Figures Classes at the Culkin School
At the Culkin School, we believe in teaching the basics properly and well in the early years of instruction – that is why we spend so much time in the first classes a dancer takes listening to the music, practicing turnout, etc. Good figures dancers do those basics well, so through our re-registration process we invite dancers who have had at least one full year, and sometimes two, of Irish dance experience to participate in the Figures program.
The Figures program at the Culkin School is intended to supplement the solo program. In other words, the figures class would be the second class of the week for the dancer. However, if a dancer has been with the Culkin School for at least two years, they can opt to take only the figures class.
Read more after the jump....
Do Figures dancers compete?
Yes, they can. In fact in the last few years the Culkin School has sent figures teams to many local competitions (feisanna), to our Regional Championship (Oireachtas), to the All Irelands and even to the World Championships! However, just like our solo classes, dancers who enroll in a figures class will not be required to compete.
Are all three Figures classes on the schedule the same?
Figures competitions are organized by age category as well as by dance (e.g. 2-hand competitions for Under 12). For the most part, we have tried to group dancers of the same age category in the same class so that if they want to compete, possible partners will be in their same class. However, for some dancers, their solo class schedule was such that the age-appropriate figures class might be inconvenient or even impossible, so we gave them more than one figures class option.
How would Figures classes benefit my dancer?
Dancing figures can be a lot of fun! It gives our dancers an opportunity to learn new material, and to meet new kids! For some of our dancers, dancing figures might offer them their only opportunity to dance at a Major Competition! Knowing more choreographed material makes dancing at performances more fun. And for some kids, it is just a good fit! While many dancers can do both solo and figures dances well, some dancers are just naturally better at solos, and others are better at figures.
If you have any additional questions about the Figures Classes, please contact your instructor directly. A copy of this information is also available in the Culkin School Yahoo! Group files page (you will need to log in) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/culkinschool/files/ (Figures_Classes_at_the_Culkin_School.pdf )
