I'm thinking of signing my daughter up for Irish dancing lessons. Do any of you have daughters who take lessons? Do they like it? I'm thinking that it will be less expensive overall than any other dancing classes (ballet, tap, etc.) But those beaded dancing dresses are unbelievable, and what's with the curly wigs the girls wear?

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I don't have experience buy my friends dd did it for years. She never wore any type of wig though. I just remember her mom saying that they spent a lot on shoes because they didn't want you to buy them big so they could grow into them. They had to really fit so she was buying new ones or trading with other moms all the time. Her dd never wanted to do any of the shows so she didn't have to buy the dresses.

My daughter has been taking Irish step dancing for 3 years. She loves it. You don't buy the solo competition dresses until you are at the "Prizewinner" status around here. There are different stages, and you need to have come in 1st place in the "Novice" stage to achieve "Prizewinner." You'd be in the school dress for several years working on achieving that status, though. Many girls don't even stick with Irish Step dancing that long, so it depends on how commited and "long term" your daughter is. Of course, if you wanted to, you could probably buy the dress without being at that level, but most people don't.

The wigs are probably on their way out - they started when "Riverdance" made bouncy curly hair popular. Right now, curly wigs are part of the whole competition/dress thing. But Riverdance has now moved away from the curly hair, so I think regular Irish step dancing competition costume/hair styles will probably follow suit.

The dresses usually are not beaded - they actually have intricate embroidery - usually a Celtic design, or a school design, or something specific to the dancer, once they get their solo dresses. Solo dresses can cost thousands of dollars, but they don't have to (used dresses bought at different dance shows, as well as eBay, offer dresses for less money). Again, that is way down the line - if your daughter is really into it for the long haul...

My daughter doesn't wear a wig. She has very curly hair, though. Other girls whose parents don't want to go the wig route do a lot of curling with rollers and curling irons, and lots of hair spray/gel/styling creme.

__________________
"The errors of faith are better than the best thoughts of unbelief." - Thomas Russell

My niece did it. It was very expensive, but she was into the whole competition thing. Her mom was always driving her to all these competitions, buying the expensive outfits, the wig, and so on. I thought it was crazy, but then again, I wasn't paying for it all so I kept my mouth shut.