In addition to feiseanna, there are also Major competitions. The three commonly referred to Majors are:
1. Mid-America Oireachtas (Thanksgiving)
2. North American Irish Dance Championships (referred to as the Nationals) (4th of July)
3. World Championships (Easter time)
These majors rotate locations yearly. The 2020 Majors will be held in:
- World Championships will be held in Dublin, Ireland from April 5-12, 2020
- National Championships will be held in Nashville, Tennessee from July 2-6, 2020
- Midwest Oireachtas will be held in Schaumburg, Illinois from Nov 27-29, 2020
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas is a major competition which differs from a feis. It's not divided up into levels (beginner 1, beginner 2, novice....). Everyone from the same birth year competes together & the youngest age group is u8. The dancers are required to dance 3 steps of a light shoe & 3 steps of a hard shoe (reel vs slip jig & treble jig vs hornpipe depending on the age of your dancer). Your dancer will also need to know a set dance in case they make it to the recall round. After the light shoe & hard shoe rounds, the scores for each dancer are tabulated & the top 50% make the recall & dance their set.
In order to compete at the Majors, there are qualification requirements that your dancer must meet. The qualification period runs from October 1 through September 30 so qualifications for this year’s Oireachtas began last October and will continue until this September 30. In order to compete at the Oireachtas, the qualifications are as follows:
- Dancers u8, u9, u10: Teachers Discretion. We take many things into consideration - dancers must be in groups 2 or 3, they must attend class at least 2x per week in August and then 3x per week beginning in September each year (which includes attending the Oireachtas class) & they must be up for a challenge. Competing in solo's at the Oireachtas takes a lot of commitment & determination from the dancer & family.
- Dancers u11: Must be in Open Prizewinner & place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their Reel, Slip Jig, Treble Jig and Hornpipe during the qualification period OR they must have competed in u10 solo's at the Oireachtas & have gotten a recall. Dancers who are already in PC (Preliminary Championships) at this age must place in the top 50% at a competition during the qualification period.
- Dancers u12 &u13: Must be in Open Prizewinner & place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their Reel, Slip Jig, Treble Jig and Hornpipe during the qualification period. Dancers who are already in PC (Preliminary Championships) at this age must place in the top 50% at a competition during the qualification period.
- Dancers u14 & Older: Must be in PC & place in the top 50% at a competition during the qualification period.
- Once dancers are in Open Championships, they are automatically qualified to compete at the Oireachtas each year.
Please also note that the Dennehy teachers have the right to add more qualifications to this list.
Your dancer will need a solo costume & must be prepared to attend class at least 3x a week in order to be prepared for this level of competition. For those who aren't prepared to compete at this level yet or for those who don't meet the qualifications, there is a separate traditional set dance competition that is offered each year at the Oireachtas that your dancer can compete in. This is a nice opportunity for those dancers who are on a ceili team but not yet ready or qualified to do solo's.
As we mentioned earlier, each age group is assigned a certain set of dances they are required to compete with at the Oireachtas. The required dances by age group are as follows:
| Female |
|
| 1 | Ladies 22 & Over | 1995 or Earlier | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 2 | Ladies Under 22 | 1997/1996 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 3 | Ladies Under 20 | 1998 | HP, Reel and Set of Choice |
| 4 | Ladies Under 19 | 1999 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 5 | Girls Under 18 | 2000 | HP, Reel and Set of Choice |
| 6 | Girls Under 17 | 2001 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 7 | Girls Under 16 | 2002 | HP, Reel and Set of Choice |
| 8 | Girls Under 15 | 2003 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 9 | Girls Under 14 | 2004 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 10 | Girls Under 13 | 2005 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 11 | Girls Under 12 | 2006 | HP, Reel and Set of Choice |
| 12 | Girls Under 11 | 2007 | TJ, Slip Jig and Set of Choice |
| 13 | Girls Under 10 | 2008 | HP, Reel and Jig Set Dance |
| 14 | Girls Under 9 | 2009 | TJ, Reel and Traditional Set |
| 15 | Girls Under 8 | 2010 or Later | TJ, Reel and Traditional Set |
| Male |
|
| 16 | Men 20 & Over | 1997 or Earlier | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 17 | Men Under 20 | 1998 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 18 | Men Under 19 | 1999 | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 19 | Boys Under 18 | 2000 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 20 | Boys Under 17 | 2001 | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 21 | Boys Under 16 | 2002 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 22 | Boys Under 15 | 2003 | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 23 | Boys Under 14 | 2004 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 24 | Boys Under 13 | 2005 | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 25 | Boys Under 12 | 2006 | HP, Reel and set of Choice |
| 26 | Boys Under 11 | 2007 | TJ, Reel and set of Choice |
| 27 | Boys Under 10 | 2008 | HP, Reel and Jig Set Dance |
| 28 | Boys Under 9 | 2009 | TJ, Reel and Trad Set |
| 29 | Boys Under 8 | 2010 or later | TJ, Reel and Trad Set |
North American Irish Dance Championships (Nationals)
Similar to an Oireachtas, there are qualification rules that a dancer must achieve in order to compete at the North American Irish Dance Championships:
1. All Open Championship dancers are automatically qualified and may enter.
2. All dancers in the Under 10 age group and older who do not meet the above qualification must qualify at their Regional Oireachtas. The top ten dancers plus 25% of the competition (based on number of actual dancers, not entries) will qualify, subject to them achieving a recall.
3. Under 8 and Under 9 dancers will be entered at the discretion of their teacher.
- Recalled dancers from the previous year’s championship are NOT automatically qualified.
- Preliminary dancers who achieve their required first place wins by May 1st and opt to enter based on Rule 1 (above), must enter all future feiseanna as an Open Championship dancer.
World Irish Dancing Championships (Worlds)
In order to quality to compete at the Worlds, you must quality at your Regional or National Oireachtas. The number of qualifiers from the respective competitions at a Regional or National Oireachtas is as follows:
(a) For Senior Ladies and Senior Men competitions, the number of qualifiers is 7 where the number of competitors is twenty or less plus one additional qualifier for each five, or part of five in excess of the first twenty competitors (i.e. competition with 25 competitors - 8
qualifiers).
(b) For all remaining age groups, the number of qualifiers is 5 where the number of competitors is twenty or less plus one additional qualifier for each ten, or part of ten in excess of the first twenty competitors (i.e. competition with 125 competitors - 16 qualifiers).