Here are a few links and contacts related to Irish Dancing and dance supplies. This list is short and sweet; there are many more resources available, but these are ones with which we have had positive experiences.

Shoes: Local Retailers

You can find jazz shoes for men and women as well as dance sneakers at these local stores.  Plan ahead though, since you may need to have them special order your size.

Sandy's Dance Wear Too

(NW corner of Parker & Independence Pkwy) 3115 W Parker Rd # 190
Plano, TX 75023
214-473-6600

Sandy's DanceXpress

2211 Gus Thomasson Road
Dallas, TX 75228
800-700-1764
http://www.sandysdancexpress.com/

Dallas Dancewear and Activewear

Grapevine Mills Mall
3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway
Grapevine, TX 76051

Shoes: Ghillies, Jig, and Reel

Quite a few places offer the ladies' soft shoes or "ghillies" on the Internet.  If you want to buy them locally, you have to catch a feis or maybe the North Texas Irish Festival in March.

Hullachan makes a unique style of soft shoe for ladies that provides good cushioning IF you can find the right fit.

Hullachan Pro North America    http://www.hullachanpro.com/

Fays Irish Dancing Shoes    http://www.fayshoes.com/

Rutherford Products    http://www.rutherfordshoes.com/

Antonio Pacelli    http://www.antoniopacelli.com/

Shoes: Resale

To buy used hard or soft shoes at a price break or to sell a pair that didn't quite work for you, try these folks.
Second Chance Dancewear    http://www.2ndchancedance.com/

Instructional Books and Videos

Ár Rinci Fóirne

The Irish céilí dancer's bible, this is the official book teachers must memorize for TCRG and TMRF certification. It describes 30 figure dances, from 4 to 16 people per set. Be warned that attempting to learn dances from this book alone could be a tad frustrating. Take a class, go to a céilí, and buy Dancing at the Crossroads (below) to accompany and clarify the words.

Celti Cottage    Ossian USA    Glenn's music

 

Westley School of Irish Dancing

The "little red book" offers two-hand dances and other fun ones not listed in Ár Rinci Fóirne, although there is some overlap. It also includes waltzes and a several set dances.

Lark in the Morning

 

Toss the Feathers by Pat Murphy

A must-have for those of us living too far from County Clare to dance at Vaughan's Barn regularly, this book details many set dances from all over Ireland.

Amazon

 

Dancing at the Crossroads

If you are looking to learn the 30 céilí dances from Ár Rinci Fóirne, this is the video for you.  It features an excellent band and several dancers from Riverdance performing all the dances.  You can order it from www.celticottage.com. Note that the best way to learn these dances is to read the description from the book (Ár Rinci Fóirne), and turn to the video when the text makes you wish for an illustration.

 

Faoi Do Chois

This video (DVD) teaches four set dances by showing the footwork followed by context within a set. It comes with a CD and written descriptions, which makes for a nicely rounded set of materials. For more information, see this review.

Faoi Do Chois c/o Willowbrook
Galroostown, Termonfechin
Co. Louth
Ireland.
Ph. 041 9881764
email: faoidochois@eircom.net
Cost as of this writing was USA & Canada us$44.00 ($40.00 + $4.00 p+p)

 

Irish Dance Wiki

The Irish Dance Wiki aims to become for Irish Dancing what Wikipedia is to general information.  Everyone is welcome to contribute and fill out information on schools, dancing venues, stores, books, videos, etc as they're related to Irish dancing.

 

Last updated: October 1, 2007