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A
	An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha'	The governing body of which the Boyd School of Irish Dancing is a member. Full name - An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha'
	An Comhdháil	Another Irish Dancing Governing body. Full name - Comhdháil Múinteoirí Na Rincí Gaelacha
	Ard Grad	Irish term for the Open grade
	A.D.C.R.G.	These are the letters used after the names of an Adjudicator. It stands for 'Ard Diploma Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha' which means 'Highest Diploma in Gaelic Dancing'
B
	Bar	A section of music with a number of beats determined by the time signature
	Bloomers	Large Knickers, worn over underwear with an Irish dancing dress to preserve modesty when performing high kicks and jumps
	Bodhrán	A framed drum common in Irish music
	Bubble Socks	See Poodle Socks
	Buckles	Decorative buckles worn on heavy shoes to catch the adjudicators eye. Attach by threading onto a wide loop of elastic, pulled over the shoes
	BPM	Defines the speed of a piece of music - stands for 'beats per minute' and means just that!
	Bun Grad	Irish term for the beginner grade
C
	Cape	Worn at the back of a class or solo dress. May be soft and flowing or stiff and embellished with embroidery or applique
	Ceili	A type of group dance, both informal and competitive. Often referred to as '2 Hand, '4 Hand' etc. where hand signifies the number of dancers, i.e. 2 Hand is two dancers. (pronounced KAY-lee)
	Championship	A dancing competition where dancers dance 2 or more different dances in front of a panel of at least three Adjudicators
	Class Dress	A dress of a design which is unique to a particular dancing school. Worn by Ceili teams and by dancers who do not yet have a solo dress
	Class Feis	A feis run by a dancing school for dancers from that school only
	Coimisiún	See An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha'
	Comhdháil	See An Comhdháil
	Cor	Irish Gaelic term for Reel
	Cornphiopa	Irish Gaelic term for Hornpipe
	Craobn Comortas	Irish Gaelic term for Open Championship
	Crown	Type of headpiece worn with an Irish dancing costume. Consists of a stiffened, embroidered/appliquéd piece of fabric with an elastic strap
	Cummerbund	Worn by some male dancers. A strip of fabric worn around the wiast, often embroidered or embellished in some way
D
	Dance teacher	Also referred to as TCRG's
	'Donut'	A lightweight, donut shaped ring sometimes used to give a wig more height
E
	Elementary	An Australian grade between primary and intermediate
F
	Fake Tan	Used to give the legs more colour for performances on large stages under bright lighting
	Feis	Irish term for festival - an Irish dancing competition (pronounced FESH)
	Feiseanna	The plural of feis (pronounced FESH-ah-na)
	Feile	The technically correct name for an Irish dancing competition where there are no other cultural events (pronounced fay-luh)
	First Step	The second section of a solo dance
G
	Ghillies	See Pumps
	Grid Mark	A score allocated to a Championship dancer dependent on their ranking with an adjudicator in order to even out marking variations
H
	Heavies	Informal name for the shoes with blocks on the tips and heels used to make the distinctive sound of Irish heavy dances
	Heavy Jig	A heavy dance in 6/8 time to a relatively slow tempo. Also called a Treble Jig
	Hornpipe	A heavy dance in 4/4 or 2/4 time, originating from English sailors
	Hop Jig	A light dance in 6/8 or 12/8 time. Also called a Single Jig
I
	Irish Points	See Grid Mark
J
	Jig	A type of Irish rhythm, mostly in 6/8. Can take a number of forms. Also used as another term for Light Jig
	Jig Shoes	See Heavies
K
	Kick Pants	See Bloomers
	Kilt	Traditionally worn by male dancers, now rarely seen
L
	Lead Around	The first section of a solo dance, danced in a circle
	Light Jig	A jig done in light shoes, usually the first jig learnt by a dancer
M
	Magik Wands	The brand name of one type of curlers used for creating ringlets
	Mean Grad	Irish term for the intermediate grade
N
	Novice	Another name for beginner in the UK and a grade in the US approximately equivalent to primary
	Non-Traditional Set	A dance to a set piece of music to which a teacher choreographs unique steps for each school
O
	Oireachtas	A major regional competition, used as a qualifier for the World Championships (pronounced or-ROCK-tus)
	Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne	The World Championships (pronounced or-ROCK-tus RIN-kuh na KREEN-yuh)
	Open	The highest grade of dancer in the UK. Also where used to refer to a feis which dancers from other schools are eligible to compete in
	Open Set	See Non-Traditional Set
	Open Prizewinner	The third grade in the US, approximately equivalent of intermediate
	Open Championship	The highest level of Championship competition
P
	Poodle socks	Socks worn by girls which are a thick white cotton with a bobbly texture. Can be knee length or championship length (part way up the calf). Also available embellished with diamantes
	Port Singil	Irish Gaelic term for Hop (Single) Jig
	Port Éadrom	Irish Gaelic term for Light Jig
	Port Trom	Irish Gaelic term for Heavy Jig
	Port Luascadh	Irish Gaelic term for Slip Jig
	Premier	A type of Championship with less than three adjudicators, usually for younger dancers
	Preliminary Championship	A type of Championship at a slightly lower level than Open Championships to help bridge the gap between intermediate solo competitions and Open Championships
	Primary	The second grade in the UK
	Príomh Comortas	Irish Gaelic term for Prelim Championship
	Pumps	The shoes worn by girls and ladies for light dances
Q
	Qualifiers	The regional Oireachtas at which dancers compete to qualify for the World Championships are ofter referred to as the 'qualifiers'
R
	Raw Score	The score (out of 100) awarded to a dancer by an adjudicator in competition. This is used to rank dancers
	Reel	A light shoe dance in 4/4 time. Usually the first dance learnt by a new dancer
	Reel Shoes	The shoes worn by male dancers for light dances
S
	School Dress	See Class Dress
	Second Step	The final section of a solo dance, danced in a circle
	Seit Nua	Irish Gaelic term for Non-Traditional Set (literally "New Set")
	Seit Tradisiúnta	Irish Gaelic term for Traditional Set
	Shawl	See Cape
	Single Jig	See Hop Jig
	Slip Jig	A girls only light dance in 9/8 which takes its inspiration from ballet
	Sock Glue	A roll on, water soluble glue to stop poodle socks falling down. Pull up socks, turn down the top couple of inches, apply glue in a line around the leg then turn socks back up. Try and get both the same height!
	Soft Spikes	Another type of curler used for creating ringlets
	Solo	The term for a competition for a single dance
	Solo Dress	A custom designed one off dress a dancer wears for solo dances and Championships
	Spankies	See Bloomers
T
	Tempo	The speed of a piece of music, generally faster for beginners and slow for open dancers.
	Tiara	An alternative headpiece for female dancers. Made of metal and crystal or other stones
	Time Signature	The notation at the beginning of a piece of music that determines the rhythm of the dance. Each dance has a set time signature e.g. 9/8, 4/4, 6/8
	T.C.R.G.	The letters used after the name of a certified Irish dancing teacher. It stands for  "Teasgicoir Choimisiuin Le Rinci Gaelacha" which translates as 'Gaelic Commission Dancing Teacher' and requires the holder to pass a number of challenging examinations
	T.M.R.F	The initials for a certified Celli dance teacher
	Traditional Set	A dance to a set piece of music that has 'traditional' steps, i.e. steps that are more or less the same for all dancing schools
	Treble Jig	See Heavy Jig
	Treble Reel	This is sometimes included in Feiseanna as a freestyle dance where arm movements and creative choreography are allowed
	Tus Grad	Irish term for the primary grade
	Turn Out	Can mean both the way a dancers feet are positioned with the toes pointed out, and the appearance of a dancer when competing
U-V
	U Group	A term sometimes used to refer to a dancers age group at feis as they are expressed as U6, U7, U8 etc. where U is for under meaning the dancer was under that age at the 1st January that year
W
	Wig	Worn by female dancers to achieve characteristic ringlets without lengthy curling being required
X-Z

More Information

Alternative Glossary	A light hearted take on a glossary from ZandB
Irish Pronounciation	A beginners guide to Irish pronounciation - helps to explain why there are so many h's!
Baby Names of Ireland	A website with recordings of the pronounciation of lots of Irish names.