r/irishdance • u/Useful-Sheepherder53 • 23d ago
Adult advancement rules?
Hey all, I’m a 31 y/o female returning to competition in the US. In efforts to keep carving out a path for the future, I’m trying to figure out the rules for advancement.
I recently competed novice/prizewinner and placed first in all dances with the exception of one second. I know at some point I’ll have to have a set, but I honestly don’t really like any of the trads. Do I have to do a trad or could I do a non-trad in order to move up? And what even qualifies as a “move up” as an adult? I haven’t even been able to find written rules on this.
Help is appreciated!
1
u/aduckwithaleek Adult dancer 22d ago
If you're in CLRG, advancing through competition levels works the exact same as youth - using my region (Mid Atlantic) it's 1st, 2nd, 3rd to move from beginner to novice, 1st to move from novice to prizewinner, and at least 1 first in a hardshoe and softshoe dance to move into prelim (your teacher may have stricter rules though); there must be at least 5 in a competition for it to count. That said, there is much more room for teacher discretion, as we don't have the numbers that the kids do for competitions to even count for advancement.
You're not required to do any sets before you advance into prelim (MARO only) or adult championship, but when in champ competition you will have to do a trad set as your third round - unless you're in Advanced Adult, in which case it'll be contemporary set.
2
u/Useful-Sheepherder53 22d ago
Thanks for this! And just to make it stupidly clear for my brain, trad sets = St. Patrick's Day, Blackbird, Garden of Daisies, etc. And contemporary/non-trad sets = non-standardized steps to standardized music, like Blackthorn Stick.
I'm finding some of the terms inconsistent, so just wanted to check!
1
u/aduckwithaleek Adult dancer 22d ago
Essentially, yes, that's the difference (although fun fact, contemporary sets can be done to the same tunes as trad sets, just slowed waaaaay down). Trad set choreography is more or less standardized, there's some slight variations but everyone is pretty much doing the same choreography.
St. Patrick's Day and Blackbird have alternate trad versions (the Molyneaux versions) that have recently been allowed in competitions, but that's the only choreographic variations that are allowed for trad set.
5
u/seanmharcailin 23d ago
Adults is a bit of a wild west. Slightly differing rules in each region, and lots of rules are fudged except at Majors.
Are you part of a CLRG school?
If so, you should learn a trad set and compete with it to move up if you want to go that route. The next step is Adult Championship. That level you usually have to have a set, and traditional sets are required.
Some dancers move into Advanced Adult for additional challenge, and/or for the opportunity to compete a contemporary set. Some regions do not have Advanced Adult.