Welcome to the Ages and Stages section of our website! This area was designed to help you understand the journey of the Irish dancer, and hopefully answer the top-of-mind questions you might have!
When is the right time to start Irish Dance? Whenever you can. There is no right time to start, and we will work with your dancer to bring them up to speed whenever they start!
Ages 3-5: At the Culkin School we have a Saturday morning class for the wee ones, ages 3-5, called Culkin Tots. This class is designed for the pre-school set, helping them develop a love of the music and movement of Irish Dance in a fun and age appropriate way.
Ages 5-10: Many of our dancers start during this window of time, and our Beginner classes have these age parameters. The older the child is, the more quickly they are likely to pick up the material, so we staff our classes with assistant instructors so that we can group dancers in class to help them progress at the pace right for them.
Ages 11-16: If a young teen / pre-teen wants to learn Irish Dance, we are happy to have them! Since kids this age learn differently than the younger set, we usually have these dancers join a level 2/3 class, and pair them with an assistant instructor to get them assimilated into the class quickly. Email us directly if this describes your dancer!
Ages 16+: Our Adult Program is open for new dancers ages 16 and up, and up, and up! Our adult program is right for those who always wanted to learn Irish Dance, those who may have danced as a child and want to return, and those who want to compete and perform with other Adult dancers. If you have questions, let us know!
Classes, Performances, Competitions: these are the three things all Irish dancers can do! Everyone takes classes, but dancers can decide if they want to be in performances or to compete.