DD wants to start Irish dancing. Advice please.

Christmasshopper

My 8 year old daughter seems to have a natural musical streak. She has been playing Samba drums for over two years now and is very keen.
Recently she has been asking if she can start doing Irish dancing lessons as well. One of her friends already does it and the friend has been teaching my daughter some of the steps. She does seem very keen and I like to encourage her. However I am worried about the costs of the Irish dancing costumes and accessories. I have had a little look on ebay tonight, and even the secondhand ones are scary prices. Can anyone give me some advice please?

Gingernutmeg

I would think that it wouldn't need to be *that* expensive a hobby - I'd imagine that the major expenses kick in when it come to entering competitions and festivals, rather than just taking the classes. You don't need the full dress etc for the classes, although the shoes - hard ones especially - can be costly. Maybe you could explain to your daughter that while getting involved is ok at the moment, the cost of the equipment for competitions might mean that entering those might not be possible currently ... Before you say yes, it might be worthwhile having a word with the teacher, and find out what the school's policy is on competitions - some places really push it, others don't. If the cost of that is really worrying you, then it might be a good idea to look around for a school where competition entry isn't such a goal. However, if your daughter is a complete beginner then I'd imagine that it might be a while before she enters anything, and we all know how children can change their minds about things!!

However, maybe if your daughter gets involved then you'd be able to pick up costumes etc from other girls in the class, or through the class 'grapevine' - I'd think that at the early stages having a cheaper costume wouldn't really make that much difference. There are also loads of patterns available from dance suppliers. You need to be fairly 'crafty', but I'd imagine you could make massive savings by doing it yourself - or maybe there's a willing granny somewhere!

Christmasshopper

My daughter is going to go to her first official lesson tonight. She went last Friday to watch her friend and the teacher let her join in. Tonight I am going to let her go and pay for the lessons. She will have to go in her denim skirt and a top, and wear her school plimsols. I have told her that if she goes for a month and still enjoys it, then I will see about buying the proper shoes, then if she gets really good at it we will look for a dress too. She is satisfied with that because she is confident enough to know that she will soon be good enough for the dress :rolleyes:

Tinuviel

Hi.
I work with people whose children attend Irish dancing and get the impression that it becomes expensive once competitions start. But if your DD wants to have some fun she could visit: https://www.idanceirish.com and click to Keeva's catwalk where she can dress Keeva up in dance costumes etc. They also sell dance gear and second hand competition dresses but I dont know if they are any cheaper.

kjl26

Hi,
I used to do Irish dancing and agree that the expenses come when you want to enter competitions etc. However the people who taught me would enter people from our 'dance school' (it was much less formal than that sounds!) in groups, or at least several at a time, and so they had a stock of costumes.

For competitions/shows I always borrowed one either from them or from an Irish friend in the class whose three sisters all danced/had danced and so they had all sorts, and her mum would nip and tuck them if necessary. I only ever owned the soft shoes, which weren't too expensive (never got good enough to be allowed the hard shoes..........:rolleyes: ), and I did it for quite a few years.
Katie

sheryldoc

I used to do irish dancing aswell.. and if you enter comps etc then yes the costs will add up and it does infact become very expensive.. dresses, wigs, shoes..

But it was so worth it for me anyways (prob cos I wasnt the one paying!)

I would speak to the teacher.. and she will give you a much better idea.

Also theer will be others in her class who will have grown out their dresses... we used to buy within our dance class quite alot and it worked out much cheaper.

Madmel

My kids do ballet and tap dancing lessons, but their teacher also teaches Irish. I would echo what others have said in that our teacher sells on shoes, costumes etc. Parents get something back on them, and it's recycling at its best.

Another thing to consider is the cost of the lessons. I teach music and double bass, and I charge only for the lessons the kids have. I have to pay upfront for my girls' music lessons, but their teachers will always make up missed lessons. For their dancing, they pay week by week, which is brilliant if we can't make it for any reason, but some schools insist on you paying for a term upfront, which I think is unfair if your DD isn't sure if she will like it (but yours sounds like she'll love it )