2023-2024 Irish Classes Info

Advanced Irish Classes

Students in Advanced Irish Classes are required to take one hour of light shoe and one hour of heavy shoe. Students will need both shoes and specific brands are required, see below. Dancers will prepare a Recital dance for their Light Shoe Class as well as a Recital dance for their Heavy Shoe Class, so there will be two Recital costumes required of students in Advanced Irish Classes.

Irish 1 Class

Irish 1 Classes are appropriate for brand new students ages 5 and up, as well as returning or continuing students who are working on learning all 8 of what we call our "Level 1" dances. Irish 1 students will be required to have Irish light shoes and a specific brand is required, see below. Students will not be required to have Irish heavy shoes, but students will learn heavy shoe basics, so students are welcome to purchase Irish heavy shoes (see required brands below) if they would like to have them to use in class. Irish 1 students will prepare one Light Shoe Recital dance and will need just one Recital costume for that.

No Shoes Required to Start: All new students are welcome to do their first month of classes in socks or non-Irish dance shoes. This will give you time to try out a class and see which shoe type you want to focus on first, and then we can get you set up with the Irish shoes as you go into your second month. If you want to get the Irish shoes right away, though, awesome! Check with us to see if we have a pair in your size first. If not, you can order online.

Our Used Shoe Bin: Please have your dancer bring in any old Irish dance shoes that they have outgrown, and we will add them to our Used Shoe Bin with your name and price. We can advise a price if you are unsure. We will do sizing the first few weeks of classes, and if we have a size that fits your dancer, we will let you know the price of the used shoes so that you can send your dancer with cash to their next class. We will then make sure that cash gets to the selling family and that then the shoes go home with your dancer. If we don’t have your dancer’s size in stock, we will have you order shoes online. We have certain styles/brands of shoes that we require for our dancers.

How to Order Irish Light Shoes & Socks Online: There are a few acceptable light shoes that you can choose from. They should all have a brown leather sole (not a black bottom). 

Pacelli's “Loop” (brown sole) OR Pacelli’s “Gazelle” (brown sole) OR Rutherford’s Leather Sole If purchasing any of these three styles from those links, you can use code “OIDA” at checkout for a discount. That seller is located in Montana, which makes the delivery much faster. If you have any questions about sizing or stock when ordering, contact the seller directly (not us) for any sizing/stock questions, as she’s the sizing expert and in charge of her stock. Her name is Cara, and you can contact her here. She is very helpful and will sort you out straightaway! 

 The “Goleen Loop Irish Dancing Pump” (also has a brown sole) from this website is also an acceptable light shoe option, so you can purchase that if you like.

White Bubble Socks: We don’t require that our dancers have white bubble socks, but if your dancer wants some, the brands we require are Antonio Pacelli Ultra Low or Feis Mates Ultra Low. These are sold by the same seller as the three light shoes above, so you can use code “OIDA” for a discount, and contact the seller directly (not us) for any sizing/stock questions, as she’s the sizing expert and in charge of her stock. Her name is Cara, and you can contact her here. She is very helpful and will sort you out straightaway! 

How to Order Irish Heavy Shoes Online: We require the Goleen Feather Flexi jig shoe. You can order it from this website. Should one of their adult sizes be out of stock, you can try to order from this website instead. Make sure to double check your shoe size, as sometimes they are listed in Irish sizes, not US sizes. 

Potentially Long Shipping Times: Always order sooner rather than later as the light shoes and heavy shoes both originate in Ireland, so shipping times may be long in general. The light shoe seller from above, Cara, is based in Montana, though, so if she has your size on hand, shipping may be quick. 

Shoe Laces: Sometimes a shoe lace wears out and breaks. Click here for light shoe laces, here for heavy shoe laces, and use discount code OIDA. Some dancers like to have these in their bag so they’re prepared.