From first steps to open level

• Standing tall and moving from the hips down

• The first steps of a reel in soft shoes

• Counting along with the music

• Learning what the steps are called

When the first steps stay steady across the floor, your teacher moves you into a beginner class and tells you why.

• A reel and a light jig in soft shoes

• Keeping time without watching the teacher's feet

• Your first group dance

Your teacher watches a full dance to the music, then talks with you and your family about the next class.

• A single jig and a slip jig

• Lines, circles and turns in a group

• Your first hard shoe steps, once your teacher says it is time

Your teacher moves you when a dancer is steady in both shoes and ready for longer steps.

• A treble jig and a hornpipe in hard shoes

• Dancing a whole step to the music

• A ceili dance for a group of eight

The teacher decides, in a conversation with the dancer, after watching a few weeks of classes.

• Longer steps in every dance

• Timing and carriage on your own

• Choosing events with your teacher, if you want to

A dancer who is ready for the open class is asked, never told, and can stay at this level as long as they like.