Feis

Whether you simply are attending the Festival or also planning on entering competition, céad míle fáilte (Irish greeting: a hundred thousand welcomes). In either case, you can see Irish dancers at their best!

Information for the General Public

A Feis (pronounced “fesh”) is an adjudicated competition for Irish dancers. According to CLRG, the world’s largest governing body of Irish dance, each Feis must be run by an accredited school.

Since 2008, the Michigan Irish Music Festival has partnered with the Ardán Academy of Irish Dance both to hold a Feis (offsite) and to bring a live performance to Heritage Landing. All 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd place winners in the Preliminary Champion and Open Champion categories – the two highest levels in the sport – are invited to showcase their talents on Festival grounds. The style of dancing at a Parade of Champions is highly energetic and also fun for the audience. It might remind you of Riverdance! Anyone at the MIMF on Saturday evening is welcome to watch these top finishers, some of whom probably have competed all the way up to the World Championships.

Information for Irish Dancers

We are back in 2022, retaining favorite traditions while introducing exciting
changes!

For the first time, the Michigan Feis will be held at the new, modern VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center. This venue is located a short walk from Heritage Landing, making it even easier to enjoy our supporting event, the MIMF. As a perk of registration for the Feis, dancers have FREE admission to the Festival! For 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd place Champ finishers, the walk to the Galway Stage for the celebratory Parade of Champions takes only about 5 minutes.

The popular Championship Treble Reel Special (799TR), T.J. Maloney Memorial Trophy (999TJM), and Kathy Rabach Irish Dance Scholarship will continue!

Dancers receive printed results after all of their competitions have finished.

For dancers looking to qualify for Oireachtas, the Michigan Feis provides one of the final opportunities.

There are no caps. Registration is through QuickFeis, closing 09/07.

Questions about the Feis can be emailed to [email protected]

For additional information (the Syllabus, Stage Assignments, and vendor, sponsorship, and volunteer opportunities) as well as regular Feis updates, please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MichiganFeis.

Tip: We advise Irish dance families to book accommodations ASAP. Due to the popularity of the Festival, we generally are not able to negotiate block rates with hotels in downtown Muskegon. However, numerous options (hotel rooms, Airbnb, campgrounds) are available within a short driving distance. There is paid parking near the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center.