The Night Before the Feis
- Prepare your dance bag and your costume bag and leave them both at the front door.
- Polish your soft shoes, set them to dry, then pack them in your dance bag.
- Pack some healthy snacks. Fruit, cut up veggies, granola bars, and crackers and cheese etc. are good options. Try to pick snacks that are easy to eat… no one wants yogurt stains on their school dress! There will be food for purchase at the Feis, but there can be long line ups and limited options.
- Pack lots of water. Gatorade or Powerade are also good choices.
- For each dance, practice walking on to stage, dancing two steps, bowing to the judge and musician, and walking back into line.
- If you are able, hold a mini Feis at your home! Pick one person to be the judge, and one person to be the musician. Everyone else can be a spectator.
- Print out the stage schedule from the Feis website and highlight your dances. Print out your number card, if applicable.
- Shower the night before, go to bed early (its going to be hard cause you will be EXCITED!) and dream about yourself dancing on that stage!
At the Feis
When you arrive:
- Check in and get your number. Numbers can be categorized by school, or by your child’s last name
- Write what the start of each dance is on your card (i.e. reel: hop 1,2,3 and 2,2,3 and jump 2,3,4,5,6,7)
- Check your stages what dance are you doing first (you may be on just one stage or on multiple stages)
- Get dressed and put your shoes on
- If you have time to practice, go over the steps lightly then stretch a bit. Repeat.
When your competition is called:
- Go to the stage manager and check in.
- Line up (try to not be first or last) and stay in that order
- Once you get called, walk confidently onto the stage
- Wait your turn. When the dancers in front of you are on their 2nd STEP LEFT FOOT then you step forward, even if the person you are dancing next to doesn’t.
- Point your toe and go as soon as the dancers in front finish their 2ND STEP LEFT FOOT.
- This is it–your chance to shine! Do your best, dance your little heart out, and HAVE FUN!
- Dance your two steps of that dance, right and left foot.
- When you are finished, bow to the judge and musician and walk back into line, in the same order as before. No chatting in line!
- Wait for the judge to nod and the musician to finish, and then point and bow at the judge. The bell will ring and you can exit.
- Hug mom and dad/family/friends. What a good job you did!
- Get ready for your next competition — repeat all the steps above!
At the end of the day:
- Go look at the results board. Check your competitions to see how you did.
- If you see your number, that means you placed.
- Go to the awards table (usually still in costume) and sign to receive your medal.
- Go and get your results (in my day they were a dollar, they could me more now), whether you placed or not. The results will have the judge’s comments and feedback. Bring your results to your next dance class to show Dympna or Kieran.
- Pack up all your things, get changed, and head home.
- I hope you had a fun day!