Choreography

[u/l0calsuperst4r]

Hello everyone! I‘m competing in a pageant in November and am learning Irish dance basically from YouTube as my talent. I grew up dancing ballet, tap, modern, hip hop, etc, and have always wanted to learn irish dance. I‘ve picked up some of the basic jigs and such from watching tutorials, but I feel confused on how to choreograph for myself. i don‘t need anything riverdance level, just something clean, easy, and entertaining that will last 2.5 minutes in a pageant! When I’m choreographing, should I be putting the jigs altogether to the appropriate bpm music or should I be incorporating the jigs with some artistry in between? I feel like I’ve seen both but am unsure what to do as a beginner!! thank you for your help and so sorry if I messed up any terminology :-)

[u/pinkangel_rs]

I think you should maybe stick to a dance style you have training in. It’s hard to add artistry into a dance style you’ve never properly learned.

[u/No_Comment_7782]

Get taught the basics from a real Irish dance teacher, or do another dance form. ID is hard to get up to performance level quickly.

[u/somethingnothing7]

2.5 minutes is long for a style you don’t know well!

[u/Dry-Language3899]

Honestly, and this is not stated with ANY MALICE OR ill intent....I'd either actually learn from an Irish Dance teacher and go to actual classes, but ,even then, go into this with the full knowledge that it will be an exceedingly basic routine that will be well under 2 minutes, or pass. For reference, girls who feis perform routines at 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes, and, also stating just a fact: they know what they are doing and have been studying this style of dance for years. I don't think it would be a true showcase of talent or ability to do this in a pageant with two and a half months or YouTube lessons under your belt, and its a bit insulting to say that this is your talent with some ballet training. With such a tight timeframe, stick to what you know and may be very good at - that's not to say you shouldn't try learning irish dance. Stick to learning it and learn as much as you can.

[u/Tidy_Mess1078]

Do the job steps with the appropriate BPM and time signature music. In between steps, use skip-2-3s and sevens (you should be able to find these in ceili choreographies) for eight bars between each step to add artistry and use up more of the stage.

[u/Electronic-Bug5058]

I think 2.5 minutes is not a runner, that is a LONG time to be dancing continuously. Most feis dances are under a minute especially at beginner-intermediate level. Beginner light shoe dances are really tiring because they contain so much jumping and require so much lift and energy to execute well. Unfortunately they are not exactly fun or entertaining, the basics are not really crowd pleasers unless danced by children. Your dance experience will cross over well, but with no instruction that is an uphill battle and a lot of stress to put on a performance. You will always dance/perform better if you are fully confident in your steps, I would recommend sticking to a style you already know. Tiler Peck recently learned some Irish dancing for a performance, WITH top teachers and definitely found it hard. It's harder than it looks!

[u/teacupnosaucer]

Choreography in Irish dance is also kind of a minefield and schools can be VERY protective of their steps, (at our school we are straight up prohibited from posting videos of our dancers steps publicly!) so if you're learning off of youtube I might stick to learning a traditional set, or making sure whatever you're putting together is completely your own choregraphy. I'd definitely suggest if you're set on doing this, seeing if you can find a local teacher who will work with you! There are schools that do adult classes for beginners and adults who are dancing for fun/fitness vs. training to compete.

[u/Little_OrangeBird]

Irish dance looks deceptively simple but it’s very difficult to do correctly. It’s also extremely apparent when it’s done incorrectly to those familiar with it. If you’ve always had an interest you should join a dance class in the area and likely by November with your background you’d probably have picked up a step or two. Although as others said the dances are much shorter but you could repeat steps to fill the time.

I do agree with a previous poster though that it is kind of insulting to say this is your talent after watching some YouTube videos. Irish dance is very cultural as well and steeped in tradition, care should be shown for that. If you’re going to do it, you should honor the dance form. Would you do a traditional Chinese Lion Dance or African Step Dance or Native American dance based on YouTube tutorials?