Irish dancers progress through the levels or 'grades' by competing in Irish Dancing competitions (called feiseanna).                                       

The names of the grades and requirements to progress vary slightly from country to country and between organisations.

Broadly, the An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha grades are:-

UK and Ireland

Grades are all for a specific dance. It is possible to have all dances at different levels and it is common to span two levels. If there are less than 5 dancers in a competition the results do not effect a dancers grade. In the UK and Ireland you must move up to the next grade in your next feis.

	Beginner Bun Grad	Dancers start in this grade To move up to Primary you must come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in that dance
	Primary Tus Grad	To move up to Intermediate you must come 1st or 2nd in that dance
	Intermediate Mean Grad	To move up to Open you must come 1st in that dance
	Open  Ard Grad	The highest level. Dancers have the option of returning to the Intermediate grade at the start of a new year (1st January)

 

There are also Preliminary Championships at some feiseanna. To be eligible a dancer cannot have won a Preliminary Championship or placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in an Open Championship in the current or previous 2 years.

 

 

North America

Initial grades are for each dance. The top two levels apply to all dances. In North America you do not have to move up to the next grade until the next year (1st January).

	Beginner 1	For dancers who have been taking Irish dancing lessons for less than a year. Either move up to Advanced Beginners after a year or to Novice if placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in that dance.
	Advanced Beginner or Beginner 2	For dancers who have been dancing for more than a year. To move up to Novice you must come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in that dance.
	Novice	To move up to Open Prizewinner you must come 1st in that dance.
	Open Prizewinner	To move up to Preliminary Championships you must come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all dances at Open Prizewinner level.
	Preliminary Championships	To move up to Open Championships you must come 1st TWICE in a Preliminary Championship.
	Open Championships	The highest level.

 

 

Australia

Still trying to find out the requirements to move between grades in Australia. If you know please mail me here

	Novice	For dancers who have never competed before. You can only dance at this level for one feis
	Beginner
	Primary
	Elementary	Depends on the size of a feis whether this is included
	Intermediate
	Open

 

 

Age Groups

Dancers are also split into different age groups. The dancers age is taken as of 1st January of that year and most groups are 'under' a certain age.

For example the U9 age group would be for all dancers who were 8 on the first of January that year, even if they are now 9.

The youngest age group is usually U6 although some feiseanna have an U5 age group. The oldest age specific group tends to be between 17 and 20 for Championships with a Senior category for older dancers.

In large feiseanna competitions may be split between boys and girls (or men and ladies), others will be mixed.

 

 

More Information

Example

An example of a feis syllabus showing grades and age groups available for dancers to compete in