Adults or kids?
When you are an adult dancer you generally have two choices -- dance with the adults or dance with the "kids".
Adult competitions are not offered at every feis. They often don't have the selection of the "kids" competitions, the competitions are often at incontinent times and the stages are usually far away or substandard. This is not the rule. Some feisanna have excellent Adult competitions, however in many regions this is still, unfortunately, in oddity. Also, adult competitions have no age divisions and only go up to Prizewinner. However the North American Adult Irish Dancers are trying to change that.
Right now, if you're an adult and would like to make it to the championship level you must start out on the O15's and try to make it to Senior Ladies, which means dancing as a “kid.”
When making that choice you have to consider a few things:
What do I want to take from Irish Dance If you want to be a champion, go to worlds, etc., then your only choice is to compete as a kid.
How much time can I commit? If you want to compete with the kids, you have to practice a lot more, after all in the O 15’s you are competing with people who have a lot more time to practice then you, so you also have to practice smart (see the time management page). You may also need to attend more classes, compete more, do more shows, etc. Think about your class load, future coursework, jobs, clubs, etc., and how much activity you can bear without cracking each semester. What are you willing to cut out to make time for dancing?
Will my teacher permit it? If you are new to ID, not all teachers take adult students, and not all teachers will let adults compete as kids. If you are already competing as a child, then you don’t need to worry about it, if you’re competing as an adult then speak with your teacher. Also talk to your teacher if you are considering “competing up” which means making the leap from competing as a kid to competing as an adult. This can be a good way to stay in the ID world without having as much stress (and there are great adult dancers out there to compete against). However, many feisanna have rules regarding how many years you much take off from competing as a kid before you can enter adult comps (sometimes it’s as long as 5 years).
How much money can I commit? ID is expensive. Competing as a kid may mean buying a solo dress, which can cost more than a college car (well mine cost more than my first car.) Classes, feis fees, etc. can add up. If are going to be responsible for your own ID expenses you have to take cost into consideration. If you pay all your own expenses, how far can you stretch your budget? What will you forgo for dance?
These are just a few questions. Talk to your teacher, talk to your parents, and talk to yourself. Think about what’s best for you as a student and dancer, don’t let your studies suffer. After all, you are a student too and you don’t want to wear yourself out.
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