Available Classes
Wolf Pups / Beginners
Let The Journey Begin
One 45 Minute Class Per Week
Wolf Pups 6 and Under, and Beginner 7+ are all open to brand new beginners. No previous dance experience required. These dancers will have the opportunity to perform with Mactir at our St. Patrick's Day, and Irish Fair all-school performances.
Female dancers wear our Beginner Skirt/Cape.
Dancers are in this program for 1 year
Omega Program
Building The Foundation
One 60 Minute Class Per Week
You join the Omega program in your second year of dance. You continue to build on the fundamentals of Soft Shoe Dancing, but now you will learn Hard Shoe! Dancers must have completed a full year of the Mactir Beginner program to join the Omega Program. Dancers are required to perform at our Elementary School Outreach day, St. Patrick's Day Weekend, Open Streets and Irish Fair Weekend.
Female Dancers wear the Beginner Skirt/Cape
Dancers are in this Program 1-3 years
Beta Program
Skill and Technique Growth
Two 60 - 90 Minute Classes Per Week
The Beta Programs allows dancers more studio time each week to learn all 6 traditional steps, as well as 3 performance pieces per year. We incorporate a higher level of difficulty in the steps and skills learned in both hard shoe and soft shoe. Dancers are required to perform at our Elementary School Outreach day, St. Patrick's Day Weekend, Open Streets and Irish Fair Weekend. Many of these dancers also participate in our Competition Program which adds up to 2 extra classes per week for dancers that choose to further their competitive goals year-round.
Dancers wear our Team costume & Summer Costume
Dancers are in this Program 1-3 years
Alpha Program
Leading The Pack
Two 90 - 120 Minute Classes Per Week
These dancers have danced for several years and learn Prizewinner/championship level competition material as well as our largest performance pieces for St. Patrick's Day and Irish Fair. These dancers have opportunities to perform with International Musicians, and compete at a regional, national and international level if they choose to also do our competitive program. Dancers are required to perform at our Elementary School Outreach day, St. Patrick's Day Weekend, Open Streets and Irish Fair Weekend.
Dancers wear our Purple Team & Summer Costume
Dancers are in this Program until they retire
Adult Program
It’s Never Too Late To Try Something New
One 60 - 90 Minute Class Per Week
Mactir is home to 3 levels of Adult Classes (Ages 13 and up). Beginners go through one to two 8-week sessions to learn the fundamentals of soft shoe and hard shoe Irish dance. You will also learn individual and group choreography. There is no requirement to purchase shoes. You will learn both soft shoe and hard shoe steps. Once you have built the fundamentals and confidence, you have the option to join our year-round program in the Intermediate Adult class. These dancers will have the opportunity to perform with Mactir at our St. Patrick's Day, and Irish Fair all-school performances as well as volunteer performance and competition opportunities throughout the year. Dancers in this class learn Novice level competition material and 2 performance pieces per year. These dancers wear Team or Summer costumes. Our Advanced Adult program is open to adult dancers who have danced several years, or danced as a child/teenager and wish to return to dance without the commitment of our Alpha Program. These dancers learn Prizewinner/Championship level material as well as have additional performance opportunities with local and international bands.
These dancers wear Team or Summer costumes.
Additional Competitive Programs Offered
Competitive and Ceili Team Programs
Advanced Beginner Competition
One 60 Minute Class Per Week
This program is to built to supplement the OMEGA or BETA program for dancers that also choose to compete. We offer up to 6 local competitions throughout the year and many more across our region year-round. This allows dancer to continue to work on their competition material throughout the year and feel confident come competition day!
Dancers who compete Adv Beginner or Beginner II level at competition can join this class on a semi monthly basis. We will cover all 6 traditional dances in these classes.
Novice - Prizewinner Competition
One 90 Minute Class Per Week
This program is to built to supplement the BETA or ALPHA program for dancers that also choose to compete. As dancers move into these higher levels an increased level of preparation and training is required.
Dancers who compete Novice or Prizewinner level and are learning or compete slow hornpipes and treble jigs at competition can join this class on a weekly basis.
Competitive Ceili Teams
One 90 Minute Classes Per Week
(Sep-Nov) Plus Summer Workshops
Competitive Ceili teams are specifically for our Oireachtas and National competitions. Placement on the team is mainly determined by age and size limits due to commission rules.
Competitive Ceili dancers compete at our Regional Championships (Oireachtas) over Thanksgiving weekend each year. You will be invited to do ceili teams in the Spring following St. Patrick's Day and we will do a parent info meeting to answer all additional questions at the time.
Championship Competition
Two 90 Minute Classes Per Weeks
This program is to built to supplement the ALPHA program for dancers that also choose to compete. This is the highest level of competition and additional studio time is required to prepare for local and major competitions.
Dancers who have qualified to dance solos at Oireachtas, or compete at the Preliminary or Open Championship level may attend these weekly classes.
Mactir Competitive Program FAQs
Do you have to do the competitive program?
No this is a supplementary program to Alpha, Beta, Omega, and adult classes. This is recommended for any dancer that plans to compete at Adv Beg level or up. Will I still learn competitive material in regular classes? Yes, but likely not as many as there just isn't enough time to cover all of the material. The competitive classes will focus solely on competition steps throughout the entire year, whereas the regular classes will have times of more competition based dancing and times of more performance based dancing (i.e. leading up to a feis, or leading up to a performance) as it has in previous years.
Are the competitive classes open to the Adult Dancers?
Yes, the Intermediate and Advanced adults can also supplement their competitive material through the competitive classes. They are not based on age, but on competition level.
What if I compete at Adv Beginner and Novice levels?
You will have the option to take just the novice soft shoe class. You will only join the Novice/Prizewinner hard shoe class when you are ready to learn slow hornpipes and slow treble jigs. We will work on the traditional speed hard shoe in the advanced beginner competition classes, even if you are competing them at the Novice level.
How do I know which competitive class to sign my child up for?
Emily will make suggestions in registration for the competition classes they qualify for. Upon registration, look for the classes highlighted in blue.
