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​There are lots of opportunities to compete in our area and on the east coast and beyond. Below are some of the feiseanna available. Often, Anne MacRitchie will request dancers and/or teams heading to a major to register for certain feiseanna. She will send an email out with more information as needed.

Because the Murray Academy holds some team practices on Saturdays, it is important for you to contact Anne MacRitchie before signing up for any Saturday feis.  She will usually send out a feis list of those that are recommended or acceptable for signups.  For any others, be sure to check in with her.

For a full list and up-to-date information for feissana in the New England Region, please visit the NEIDT website.

New England Competitions

• Horgan Academy Winter Feis (Southbury, CT) 4th Sat/Sun of January

• Shamrock School Winter Feis (West Hartford, CT) 1st Sunday of February

• New England Regional North Shore Feis (Saugus, MA) 1st Sunday of March 

• Lenihan School Feis (Stratford, CT) 1st Sunday of April 

• Hanson-Keohane School Feis (Dedham, MA) 2nd Sunday of April 

• Horgan Academy Spring Feis (Watertown, CT) 2nd Saturday of April  

• CT Shorline Irish Dance Champs (Hartford, CT) 1st Saturday of April   

• Lynn Academy CT Spring Feis (Stamford, CT) 1st Sunday of May 

• Bracken School Feis (Byfield, MA) 4th Sunday of April

• ​Cape Cod Feis (Hyannis, MA) Mother's Day Sat/Sun of May

• New Haven Feis (North Haven, CT) 4th Sunday of June 

• Maine State Feis (Gorham, ME) 4th Saturday of July

• Constitution State Feis (Middlebury, CT) 1st Sat/Sun of September   

• New England Autumn Feis (Whitman, MA) 4th Sunday of September  

• Coogan School Feis (Burlington, CT) 2nd Sunday of October 

• Harvest Time Feis (Burlington, MA) 4th Sunday of October 

• Forbes Feis (Quincy, MA) 5th Sunday of October 

• Southern CT State Feis (Straford, CT) 1st Sunday of November

• O’Shea Chaplin Christmas Feis (Saugus, MA) 2nd Sunday of December  ​​

 

Larger East Coast Competitions

• O’Rourke Feis (Purchase, NY) 4th Sat of January

• Broesler School Feis (Whippany, NJ) 4th Saturday of February

• Innishfree Feis (Massapequa, NY) 4th Sunday of February

• Big Apple Feis (New York, NY) 4th Sat/Sun of March

• Heritage Irish Dance Company Feis (Edison, NJ) 4th Sunday of June

• Catskills Feis (East Durham, NY) 1st Saturday of August   

• Doherty-Petri Feis (Carle Place, NY) last Sunday of September

 

New England Regional Oireachtas (Championships)

Always held the weekend before Thanksgiving, this year it will be in Hartford, CT. Students that are at the Preliminary Champion level and above (and some at the teacher’s discretion) compete against all the other New England Regional schools in solo competitions, traditional set competitions and figure team competitions. This is a World-Qualifying event for solo competitions (top dancers  in U10 and above are invited to dance at the World Championships the following Spring). Murray sends about 100 solo and figure dancers to represent our school and is considered one of the top schools in the region. This is a great competition to come watch even if you are not quite ready to compete at this level. All Oireachtas dancers are required to attend Oireachtas camp in August. For dancers attending this event, Anne will send out more information as the event gets closer. 
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North American Irish Dance Championships
Open Champions and Preliminary Champions who have qualified at their regional Oireachtas (and some younger dancers at the teacher’s discretion) compete in the North American National Championships. Nationals takes place over the Fourth of July week and the location varies from year to year. United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as many dancers from all over the world are represented at this event. This is a World-Qualifing event. Murray sends about 45 dancers to represent our school and region and does extremely well with several National Champions and podium placers.  For dancers attending this event, Anne will send out more information as the event gets closer. ​

​NAFC Championships (Senior Belt, Junior Trophy and Minor Trophy)
To qualify for this event, you must be an Open Champion and have placed first place in an open competition the previous calendar year. There are three competitions based on age. There are 5-7 judges and you receive feedback from each one. There is also a step-down-the-line competition and usually a regular feis the same weekend. Location varies year to year.

​International Dance Championships
There are several World-Qualifying competitions overseas. All-Irelands, British Nationals and All Scotlands all draw World-class dancers and are a great experience for seasoned World Qualifiers and dancers who wish to compete overseas. If you are interested in competing at one of these majors, please email Anne to discuss.

Rince Na Cruinne (World Championships)
Open Champions who have qualified at either the Oireachtas, National Championships, an International Qualifier or at the previous year’s World Championships are invited to dance at the World Championships. Worlds takes place over the week of Easter and location varies from year to year but it usually rotates between Ireland, Scotland and North America. Top dancers from all over the world compete. Murray sends about 20 dancers to represent our school, region and the USA and does extremely well with several dancers having placed in the top 5, top 10, world medal holders and recallers. For dancers attending this event, Anne ​will send out more information as the event gets closer. ​​