GREAT LAKES
FEIS
What is a “Feis”?
General
The word "Feis" (pronounced “fesh”)
comes from a Gaelic word meaning "festival". Over the years, the FEIS has become just a
dance competition, however, many feises, such as the Great Lakes Feis, are
trying to return to their roots and include more of the festival
activities. That is why many feises,
including the Great Lakes Feis, are not competitions for dancing, but also
music, art, and baking. Make sure to see
all of these! Home
Admission and registration
When you come to the Lansing Center, you will
need to purchase an admission bracelet for all the non-competing members of
your group over the age of 16. These
cost $7 a piece, and are sold by the Lansing Center ticket booth. Next, the competitors go to the registration
table which is set up in the main hallway area.
The lines are set up by last name.
Competitors will receive an index card, a stage assignment list, and a
program. Once they have this, they
should move away from the registration area to let others pick up their material.
At this point you want to read the index
card. The front is the competitor’s
number (or dancer number), and the back lists all registered dance competitions
and corresponding stage assignments. If everything is correct, proceed to the
dance hall.
Set up camp
In the dance hall you will notice all the
“stages” and vendors. Between them is a
lot of empty room. You are welcomed
(encouraged) to bring a picnic blanket and comfortable folding chairs to set up
as your “camp” in this empty area. When
feising, you spend a bit of time waiting between competitions, so camping makes
the experience much more pleasant.
Please note that some areas are marked off with tape as “walking”
passages and these must be kept clear at all times. If possible, try to camp near the stage where
your dancer is competing.
Get your bearings
After settling in, you will want to read the
stage assignment list and figure out when exactly your competitor is actually
competing. During the day competitions
may be moved to different stages to move things along. So it is very important to listen carefully
to the announcements during the day.
Also, some of these competitions have only a few competitors and so
finish quickly - so it is also important to keep track of what competition is
running on each stage. To help you keep
track each stage will have two signs: “Now” and “Next”. This shows you what competition is on stage
now, and which will come up next.
Get ready!
Before getting started, make sure you are
ready to compete. Check your shoes - are
they tied neatly and tightly (you don’t want your laces to come undone!), check
your costume, girls: make sure your wig is on tight. Finally, make sure your index card is
attached to your costume. At the
registration tables, they have string and pins for you to attach the cards if
you forgot yours. Make sure the card is
at your waist, in front, and is clearly visible. The vendors sell plastic holders for the
cards - these help to keep the card neat while you wear it all day, because you
will need your card to claim your medals and ribbons!
Get set!
As soon as your competition is marked on the
“Next” sign, the competitors needs to go up to the stage monitor and check
in. Get in line (don’t push or crowd the
stage monitor), present your card, and once the monitor has check-marked your
number, they will ask you to sit with all the other competitors for that dance.
Be sure that when you sit down after check-in, you are not sitting next to
someone from your dance school. It makes
it easier to hide your mistakes if you are slightly off. It also doesn’t show off the fact that you
may not kick as high as your friend!
Please do not try to check in before your
competition is marked on the “Next” sign.
Also, don’t wait to the last minute to check in, because once a
competition has started, you will no longer be allowed to participate. The stage monitors will not wait for
stragglers - so get to your stage on time!
Go!
Then the competition begins: all the dancers line up at the back of the
stage, and face the judge. Either the
judge or the stage monitor will let you know whether you are dancing two or
three dancers at a time. Once the music
starts, the first dancers will move forward and begin dancing (in groups of 2
or 3 depending on the instructions). You
are required to dance two steps - each on the right and left foot. Because everyone is from different schools,
you will all be dancing different steps - but you will all be doing the same
type of dance.
Parents:
If something happens and you think the judge or musician should be
notified, please DO NOT TALK TO THE JUDGE OR MUSICIAN. Just go up to the stage monitor - only the stage
monitor is allowed to talk to the judge and musician. Also, avoid talking or signaling your child
while they are on stage – they are nervous enough – they need to focus on what
they are doing!
After completing your two steps, it is polite
to bow to the judge and then to the musician, and then quickly get back in line
at the back of the stage. You then just
stand there until all the dancers in your competition have performed. After the last dancer is done, everyone
should remain in line, until the judge dismisses you. Everyone bows together one last time to the
judge, and then the stage monitor will tell you which way to walk off the stage
and you can return to your parents.
Checking results
Now the exciting part begins. In the dance hall, there is an area marked
“Results”. There will be a lot of posters
on the wall, and on the left side of each poster will be listed all the
competitions of the day. About 30
minutes after your competition is done, someone will write the dance numbers of
the winners on the poster. They can mark
up to 5 places, and often there are many ties.
Only the dancer number will be marked (no names). If you see your number marked on the poster,
you have won!
Picking up awards
You then want to go to the “Awards” area in
the main hallway and pick up your medal.
Stand in line. The person will
ask what competition you medaled in. Give them the dance competition number
(i.e. 5R), present your dancer number, and they will find the results sheet and
ask you to sign it. Then they give you
your medal!
Individual scores and judges comments
If you want to know more about how you did,
you can also purchase your individual results.
Near the same area, there will be someone with a computer and printer,
and they can printout your personal results for $3. These will include the score the judge gave
you, any comments the judge made about your performance, and the top five
scores and winners in your competition.
Since you have to pay each time you get a printout, it is best to do
this at the end of the day. That way you
will get all your results for all your competitions, on one sheet for the same
one fee of $3. The person will also be
able to tell you before you buy your results whether all your results have come
in.
Engraving medals
Among the vendors, an engraver is present to
engrave your medal(s) with your name, event, and date. They also have nice trophy stands to hang all
your medals on. Other vendors sell all
sorts of goods to make dancing and feising easier. You can find shoes, socks, sock glue, hair
nets, wigs. And to remember your feising
experience, t-shirts will be sold that can also be personalized.
End of the day
As soon as you are done with all your
competitions you can go home. Don’t
forget to get all your stuff! And if you
can, wait to see your last results - you just may have won one more medal!
Above
all, remember to have fun!