Hi, all! I'm reposting this message from ages ago, as I'd love to know more about An Comhdhail. It was my understanding that there was more focus on Irish dance show dancers there... is that still the case?

The following was a response to some questions I asked Olive Hurley, and if you haven't yet seen the really great interview with have with her, check out:

http://www.celticcafe.com/Dance/olivehurley/

There are even some great photos of Riverdance dancers on her latest video. Thanks again go to Annie of Dublin for the interview, and Zina Lee for the web design. :-)

--- In CelticCafeDANCERS@y..., bernadette@c... wrote:
An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission) is the
governing body of Irish Dancing.   30 years ago, a group of teachers,
very well known at the time, decided to break away from the
Commission and start their own organisation.   This they did and
called themselves" AN COMHDHAIL"  They became a very successful
enterprise and are a strong body to-day. Other teachers broke away
from this body and so "splinter" groups formed from the COMHDHAIL.  
These groups are now successful also.

The Commission are responsible for the running of what is known in
Irish as "Oireachtaisi"! which includes "Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne"
(The World Irish Dancing Championships) and "Oireachtas Rince na
hEireann (The All Ireland Championships)   They have a constitution
of rules which the different regions follow all over the world.  
These include, the running of examinations for potential teachers and
adjudicators.   Each area in turn, be it in America, New Zealand,
Australia, etc, etc,
run their own events under the auspices of the Commission.  In other
words, If a feis organiser decided to run a feis in his or her area,
they must apply to the Commission to do so.   But the organisers of
events etc in different Countries have their own Presidents,
Committees etc, and are allowed to control their regions, be it the
East coast, the West coast etc.   But always within the rules of the
Commission.

The Comhdhail, C.R.N. and other splinter groups  in turn do exactly
the same thing.  They are of course, no longer under the rules of the
Commission.   They stand on their own and adhere to their own
constitution of rules.

Each organisation sets out their examination papers for potential
teachers/adjudicators to sit and they are held in Countries all over
the World.

I hope this explanation helps clear up any confusion regarding
feiseanna.   Incidentally, for those of you who are unsure of what
a "Feis" is?   It is competitions held for "Solo" dancing, "Ceili"
dancing and "Figure" dancing.   It is the greatest challenge for a
dancer, be it Beginners, Primary, Intermediate or "Open" (the
highest) level.   Once a dancer achieves Open level, well then they
are on the road to success.   The "World" Championships is the next
step and in order to dance at the World, each Solo dancer must
qualify in their region or area before competing at the this most
prestigious event.   The "Ceili" teams need only dance in their
Regional Oireachtas in order to dance at the World, but no teacher
would enter a team in their region, unless they were of the highest
standard.   "Phew"

Also, as a footnote, Colin Dunne IS a qualified teacher of Irish
Dancing.   A "T.C.R.G"  is the official title.

Best wishes,

Olive Hurley. T.C.R.G. /  A.D.C.R.G.