Irish Dancing in the Middle East?
So what is Irish Dancing like in the UAE and Oman?
Yes, we have air conditioning! With temperatures in the summer sometimes reaching 50oC we couldn’t dance without it. Thankfully the temperatures usually drop to the mid-high 20’s during March so we can do our St. Patrick’s Day performances outdoors.
One of the main challenges of doing Irish dancing in the Middle East is the isolation from the rest of the Irish Dance world. We’re not (yet) part of any of the geographically organised regions recognised by An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG). The closest region to us is Mainland Europe which is a flight of just over 6 hours away... that’s a long way to travel to get to a Feis!
That said, we do have some dedicated travelers. Also, most of the dancers here have roots in countries such as Ireland, England, Scotland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and many others, so they are able to participate in feises while visiting “home” whenever dates coincide.
To keep ourselves motivated we hold Grade Examinations through the CLRG approximately once a year. Some of our dancers have reached as high as grade 10 (out of 12). We also do regular shows, especially around mid-March, which of course is St. Patrick’s Day (March 17).
