Irish Dancing in Dubai?
So what is Irish Dancing in Dubai like?
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 Dubai is the isolation from the rest of the Irish Dance world. We’re a relatively new setup in Dubai so 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 9. We also do regular shows, especially around mid-March, which of course is St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). One of our regular performances is a show on the weekend closest to St. Pat’s Day at the Irish Village, an Irish Pub in Garhoud, Dubai.
