17/01/2026
Couldn’t agree more
One of the biggest mistakes I see Irish dancers make is thinking that “fancier steps” are the missing link to them doing well in competition when in reality, they are getting marked down for the same basic technique areas.
Here’s why this can be an issue...
Clean well-executed steps will always beat slightly sloppy complicated steps.
I’ve never heard a judge say or read a judge’s comment that said something along the lines of “𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴.”
Meanwhile, I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard or read judges comments about a dancer needing to work on their “𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮, 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘵𝘤.”
Think about your own comments...How many times have you seen “needs fancier steps” written down?
Maybe one person out there got that comment once? But I guarantee it’s few and far between.
Often when dancers think they need fancier moves or steps, it can actually be that they need to make the moves in their current steps BIGGER.
A simple move that is done BIG looks way “fancier” than a simple move done small.
Think about a birdie.
A birdie with the front leg lifted up quickly above parallel and super straight, while the back leg is snapped up hard looks completely different than a birdie that just barely gets off the ground.
My point?
Instead of spending all of your time wishing you had fancier steps and blaming your steps for why you aren’t doing well, focus on mastering your basic dance technique.
You got this! 💪💕💫
