Aibu to think Irish dancing is just another pageant

[LemonDrizzleDisco]

With the sparkles,expensive dresses,wigs,tanned legs,make up.

What happened to the traditional look?

[megletthesecond]

Those wigs are awful.

Costumes are one thing hut having to wear wigs and fake tan is too much.

[LemonDrizzleDisco]

reuset yes I used to dance as a child and my DN does. Just seen her recent Facebook posts from this weekends feis and all I saw was wigs,tan and sparkles.

[Nocabbageinmyeye]

Not too bad at €60 a week jeepers that's not far off my groceries!!

[ElspethFlashman]

I do understand the wigs are far easier than sleeping in curlers or spending an hour with the GHD in fairness.

I also get that there has to be uniformity of hair as there is in any dance competition. Disco dancing and ballroom/Latin has godawful hair too. It's just a shame the ringlets are so stupid looking.

[MrsDustyBusty]

I think I heard that the ringlets are a hangover from the victorian era when they were fashionable about the same time as the cultural revival was happening.

[n0ne]

Interesting. I have a couple of friends on FB whose DD's compete and apart from some crazy hair (some just looks over-styled, some probably wigs) there's none of this. No fake tans, minimal make-up, outfits not blinged up. And they're both in the England.

[Melty]

I watched a documentary on it over Christmas. (I did it as a child, and had a lovely green dress with a big skirt and celtic embroidery. and lovely straight hair)
Apparently it started to go blingy after Riverdance.
So you can blame Flatly.
But the ringlets/curls are about the bounce when they dance. And apparently wigs are easier than ringlets.
The dressing up is only for competitions, and only for the girls. Boys are of course not expected to go blingtastic.
Apparently there is now a ruling now about under 10s not being allowed to wear makeup in competition though.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Oh. What a shame. I'm English. But I think the traditional look is beautiful and something the Irish should be proud of.

[TheTroutofNoCraic]

It makes me so sad. When I was a child in the 80s and 90s it was ringlets done with bendy rollers and a velvet (usually dark green or navy) dress with a gold embroidered celtic design...dresses were frequently shared by several girls in the same family/community and the same dress was worn until the child grew out of it.

[APlaceOnTheCouch]

I did it for years pre-Riverdance and we used to put our hair in ringlets for shows. No bling or fake tan though. Although some of the dresses were very heavy.
I still don't think it's like a pageant. Children will have been dancing for years before they're competing or dancing at events. Dismissing it as like a pageant is an insult to their dedication and skill.
And if you attend a class they won't be wearing wigs or bling. Obviously they're for competitions and events. In that way, it's no different from tap or ballet or modern dance where you wear costumes and stage make-up for competitions and shows.

[LunaLoveg00d]

I remember friends doing Irish dancing in the 80s and there was no bling, fake tan and wigs! They used to have green dresses with amazing celtic embroidery up the front and they were always second hand, passed around the girls as they grew. Their Irish mammy would not have stood for the sort of costumes they wear now for competitions.

This is why I made sure to choose a dance school/style for my daughter which does not involve competitions and fake-ness. She has been dancing since she was 3 in a very low-key school in a church hall, goes to class in leotard and leggings, when it's exam time (not compulsory) she has to have her hair tied back in a pony tail. The annual show is not a massive extravaganza, the girls dance mainly in their leotard and leggings acessorised with Primark tops/hair bows and other costumes sourced as cheaply as possible. The most make-up you'll see is a bit of hair glitter and lip gloss.

Personally I hate seeing little girls of this age in heavy make-up and fake tan. If it's about the DANCING and not the outfits, whatever the world body is regulating Irish Dancing needs to make a stand and try to stop the nonsense. Alternatively, parents need to vote with their feet and actively avoid the "competition entering" dance schools and choose something more traditional if they don't want the expense and pageanty-ness of the competition classes.

[Oakmaiden]

Interesting. My friend's daughter competes (in Wales) in Irish dance and they have a very traditional look at 13. Natural ringlet-ted hair, no (or minimal) makeup, Celtic style dress. They go to Dublin for some sort of Championship and wear the same there. Seem to do well enough.

As for other styles of dance - I think it depends on the festival/competition - but you are very much marked for grooming and costume as well as the dance itself. It is part of the overall presentation, after all. In the All England competition I am aware of situations when dancers have lost marks for having a costume which shows their midriff in lyrical, or for wearing a tiara (big No No) in ballet. And my daughter's dance teacher is obsessive about gluing their hair to their heads so that no stray wisps are highlighted by the stage lights.

There are very strict (and conservative) costume rules for Juveniles competing in Ballroom as well.

[LaurieMarlow]

Before we get too nostalgic for the good old days, when my friends competed in the 90s, their costumes were still extortionate (if more classy) and they were required to have ringlets at competition. So while modern expectations are horrendous, they are an evolution of what was already there.

I always thought ringlets were for the 'bounce', which strikes me as sad because free flowing straight hair moving to the music is lovely too. And what does it say about our expectations of feminity that all hair must be long?

[MrsDustyBusty]

Alternatively, parents need to vote with their feet and actively avoid the "competition entering" dance schools and choose something more traditional if they don't want the expense and pageanty-ness of the competition classes.

I suspect this is the key. I'd be very surprised if the regulations changed to stipulate fake tan and sparkles and tutu style skirts. I'd say that's coming from the parents and expectations keep getting pushed.

[JeffVaderneedsatray]

DD is 9 and does Irish Dance. She has been to a few Feis but the umbrella organisation we are part of has very strict rules for beginners and younger children. She has to wear a simple green skirt and a white polo shirt.
As they get older/more experiuenced it becomes a floaty skirt with leotard and sash.
When they get really experienced it does get a bit blingy but there does seem to be a bit of a backlash going on.
DD is autistic and if she ever gets that far WILL be the child with the simple dress and hair as she couldn't cope with the sensory overload of dress and hair!

[reuset]

they don't all have the hair down though do they? I've seen hair piled up on top of the head, in some of the competitions, but even that seems to be some sort of artificial thing.

[Glastonbury]

It's no different to tap dancing. My Dd's friends from playgroup did a festival and were plastered in fake eyelashes, eyeshadow and mascara at 3 years old.

If you don't have the right look you get marked down.

[Fizzingwhizbees]

reuset, that style is called a 'bun wig'. Many dancers think it looks a bit more natural than the full ones.

I competed at the Open level for years and did feel the pressure to tan and wear ever increasing amounts of bling. The expense was one of the reasons I eventually stepped back from it. That shouldn't take away from the serious dedication of these dancers though- we trained like athletes.

[Fizzingwhizbees]

And sock glue was the most important item in my competition bag! Those poodle socks refuse to stay up when leaping around a stage otherwise

[reuset]

My Dd's friends from playgroup did a festival and were plastered in fake eyelashes, eyeshadow and mascara at 3 years old.

If you don't have the right look you get marked down.

That will be for the stage lighting though as much as anything won't it? I do know a six year old who was advised to wear make up on her adjudicator comments sheet, for a national dance I think it was. I don't know if she was marked down for it

[Creatureofthenight]

They do look daft in fake tan. I mean, it's Irish dancing, the Irish are not famed for their glowing tans.
I do think the dresses are awful now. When I did it (not at big comp level) we had gorgeous velvet dresses that got passed around the dance school- when you outgrew it someone else had it.

[Cherryskypie]

Wow. I remember my cousin dancing in the 80s and it was all pale legs and green embroidered smocks. Her hair was a mass of curls anyway so I can't comment on that!

[Nocabbageinmyeye]

But to be fair and to answer your question op, while it is absolutely awful and trashy, there is more to it that just a pagent, at competition level these kids are seriously talented and do practise very hard, which makes it even more of a pity as their talent does come second to their look

[BrowsOnFleek]

I think more recently it seems to have gone too far, as other posters have said - possibly American influence although it seems to have infiltrated most styles of dance. Freestyle is awful for it. We recently visited the Guinness factory in Dublin and enjoyed watching the staff Irish dance, nice and low key! How it should be, I think.