MT Pride
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Dancers, while you are attending a competition or any event outside of class, please wear your MT track jacket with black MT shorts/skort/pants. During a feis or major competition, be sure to wear your MT feiswear (black MT tank and black MT shorts/skort/pants) and track jacket. On your scheduled practice day at a major, please wear your MT Oireachtas shirt or jacket. Parents, please show your school spirit as well as your support for our dancers, and sport your MT gear as well! I’d love for you to show your MT Pride all weekend long!
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Providing the Look
While the dancing is the most important part of a competition, the appearance of the dancer is also extremely critical! We want every dancer to feel their best, and a polished look will help dancers to stand out on stage, and will give them the confidence they need to shine. We want to be sure that each dancer has the perfect look, so it’s important to reapply make-up and ‘touch up’ hair between rounds and before Awards.
Dancers’ feet should look neat and tidy. Make sure your dancer doesn’t have long straps hanging over the buckling of hard shoes; if the straps are too long, please remember to trim these straps so that they are not sticking out or flapping. Dance shoes should be polished the night before competitions. There should be no holes in the soft shoes. Make sure the laces in both pairs of shoes are in good condition and tucked in prior to dancing. And….remember to wear a brand new pair of poodle socks, which are available to purchase through Jen Meister (Reel Eire) or at the competition!
Day of Competition
On the day of your competition, dancers should arrive one hour prior to their competition completely dressed (in makeup and wig). At a feis all grade level dancers will be required to check-in for each dance. PC/OC dancers generally only check-in for the first round. OC dancers should be prepared to confirm the set dance and speed with the stage monitor.
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At a major competition, solo dancers generally do not have to check in for any solo round unless there is a change to the set dance and/or speed printed on the back of their competitor number. Some competitions require check-in for all recalled dancers prior to the set round. The check-in process for each specific major will be communicated to participating families prior to the competition.
The adjudicators find that shiny plastic number holders are hard to read, so please do not wear plastic number holders. Please make sure dancers have numbers neatly pinned (if using safety pins). Do not use ribbon/yarn/elastic to hold on your number.
Important Reminder: If a dancer falls to the stage while dancing on stage, the adjudicator must ring the bell to stop the performance of the dancers on stage. Dancers so affected will be permitted to re-dance and will be marked then at the discretion of each individual adjudicator. So, dancers must keep dancing UNLESS they hear a bell ring.
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While on Stage
You will be on stage with other dancers, and you must show the judges that YOU are the best. Catch the judges’ eye by having an outstanding and amazing first step. And….no matter how tired you are on that last step, fight through it all the way to the very end. Give it all you have, and leave nothing left. Remember, be confident in yourself! Have good stage presence and walk on that stage as if you are the champion!
Please know that judging begins the moment dancers approach the edge of the stage (even when you are waiting to dance!) until the moment the dancers leave the stage area and are no longer in the judges’ view. Dancers should remember to arrive prepared at the stage in plenty of time (warmed up, shoes double knotted, costume zipped and ready, hair done, etc), remain quiet & respectful of the dancers currently competing! Everything counts and judges can be influenced by a dancer’s reactions to their own dancing, so have a pleasant smile as you leave the stage and save your emotions until you are out of the dance hall!