Welcome to the Scoil Rince Celtus website – a dance school for Irish Dance with classes in Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Aachen, Bremen, Heidelberg and Venlo.

SRC UK - Classes coming soon to Reading, England

Find out WHERE and WHEN we hold classes, and come and try out Irish dancing with us for six weeks free of charge. If you’re interested, get in touch!

We look forward to meeting you!

 

ABOUT US

The founder and teacher of Scoil Rince Celtus is Sean Gavan, a native Scot. Sean has over 30 years experience of dancing and teaching worldwide and his students have won numerous titles in the European and World Championships.

Our school currently has around 90 members, aged between 5 and 70 years old, and we all share a sense of enjoyment at moving to Irish music. The classes are taught in English (with the odd German or Dutch word!) – but don’t worry, even small children and those who think their schoolbook English is long forgotten all understand Sean without any problems – and in any case, there are always experienced German or Dutch speakers around to help!
Come and learn your first steps of Irish dance, and see how much fun it is!

 

 

 

IRISH DANCE

Irish dance is already many hundreds of years old, and comes originally from the Celts. Today, it is above all a dance sport for young and old – it trains you in coordination, mobility, condition and rhythm. Through learning new step combinations, you also train your concentration and memory – and the most important thing: It’s fun to dance to lively Irish music with a nice group of people. 

 

DRESS

For training, wear your most comfortable sports clothes. Because Irish dancing is mainly about working with your feet and legs, shorts are most appropriate. For your first couple of lessons, it’s ok to just wear socks on your feet, or a pair of indoor trainers for boys/men.

Once you are gripped by Irish dance fever, girls/women will need to get their first soft shoes, and boys/men will get their reel shoes. Soft shoes are like the Irish version of ballet shoes, and reel shoes are the variation on these for the boys. Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, you will also need hard shoes, which are the same for both men and women. Hard shoes are Irish tap shoes, known and loved for their clacking sound on the floor.

 

 

 

COMPETITIONS

Scoil Rince Celtus is a member of W.I.D.A. (the World Irish Dance Association) and regularly takes part in, and has many successes at, competitions on a regional, national and international scale, both in solo dances and in teams.

For your first competitions, if you want to take part, girls under 15 must wear a white polo shirt, a bottle green skirt and poodle socks (the typical white Irish dance socks). Boys also wear a white polo shirt, with long, black trousers. Older girls and women usually wear a short skirt (above-the-knee), a shirt/blouse, and opaque, black tights, whilst older boys and men wear a shirt and black trousers. This is the beginner costume.

Once you have reached the next level, you are allowed to wear the official school costume – which for girls and women is a dress in school colours orange and black, and for boys and men, a black shirt, black trousers and an orange tie.

The best female dancers in the competitions wear custom-made, sparkly dresses for their solo dances, whilst the top level male dancers wear sparkly or bright vests and ties.

 

Come and catch the Irish dance fever – all of us at Scoil Rince Celtus are looking forward to meeting you!