American Association of Irish Dancers & Teachers (AAIDT)

Feis Rules & Regulations

I.  General

  1. This is a “Living Document” and is subject to revision or amendment by policy committee at any time. Amendments go into effect 30 after being posted to the public web site, www.aaidt.org. Competitors and Teachers are responsible for keeping apprised of any changes that affect upcoming Feiseanna.
  2. Feiseanna are open to all dancers from all organizations or lack thereof.
  3. Competitors may participate independently or under the direction of a teacher/school. Where competitors have no previous record of standing they will be placed at the discretion of the authorized Adjudicator by one of the following methods.
    1. Attend pre-Feis qualifiers held the day of each Feis before the start of adjudication.
    2. Complete Virtual Feis or Distance Evaluation no less than 15 days before the date of the Feis.
  4. Competitors may only participate in one Skill Level at a single Feis.
  5. Competitors must check in at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start of competitions. Failure to do so could result in disqualification.
  6. Age groups are determined by age as of January 1 of the current year. Feiseanna with less than 200 dancers may combine ages within two years. Feiseanna with less than 100 competitors may mix ages per skill level within 3 years above age 9.
  7. Music must maintain acceptable speeds per level. (See Tempos.) Musicians must use a metronome and are subject to monitoring by Feis Marshals.
  8. Feis organizers must provide a safe, suspended or sprung wooden floor for competitors. The minimum floor size for single dancer is 16×16 feet (roughly 5×5 meters). For two dancers side-by-side, the minimum stage size is 20×16 feet (roughly 6×5 meters). Under no circumstances may dancers dance on covered concrete floors or similar hard material. (Specifics of stages are subject to the discretion of the Feis Committee.)
  9. Feis Roles
    1. Dance Medic. At least one AAIDT trained Dance Medic must be present at all AAIDT events. Medics are responsible for dancer and public First-Aid, injury treatment and prevention. In smaller Feiseanna the roles of Feis Medic and Safety Officer may be combined.
    2. Feis Safety Officer. A designated and trained Feis Safety Officer must be present at all AAIDT Feiseanna. Safety Officers monitor the environment and the dancers for safety and unsafe practices. It is the responsibility of the Safety Officer to help prevent injury by maintaining safe practices. In smaller Feiseanna the roles of Feis Medic and Safety Officer may be combined.
    3. Clerk(s). Every AAIDT Feis must have trained and appointed Clerk or Clerks. Clerks are responsible for tallying and finalize scores. Only trained and appointed Clerks may participate in Feiseanna.
    4. Registrar. Every AAIDT Feis must have a trained and designated Registrar. No person that is not duly trained and qualified by AAIDT may participate in the registration process.
    5. Feis Marshal. All AAIDT Feiseanna must have a designated and trained Feis Marshal. It is the duty of the Feis Marshal to ensure the rules and regulations of a Feis are continually met. This may include monitoring of live music tempos, ensuring that staging meets guidelines and maintaining crowd control.
  10. No more than two competitors may dance at a time. Organizers should consider this when scheduling time and resources.
  11. There may be no break in the music between each set of dancers. In this case, as one set of dancers exit, the next set should enter and start on the following open beat.
  12. In the Solo Competitions where more than one competitor will dance at a time, competitors will line-up along the staging area and take their places two at a time to dance their steps simultaneously. Competitors must stand quietly at Parade Attention (Position 1) while in line to dance.
  13. Dancers in public view must be in full costume at all times. The only exception is the use of street shoes instead of dance shoes during long periods between dances. Competitors must be in full costume and shoes when receiving awards and photography.
  14. The Feis reserves the right to video tape and or photograph all aspects of competition. All venders must be licensed by the proper AAIDT committee member in charge of regulating “Feis commerce” in order to vend at AAIDT events.
  15. Once a competition is closed, no dancer will be permitted to dance.
  16. Feis Officials reserve the right to amend, merge, cancel or add age groups and competitions on the day of the Feis.

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II.  Advancement

  1. Competitive Levels consist of Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Novice, Prizewinner, Preliminary and Championship.
  2. Competitors are evaluated based on six skill components. These are Posture, Timing, Placement, Execution, Technique and Presentation.
  3. Once a competitor places First, Second or Third in any level they may not compete at that level again. They must move to the next level.
  4. In competitions where a dancer places first through third in any category, they must meet the minimum score requirement for that category in order to advance to the next skill level. If there are three dancers in a competition who place first through third, each must earn scores commensurate with the appropriate skill level to advance to the next skill level.

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III.  Solo Choreography

A.  Beginner & Advanced Beginner

  1. Dances. Dances include Reel, Single Jig, Light Jig, and Slip Jig.
  2. Steps. Competitors must dance an 8-bar Leader, 8-bar Side Step and a body step right and left.
  3. General. Beginner and Advanced Beginner soft-shoe dances should consist of the commonly accepted basics of dance. 3’s and 7’s in the reels, point hop backs in reels and jigs, simple heels, rise and grind, sink and grind, skip 2,3’s and the like in light jigs. Slips jigs should have commonly accepted movements such as slides and knees.
  4. Specifics. Beginner dances must consist of at least 50% of the following skills. Advanced Beginner dances must consist of at least 75% of the following skills: Skips, Threes, Sevens, Hops, Touch the Knee, Change Front/Back, Leap, Bound Front/Back, Cuts, Points, Single, Step- kick, Heels, Jump, Stamp, Toe to Heel, Half Switch, Brush, Kick/Swing Knee, Hop Knee, Pivot, Slides (Toe or Heel).

B.  Novice

  1. Dances. Dances include Reel, Slip Jig, Treble Jig (traditional speed), Hornpipe (traditional speed) and Traditional Sets.
  2. Steps. Competitors must be prepared to dance 48 bars per category. Each step must be unique. No repetition of steps will be permitted.
  3. General. In addition to fundamental Beginners’ movements, Novice dances must consist of at least 50% of the following skills: Front clicks, Walking clicks, Toe-back, Full switch, Flutter/Quiver, Step-kick-out-heel, Cross keys, Tip step, Treble hop back, Treble step, Quarter turn, Half turn, Double treble, Click heels together, Multiple point, Grand leap.
  4. Reel & Slip Jig Specifics. Novice level reels and slip jigs will include all of the prior requirements plus more movement, and combinations, commonly accepted lifts and changes, butterflies, extensions, rocks , and twists, sidesteps, points, slides, 3’s and 7’s along with simple heel movements.
  5. Treble Jig & Hornpipe Specifics. Novice treble jigs and hornpipes consist of some or all of the following throughout the three steps of the dance: Advanced and alternating treble patterns, drums , clicks, and heel work. No toe stands, or more advanced movements such as back trebles, heel boxes, syncopated fast front trebles, or clicks involving more than one click at a time (no double or triple clicks).

C.  Prizewinner

  1. Dances. Dances include Reel or Slip Jig, Treble jig or Hornpipe, Treble Reel and a Contemporary/Non-Traditional set dance (teacher's/competitor’s choice) from the commonly accepted list of 38 sets.  View our list of Traditional and Contemporary/Non-Traditional Set Dances.
  2. Steps. Competitors must be prepared to dance 48 bars per category. Each step must be unique. No repetition of steps will be permitted.
  3. General. Prizewinner skills include Full turn, Front heel connect, Rocks, Box, Batter change, Batter, Cross keys, Drum roll, Leg extensions, Butterfly, Back click, Quadruplets, Toe stands, Back treble, Back connect, Full butterfly, Front quads, Double back click, Pixie leaps, Tucked (grand) leap.

D.  Preliminary

  1. Dances. Dances include Reel or Slip Jig, Treble jig or Hornpipe, Treble Reel and a Contemporary/Non-Traditional set dance (teacher's/competitor’s choice) from the commonly accepted list of 38 sets. View our list of Traditional and Contemporary/Non-Traditional Set Dances.
  2. Steps. Competitors must be prepared to dance 48 bars per category. Each step must be unique. No repetition of steps will be permitted.
  3. General. Preliminary hardshoe dances should have all of the following movements: Those listed for fast jig and hornpipe, plus: heel boxes, fast front trebles, click combinations, multiple clicks (doubles) back trebles, toe work, complex movements widely accepted and viewed at major competitions but subject to appropriateness at Adjudicators discretion.

E.  Championship

  1. Dances. Dances include Reel or Slip Jig, Treble jig or Hornpipe, Treble Reel and a Contemporary/Non-Traditional Set dance (teacher's/competitor’s choice) from the commonly accepted list of 38 sets.
  2. Steps. Competitors must be prepared to dance 48 bars per category. Each step must be unique. No repetition of steps will be permitted.

F.  Restricted Skills

  1. Toe stands and aerial movements where the toes are pointed at the floor on return from a jump are banned below Preliminary and age 13.
  2. Adjudicators may reduce points for dancers who are apparently unqualified to do toe stands and may disqualify schools who perpetuate an unsafe practice of toe dancing in competitions. AAIDT provides a sophisticated training and certification program for teachers who want to teach toe-dancing properly.

IV. Other Categories (Can be added to any Feis at discretion of organizers)

  1. Traditional & Contemporary Sets. Traditional Sets may begin at Novice, and consist of First Step and Set. At Prizewinner and above, they may be expanded upon and special “Full Set” categories may be held. View our list of Traditional and Contemporary/Non-Traditional Set Dances.
  2. Freestyle Solo. Non-traditional, modern; any music and technique/footwork.
  3. Freestyle Group. Can mix solos in groups; any music and technique/footwork.
  4. Masters’ Open. For teachers and professionals; categories are based on Championship.
  5. Freestyle Masters Open. Based on Champion skills.
  6. Céili &Traditional Figures as using traditional footwork.
  7. Two-Hand Dances.
  8. Open Figures. “Invented” Céilí choreographies with 4–20 dancers. Traditional céilí footwork and traditional music must apply. Music may be provided, or bring your own in CD format. A minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 4 minutes are allowed for the performance. No mixed solos.

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V.  Music Tempos (Allow 1 BPM plus or minus)

1.  Beginner, Advanced Beginner & Novice

  1. Reels — 116
  2. Light Jigs — 115
  3. Slip Jigs — 120
  4. Single Jigs — 120
  5. Traditional Treble Jigs — 92
  6. Traditional Hornpipes — 138

2.  Prizewinner, Preliminary & Championship

  1. Reels — 113
  2. Slip Jigs — 113
  3. Treble Jigs — 73
  4. Hornpipes — 113

3.  Traditional Sets

  1. The Blackbird — 105
  2. St. Patrick’s Day — 92
  3. The Job of Journeywork — 138
  4. The Garden of Daisies — 138
  5. The Three Sea Captains — 92
  6. The Jockey to the Fair — 88
  7. The King of the Fairies — 120
  8. The White Blanket — 125

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VI.  Costume

  1. Costume will consist of appropriate outerwear, dance shoes and accessories. Unusual or improper footwear may be determined at the discretion of an adjudicator. It is the responsibility of the competitor to ensure that they are in compliance with generally accepted Irish dancewear.
  2. Minimum Standard Uniform. Competitors have the option of wearing the minimum standard uniform (MSU) of AAIDT. The MSU consists of the official AAIDT polo shirt and green circle skirt with dance socks and appropriate shoes for females; black slacks and socks for males. A white V-neck t-shirt must be worn under the shirt. This is the recommended costume for Beginner and Advanced Beginner competitors, and dance groups who lack a uniform costume. Competitors may purchase uniforms directly from AAIDT.
  3. Group dances must wear matching or design-coordinated uniforms, or the MSU.

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VII.  Conduct

A.  General

  1. Audience must reserve applause until award ceremonies. No competitor or audience member may shout dancer’s names while on stage or call out in any capacity in the dance hall. Parents and Teachers will be held responsible for the behavior of their competitors and children.
  2. Working Musicians and Adjudicators may not be approached except by the Feis officials.
  3. Siblings and other children should be supervised and maintained at all times.
  4. Feis Marshals may eject any individual or family they feel are causing a disruption or dancer to other Feis participants.
  5. Competitors should dance in the appropriate levels according to their skills. Adjudicators may reduce marks for dancers who enter above or below their actual skill levels.
  6. Failure to comply with music, footwork and choreography restrictions, by an individual or group, can result in disqualification.
  7. Competitors may not combine entry levels. Competitors must maintain a single level throughout a single Feis.
  8. Non-flash cameras may be used during presentations unless a marshal deems any such behavior disruptive. Only Licensed Feis photographers can take video or still-action, non-flash, photography from a distance from the stage as to not interfere with judge’s sight, or dancer’s ability to execute movements.
  9. Any use of flash photography near the staging areas will result in ejection from the venue.
  10. Working Musicians and Adjudicators may not be approached except by the Feis officials.
  11. Teachers, parents, instructors are not allowed to give instruction or direction to dancers while they are competing. Competitors may not practice steps while in queue for a competition.
  12. Competitors MUST stand QUIETLY at Parade Attention (Position 1) during line-up. Conversation or lax posture may result in ejection from the event.
  13. Only competitors in the current event and the Feis Committee may approach the staging area during competition.
  14. Under no circumstances is smoking or alcohol permitted in the building.

B.  Incidentals

  1. If a Competitor falls to the floor, or disruptive bodily contact is made between dancers, music may be stopped. If adjudicators deem the situation safe, music and dancers should recover and continue. If a competitor slips and recovers uninjured, they should continue dancing. Adjudicators will decide penalty marks if necessary.
  2. Competitors who slip and make a full recovery will not necessarily be deducted points.
  3. Purposeful bumping or “body checking” will be determined by the adjudicators and is grounds for disqualification and ejection of the offender.
  4. If any part of a dancers wardrobe falls to the floor, or otherwise becomes detached causing distraction (including untied shoelaces), points may be deducted and/or the offender may be disqualified at adjudicators’ discretion.

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