Am I too Old?
Absolutely not.
As with almost all dance forms, especially dance forms with an elite or professional level, the advice is always to start as young as you can. Taking their first steps? Quick! Get them to a studio before it's too late!
There's sound enough reasoning to start any activity young. Children are generally more physically flexible and energetic, and mentally fearless. They also have a lot more time on their schedule. If you want to get perfect turnout and oversplits, starting the process at six is going to be a lot easier than starting at forty, and the results will probably last longer even if the child quits.
But there's no reason to not start just because you're a teenager or an adult, and I created this section to help push you towards start.
The most important thing to remember about Irish dance is that it's a folk dance. It's meant for fun, for some culture, and for community, which are the things my original TCRG always valued above competition. If you can enjoy yourself while dancing on the beat, you've done all Irish dance needs you to do.
I mention this multiple times on my site because it's important to remember: statistically, most Irish dancers do not reach the championship level or go to a major. Only 1% ever qualify for Worlds. The vast majority of Irish dancers move at their own pace, with their own goals in mind. There are probably a good quantity who never compete or even perform. Competing isn't for everyone! Neither is performance! And it doesn't mean you're not a good dancer or that you can't progress. And even if you're struggling, it doesn't mean you shouldn't keep at it. Just have fun, that's what dancing is all about.
I began about a month shy of my fourteenth birthday. That's late, by childhood dance standards. Within a year or so, most of my friends who had been born dancing would start to retire, while I was moving up the ranks.
The benefit of starting in my double-digits was that I (and my class) generally progressed at a much more rapid pace than the young beginners. We started hardshoe sooner, competed sooner, performed in big shows sooner, and perfected technique sooner. We also just generally learned steps more quickly.
Were we veteran dancers with ten years of experience by age sixteen? No. Would that be cool? Absolutely. But it should not be discouraging. Everybody who dances has a different journey. Misty Copeland started ballet at thirteen, the same age I was when I started Irish dance. And for ballet, that is extremely late.
The journey of many dancers at my school, even the journey of my original TCRG, was winding. Many of the kids I started with stopped around college age (which, when you consider that we were all twelve and up, meant we hadn't danced that long). Some took breaks and joined other schools. The oldest beginner in our teen class came back to dance in her twenties, reached the championship levels, went to the oireachtas, then got her TCRG and opened a school of her own.
A kid who started at the end of high school ended up qualifying for the Worlds within two years.
My original TCRG began at age five, but only danced casually throughout her life. After becoming a mom of three, she taught basic steps to local kids, it caught on, and soon enough she was teaching regularly and achieving her TCRG. Now, though she passed away too young in 2004, her school has sent hundreds of dancers into the world, has qualified more and more students for every major championship, sent dancers to professional companies, spawned other TCRGs (and at least one new school), and gained a reputation in two communities that will last forever. And she changed my life!
Even among the elite Irish dancers, Michael Flatley started at eleven, was told by a teacher that he was too old, and won a World title six years later when non-Irish and non-British dancers were struggling for success (he was the first transatlantic dancer to win).
Let nothing stop you from trying.
Truly, the biggest obstacle to starting as an adult is finding adult classes in the first place.
Off-and-on throughout time, adult classes have gained and lost popularity as a whole in Irish dance. Serious Irish dance simply seems to end once you hit your twenties, then it's either be good enough for a professional company, or start teaching. (And becoming a certified teacher has been made increasingly difficult with the requirement of completing your grade exams—something that didn't even exist until ten years after I stopped competing.)
In the wake of Riverdance, adult classes popped up everywhere. My first school had adult classes at both locations and still does. My current school also has an active adult class. In both cases, the adults compete at their own pace. It's very common for dance parents to take these lessons, or be the reason the adult lessons exist at all.
If you're beginning as a teen, you may have more luck. While it's possible you'll be put with adult beginners to start with, if you enjoy the dance and want to progress (or if there are no adult beginners), taking private lessons can land you in a class with more experienced dancers your age. You can certainly catch up if you work at it.
It's also possible that adult classes aren't listed. Since the usual adult class isn't the star focus of a competitive school (or indeed the main money generator), they might not bother to include that information on a website, for example. An email or phone call could shed some light on all of the specialized classes meant only for those with inside knowledge. Also, check any social media, as that might be updated more frequently.
If you're lucky enough to live in a city with a few schools to choose from, the odds are high that at least one will have adult classes. Some might even have competitive adult teams that go to majors, or be willing to guide you towards a very specific goal. For instance, getting your TCRG requires not only completing grade exams, it also requires having a TCRG mentor.
Wait, did I say adult teams that go to majors? That's right! The adult age category has been expanded into championship levels! While there is no adult category at the Worlds (yet), there are at oireachtais and the North American Nationals. This includes both teams and solo competitions.
But again, jumping into Irish dance lessons does not mean you need to compete or even perform. The first goal of Irish dance is to have fun.
Of course, the other obstacle is your body.
Only you (and your doctor) can assess how physically capable you feel about starting Irish dance later in life, but I will say that Irish dance requires less conditioning and flexibility than something like ballet or gymnastics, making it easier to advance at a later age.
Don't get me wrong—Irish dance athleticism has skyrocketed since Riverdance. Watch the incredible (and World Champion) Bernadette Flynn dance 25 years ago and you'll find her turnout and crossed legs lacking compared to today's dancers. Champion dancers now have to be able to go into full splits for their kicks, and some 180 degree turn out won't hurt, either.
Once upon a website, I said Irish dance aims for the ballet fifth position but won't ever go there. I was wrong.
But you can do very well in Irish dance, learn all the steps you want, and perform, teach, and compete without working like an Olympian.
Me? I'm pigeon-toed and my legs can't hyper-extend or even look straight. I have naturally tight/short calves that make flexibility difficult to achieve. In high school, my physical therapist recommended gastrocnemius lengthing surgery to reduce my foot problems—of which I have many. I had a foot injury that persists to this day.
But between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, I went from Beginner to Prizewinner, the last level before championships. (Then I stopped competing.)