Celebrating Ireland

Top Global Suppliers for Irish Dancing Shoes

The Irish dance history started when the Celts arrived in Ireland from Central Europe over 2000 years ago. They brought individual dance and music styles with them. Irish dancing is known as all over the world and the most famous being the Riverdance. All Irish dancers from beginners, intermediates to professional dancers need Irish dancing shoes. Irish dancing shoes are made and shipped worldwide. There are different types of dancing shoes these include jig shoes and soft shoes. So, let’s look at the top global suppliers for Irish dancing shoes.

Irish Dancing Shoes

Irish Dancing Shoes are the leading Irish dancing shoe retailer in Ireland. The company caters to all dancers from beginners, intermediate, and advanced dancers. They offer a range of dancing shoes from jig shoes, soft shoes, and dancing accessories. If you are looking for quality dance footwear, first class customer service, and value for money then look no further than Irish Dancing shoes. Their range of accessories includes jig laces, square buckles, shamrock buckles, poodle sox, and ankle straps. You won’t find better Irish dancing shoes anywhere else.
ids

Dance World

Dance World is one of the leading retail dance brands in Europe with over 45 years of dedication and experience in the dance community. Dance world is the leading destination of choice for performers and dancers in Ireland and globally. Dance world has a variety of different shoes available in different sizes and brands some including Inishfree, Goleen, and many more. The level of experience and customer service is second to none.

Boyne Walk

Boyne Walk has been producing high-quality Irish dancing footwear and accessories for over 40 years in Ireland. All dancing shoes are produced with the best materials, skilled workmanship, and very competitive prices. Boyne Walk offers an extensive range of shoes suited to everyone’s needs. Their Hard shoes collection includes super storm, storm, white super storm, all black, and custom tempest. The soft shoe collection includes reel comfort, reel comfort split, all black, Ava, and Aoife. They offer many dancing shoe accessories these include ankle straps, jig laces, pump laces, wax shoe polish, square buckles, and much more.

Dimensions dance

Dimensions dance is a family run business based in Dublin that caters to all dancers and performers needs no matter what skill level and age. The company prides themselves on unmatchable customer service and extensive knowledge in the world of dance. Dimensions dance provide top-quality dancing shoes and dancewear with an amazing customer service. Dimensions can take care of all your dancing needs. They offer a wide range of Irish dancing footwear which includes soft and hard shoes. Hard shoe products include flexi pro, boys reel shoe, and hallmore super lite pro. Soft shoes include Aoife pomp, hullachan pro 1, and Inishfree beginner soft shoe. Packages are shipped worldwide via courier.

Fays Shoes

Fay’s shoes were established in 1980 and all their dancing shoes are handmade by craftsman in their workshop in Dublin, Ireland. With many years of experience in the manufacturing of Irish dancing footwear, the shoe range is customised to provide durability, maximise your potential with various degrees of flexibility and support required allowing you to concentrate thoroughly on your dancing. Their hard jig shoes are made of 100% calf leather. The soft leather gives amazing flexibility which is essential for every dancer and unique advantage. All dancing shoes are shipped worldwide.

Dance City

Dance City is the dancewear specialists based in Limerick, Ireland. Your one-stop shop for all dancers dancing shoes and dancewear. Dance city is in business 21 years, so you are guaranteed professional customer service and top-quality Irish dancing shoes. The company has grown to be the top suppliers online and in store for footwear and dancewear used by champions, beginners, amateurs, and professionals from across the globe. Their shoe range includes jig shoes, soft pumps, and boys reel. A wide range of brands is available including Antonio Pacelli, Aoife pump, Boyne walk, Fays ultra Flexi black jig shoe, and many more. Their knowledgeable and friendly staff are always on hand to answer any questions that you may have. Dance city can be contacted via the contact us page.

Antonio Pacelli

Antonio Pacelli is based in the UK and has over 40 years of experience in producing the very best Irish dancing footwear, accessories, and socks. All dancing footwear is suitable for every dancer from all levels including beginners, intermediate, to world champions. Whether you need the best in heel and tip technology, or a great value pair of hard shoes then you will find the ideal and perfect pair with Antonio Pacelli.

Feis Fayre

Feis Fayre has over 40 years of experience in the Irish dancing industry and is now 3rd generation of family dancers and the forefront of Irish dancing shoes and clothing for many years to come. They offer a wide selection of dancing shoes including hard and soft shoes. Some of the shoe brands include Hullachan, Boyne Walk, Atlantic black, Fays, Ava pump, Flexi pro wide, standard, and narrow shoes. They also offer a wide range of accessories these include straps, pump laces, diamond buckles, disco buckles, crystal buckles and so much more. Feis Fayre is one of the leading online retailers and wholesalers and have customers from all 5 continents. If you have any questions you can get in touch with Feis Fayre via the contact us page.

Why Become A Puppeteer?

Why become puppeteer

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a puppeteer? Maybe you were raised on Sesame Street or The Labyrinth got your mind racing and that was it.

Or maybe as an adult, you have a newfound appreciation for what might be a dying art. Most of the children’s television was puppets before CGI, but now they are in decline.

So why start now? Because you want to – it’s really simple.

Buy The Right Puppet

When you are just starting, it is easy to feel silly putting on a voice and creating a character if you’re not used to it. That is why you need to have the right puppet to guide you on your way.

Even though it is tempting to buy something cheap and not waste money on a hobby, choosing a handmade puppet will make all the difference. Because it is bespoke, it will already have more personality and character to it.

It is far easier to anthropomorphize something that is carefully made and isn’t mass-produced. Take your time to pick the puppet that speaks to you and in turn, you will feel happy speaking through.

Professional Story Telling

Most people assume you need to spend a lot of time practicing how to make the puppet move. They get so caught up in the physicality that they need to make it move realistically to be successful.

However, this is not the case. Just mastering some simple movements like a head-turn is enough to make the audience believe in the character.

Any more is unnecessary and can stop you from progressing onto what is important – being a good storyteller. This is the key element of any puppet show and the skill you should focus on.

Once you have picked a character for your puppet, it’s time for a backstory. Even though those details might never come up in your show, it is important in helping decide how it will interact.

Take the time to sketch out little scenarios and decide how the character will react to them. It will help develop your acting, writing, and puppetry all at the same time as well as giving you some material.

When you have enough then you can think about entering an open mic night and trying it out!

Work With Children

Children love puppets. They are drawn into the bright colors and like the physicality.

Puppets can also be a very useful tool when teaching them about life. Puppets can represent social interaction and act as role models.

A story told by a puppet will be a lot easier for a child to take in then an adult telling them how to react in a situation. They learn by watching the show and internalize the message.

You can take an education puppet show into schools and the children will benefit from it.

How To Pick An Irish Dance Shoe

Irish dance has strict routines and dancers will need good dance shoes to support their performance. There are both soft and hard shoes required for different types of performance, but both are equally important.

The hard aka jig or river dance shoe needs to not soften over time and the soft pumps need not stretch out too much over time. Doing some research before making this decision can make the difference between a shoe that lasts a while or needs replacing.

It needs to be strong and blister-proof yet soft and light-weight. It sounds impossible, but the perfect shoe is out there if you just get the chance to find it.

Protect Your Feet

Shoes designed specifically for Irish dance should be flexible but comfortable for when you are dancing quickstep changes. It needs to be lightweight and work with the movement of the dancer so as not to add any unnecessary strain.

If the material is low-quality then it will stretch over a period of time, leaving the dancer’s feet vulnerable to injury. There is nothing more devastating than an avoidable injury and shoes that are too heavy will cause just that.

High-Quality Material

The ideal Irish dance shoe is designed to last for a while and not require breaking in. It will be sturdy enough for toe stands on the first wear, but not cause any rubbing.

A shoe made with high-quality leather with be the most comfortable for the dancer and create the best performance. The material alone is not enough – you need to look at the design.

A company based in Ireland or with Celtic roots will have the best craftsmanship as they will understand the intricacies of the dance. Look for durable arches to cushion the impact and strong toe support – toe strains are common and need to be avoided.

They also need to be balanced correctly so the dancer is not thrown off unnecessarily. They will be lightweight but strong.

Correct Colors

Ireland is known for green, but also formal dark colors. If you are performing Irish dance, then you will want shoes to match your costumes.

If you pick a quality company, they will know the traditional colors associated with the dance and you will be able to pick your favorite. Be cautious of companies selling shoes in colors like neon pink as it is likely they are not authentic.