Scholarship Announcement

On behalf of the IDTANA, we are happy to announce the 2009 Scholarship winners.  

This year, there were nearly 200 applicants and given an average of 10 pages per application (with some much longer), the Scholarship Committee read and evaluated approximately 2,000 pages of material.  We would like to thank our seven Scholarship Regional representatives for their service in evaluating these applications.    

Based on the number of applicants, it was determined that there would be four winners at the college level and 21 winners entering college in the Fall….for a total of 25 recipients.   We would like to thank all those that applied in 2009 and look forward to offering additional scholarships in 2010.  

It shouldn't go without saying -  Irish dancing has a wealth of talented students and the IDTANA is happy to recognize these student/dancers and to provide these scholarships for their work both in and out of the classroom.   

On behalf of the IDTANA

Russell Beaton ADCRG,                 Michael Mullane ADCRG,

Scholarship Chairman                      President IDTANA

   2009 IDTANA AGM - JULY 2, 2009

The annual Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America's Annual General Meeting will be held on July 2, 2009 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN preceding the North American Irish Dance Championships.  

All motions must be submitted through the Regional Director and forwarded to IDTANA no later then June 15, 2009 for inclusion on the agenda.  Any questions can be directed to Mike Mullane.

   2009 North American Irish Dance Championships

The Irish Dancing Teacher's Association of North America, Inc. (IDTANA) and the IDTANA-Southern Region are proud to announce the dates and location of their flagship world qualifying Irish dancing event for the 2009 dancing season.  The North American Irish Dancing Championships will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee beginning on July 3, 2009 through July 7, 2009.

Syllabus and further information on the competition is available here.

   Recent Announcements

     IDTANA  History

The Irish Dancing Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA) was born in March, 1964 when Mae Butler, Fedelmia Davis, Kevin McKenna, Peter Smith, Cyril McNiff and Anna O’Sullivan met at the Irish Institute in New York City.  They came together with the goal of assuring teacher and adjudicator competency, as well as standardizing the ever growing number of feisanna throughout North America.  The surviving founders of the IDTANA: Anna O'Sullivan, Peter Smith, and Fidelmia Davis are still active members and were recently voted lifetime positions on the IDTANA Executive Board.

       Since that small humble beginning, and through the efforts of many dedicated Irish Dance Teachers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, the IDTANA has grown now to nearly 650 members - with over 100 members in Canada, 550 members in the United States, and one member in Mexico.  The IDTANA consists of seven regional branches: Mid Atlantic, Mid America, Western US, Eastern Canada, Western Canada, New England and Southern US.  

      The IDTANA operates in tandem with An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha in Dublin, Ireland.   All members of the IDTANA must be registered and certified as a TMRF, TCRG or ADCRG by An Coimisiun.   Additionally, North America currently has 23 voting members of An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha, which includes the 7 Regional Directors along with two elected members of each Region, the IDTANA Executive Board, and the elected North American Vice Presidents of An Coimisiun.

     The emphasis of the IDTANA is to promote Irish Dance throughout North America.  Through continued cooperation with the North American Feis Commission, each region regulates Feiseanna in their area with a standardized syllabus of competitions and rules.  

       Annually, the IDTANA sponsors the North American Irish Dance Championships during the first week of July.  The "Nationals", as they have become known as, is recognized as North America's  secondary qualifying event for the annual World Championships held each year around Easter and sponsored by An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha.  The primary qualifying event for dancers to qualify for the World Championships is their Regional Oireachtasi held in November and December each year.

An Coimisun le Rince Gaelacha offers Examinations throughout the world for those wishing to be certified as a TCRG, ADCRG, or TMRF.  Please find below the applications and fees for the exams:

• TCRG

• TMRF

• ADCRG

• EXAM FEES