For people who have danced in one school their whole life, they may be unaware of the differences that exist between organisations in the Irish dancing world. Irish Dance Globe editor Hollie Geraghty discusses her own experience of making a move in the later stages of her dance career.
Making a change at any stage in your life is difficult. Whether it’s moving house, changing schools, or going to university, taking a leap into the unknown and stepping outside of your comfort zone is daunting no matter your age or who you are.
For me the decision to move to An Coimisiún came when I was 22. It’s an age where many dancers would be considering retirement from competition and maybe thinking about doing their TCRG exam. But as someone who came into the competitive game relatively late compared to most, I felt like at 22 I had a few more years left in me.
I had always admired An Coimisiún as an organisation from afar. I had been to watch the World Championships in London in 2014 and also attended the Great Britains a few times just for the sheer enjoyment of watching hours upon hours of world class dancing. It’s no secret that Coimisiún operates on a much larger scale than Chomhdháil . The competitor numbers across individual age groups can exceed 250, while international ‘majors’ are held all year round across the world. Literally all over, from Ireland to Australia, Scotland to South Africa, England to Taiwan. Whereas in Chomhdháil it is mostly limited to the UK and Ireland, though it is expanding across America and other parts of the world now. The excitement of watching CLRG competitions from the sidelines both in person and on social media was enough to keep me going for a while, but eventually I wanted to be a part of it.
When I finally made the decision for one last push and to try CLRG in August 2018, it was undoubtedly one of the most daunting things I have ever done.
From the day I attended my first class a reality became evident to me that I had known for a while; choreography in CLRG is a different degree of complexity and difficulty. I found myself spending so much time just trying to learn moves and steps which I had never danced in my life but were a staple part of the choreography in my class. I’ve never been the fastest at picking up steps, so this was a huge mental challenge. It really was like going back to square one and learning to dance all over again.
In a similar way, the movements in CLRG tend to be bigger in every way, whether that’s the exaggeration of a movement, the turnout of your feet or the crossing at your knees. I was trying to rewire my brain and force my legs into positions they were not used to. On reflection, the first few months at my new school did feel like I was broken down to be built back up again. There will always be new things to adapt to when anyone moves dance school, but moving between organisations felt like a much bigger challenge.
Undoubtedly one of the biggest differences I discovered between the organisations was the competition calendar year. As a Chomhdháil dancer in England there was one ‘local’ feis a month, a regional qualifier once a year, the World Championships every Easter, and weekend feis’ in Scotland or Ireland if you wanted to travel. This meant that the intensity of training would obviously be increased in the lead up to the qualifying and the Worlds.
But in CLRG, you are required to pretty much be somewhere near the top of your game almost all year round. After my six month ban and my preparation for feising started again, I did my first feis out in April 2018, and I should mention I of course found myself dancing with the incredible World Champion Jess Hindley. Baptism by fire eh? After that I trained for the British Nationals in July. Following a short summer break I started back in August, working for the All Scotlands in October and the Southern England Regional Oireachtas in November. After that I was training for the All Irelands and the Worlds, before Covid-19 brought everything to an abrupt halt. I also hoped to do the American Nationals in July. And this is all with an abundance of feis’ going on all over the UK every weekend, sometimes doing two in one weekend (there’s a weekend my feet won’t forget).
Training at the intensity we did for so many months, with so many big competitions to work for was completely alien to me. I had to become comfortable with my body crying out for a break but continue pushing on for months on end.
“I will never take for granted just how much of a privilege it is to even get to go to the Worlds”
Another huge change in the competition experience for me was the need to qualify for the World Championships. In Chomhdháil, if you dance at your regional qualifier at championship level, that bags you a spot at the World Championships. But in CLRG you must be in the top percentage of your competition to earn the coveted world qualifier label. The fear of something going wrong on the day or not performing my best caused a lot of stress in the weeks leading up to it which I had to learn to manage. But the day I performed at the qualifiers and saw my name on screen in the yellow box which guaranteed you a spot at the World Championships was an exhilarating feeling I will never forget. I will never take for granted just how much of a privilege it is to even get to go to the Worlds, because that spot isn’t a guarantee.
And at the same time, as well as there being a number of short and long term goals to work for, I had to become comfortable with the sheer volume of practise. My class schedule jumped from two to three 2ish hour classes a week, to three 3–4 hour classes, as well as an all day workshop every Sunday in the lead up to big competitions. I couldn’t believe how much time was spent at class, along with finding the time for your own practise. But it quickly became clear to me how CLRG dancers manage their fitness and technique to such a high standard all year round.
And it goes without saying that of course with every extra class, every extra competition, comes more travel costs, flights, hotels, extra wigs, extra sprays, tape, make up. Coimisiún is significantly more expensive than Chomhdháil. Let’s just say my first full time job coincided with my moving to CLRG at a very good time.
And with this big and exciting journey comes a need for acceptance that your result expectations will change. At least that was the case for me. CLRG competitions see a much larger entry of dancers and all compete at an incredibly high standard. Dancing my first CLRG All Irelands in February was an experience I will never forget. The standard of every dancer in my age group blew me away — truly some of the best dancing in the world. It’s a daunting experience stepping out with that calibre of dancers, and as a result I invested a lot more time into mental training and exercises as well to keep that doubting voice out of my head.
“You often hear in sport about how if you try your best, work hard and improve then the result doesn’t matter.”
But as I saw myself improve as a dancer over a number of months, results became increasingly less important to me. You often hear in sport about how if you try your best, work hard and improve then the result doesn’t matter. I always found this hard to believe and it never really rang true to me. But as I really saw myself grow and improve as a dancer and learned to dance in a way I never thought I could, for the first time in my life I realised and truly believed that the best results happen in class on the playing field between your ears.
Change is scary, and there are a lot of times in life when we will feel out of our depth. But it’s having the courage to pursue the things you want and be willing to stumble, embarrass yourself, and fail a few times along the way that really matters.
“At the end of the day, we are all just Irish dancers”
While there are many differences between An Chomhdháil and An Coimisiún, at the end of the day we are all just Irish dancers. When you talk to your non dancing friends there is no Chomhdháil and Coimisiún, only Irish dancing. I have learned a lot in both organisations and both have been vital in my dance journey, which hasn’t always been a straight road. But the most important thing is making the choice which is best for you, and it has worked out that for me, at this particular point on my journey, CLRG was the change I needed.
