I'm part of an Irish dance team. We have performances and also competitions where we compete against other teams, which could be from the same city, the same state, or other states.

Some general information.

For our dances, we use 2 types of shoes:

Soft shoes are called Gillies or pumps, and hard shoes. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, except that the tips and heels are made of fiberglass instead of metal, and are significantly bulkier.

The dance competition is referred to as a feis (pronounced "fesh"), which means "festival" in Irish. The dress for competitions in the past was simply "Sunday best" (clothes one would wear to church). Irish Dance schools generally have school dresses, worn by lower-level competitors and in public performances.

As dancers advance in competition or are given starring roles in public performances, they may get a solo dress of their own design and colors or wear the team dress. Solo dresses are unique to each dancer. Today, most women and girls wear a wig, a bun, or a hairpiece for a competition, but some still curl their own hair. Costumes are heavily integrated into the Irish dance culture and feature traditional elements of classic peasant wear adorned with Celtic designs.