your entire weekend away to it well good for you.

Its a disgrace of an industry and I am sorry I ever let the Mrs talk me into allowing our daughter attend it.

So like I say, if you are thinking about allowing your kid in, my advice is stay away.


seafoid

Quote from: Tony Baloney on November 06, 2018, 11:06:36 AM
The make-up, curly wigs and expensive outfits are a joke. A woman in work removed her daughter from it as it just appeared to be a racket and had become totally Americanised.
Any activity for young girls that involves special dresses and competition is risky from that point of view. In other countries it is ice skating or other kinds of dancing.
Over-enthusiastic parents who use their kids as a front for their own self expression are a pain in the hole whether in sport or in other activities. 
"f**k it, just score"- Donaghy   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxG2WwVRjU

Insane Bolt

Benny get the kids bicycles for Xmas and get them out with you.

brokencrossbar1

Once again I can only go on my experience. Festival dancing is closer to the old ways of it and there's less trappings and a much closer connection between the dancers. My daughter is 13 now and has been at it from she was 5-6 and loves it. Like I said she has made all her best friends through it. I'm unusual as a father who goes to a lot of the festivals but honestly I have not had the negative experience that some are expressing.

bennydorano

Quote from: seafoid on November 06, 2018, 12:05:50 PM
Quote from: Tony Baloney on November 06, 2018, 11:06:36 AM
The make-up, curly wigs and expensive outfits are a joke. A woman in work removed her daughter from it as it just appeared to be a racket and had become totally Americanised.
Any activity for young girls that involves special dresses and competition is risky from that point of view. In other countries it is ice skating or other kinds of dancing.
Over-enthusiastic parents who use their kids as a front for their own self expression are a pain in the hole whether in sport or in other activities.
Seems to be a lot of parents involved living vicariously through their kids.

Milltown Row2

Quote from: hardstation on November 06, 2018, 08:06:38 PM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on November 06, 2018, 12:22:52 PM
Once again I can only go on my experience. Festival dancing is closer to the old ways of it and there's less trappings and a much closer connection between the dancers. My daughter is 13 now and has been at it from she was 5-6 and loves it. Like I said she has made all her best friends through it. I'm unusual as a father who goes to a lot of the festivals but honestly I have not had the negative experience that some are expressing.
Is that "the other side"? Yuck, spit!

It's far better that the wigs and make up, trashing kids up to look like dolls, but hey if that's your thing

None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

From the Bunker

Where do you start with Irish dancing?

Have Nieces on both my side and the Wifes side of the Family involved!

Luckily we pulled the plug early. We seen the direction of it?

Wigs, make-up, dresses, fake tan, etc

Being a spectacle competition, being a good looking girl also helps win competitions.

Competitions in the middle of Summer spending a decent day inside with competitions running behind time up to midnight.

The better you get the more tuition that is encouraged, the more money you spend.

Costumes cost a bomb!

You have to pay to enter your kids for different dances on the day and you have to pay to go in and see them dance.

For the Dancing Academies it's a Business from start to finish. 

It makes me sad that I can never truly enjoy any time any of my Nieces are successful. As I see them and their Parents getting dragged into an even bigger hole of spending decent and money on this farce.


trailer

From the outside admittedly, I think it is weird that you'd put a dress, wig and makeup on a young child, then put them on a stage and watch them give a dance to some judge.

johnnycool

Quote from: From the Bunker on November 06, 2018, 09:08:27 PM
Where do you start with Irish dancing?

Have Nieces on both my side and the Wifes side of the Family involved!

Luckily we pulled the plug early. We seen the direction of it?

Wigs, make-up, dresses, fake tan, etc

Being a spectacle competition, being a good looking girl also helps win competitions.

Competitions in the middle of Summer spending a decent day inside with competitions running behind time up to midnight.

The better you get the more tuition that is encouraged, the more money you spend.

Costumes cost a bomb!

You have to pay to enter your kids for different dances on the day and you have to pay to go in and see them dance.

For the Dancing Academies it's a Business from start to finish. 

It makes me sad that I can never truly enjoy any time any of my Nieces are successful. As I see them and their Parents getting dragged into an even bigger hole of spending decent and money on this farce.

Start of the year my 10 yo girl was pushing hard to go to Irish dancing lessons and TBH speaking to one of the parents in her class who's kid was at it kind of put me off. She thought it was great, but her wee girl is always clabbered in fake tan, pics on Facebook with the wigs and so forth so I talked our one out of it.
Thankfully she's went head long into the camogie so wigs won't be an issue, but the fake tan might soon enough  ;D