Created by Annie Hurley Morrison, A.D.C.R.G./Owner/Director/Choreographer
Mission
The Hurley School of Irish Dance shares with both children and adults the extraordinary culture of traditional Irish dancing. Along with the experience of learning Irish dance techniques, students within The Hurley School often gain rich friendships, amazing opportunities to travel and compete, and significant life skills such as leadership and confidence.
Philosophy
Certified by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelaċa (the World Commission of Irish Dance) to teach Irish dancing in October 2004, Annie Hurley Morrison, T.C.R.G./A.D.C.R.G is the founder and teacher of The Hurley School of Irish Dance. Through a competitive teaching style and much enthusiasm, The Hurley School strives to grant students continuing opportunities to both compete and perform Irish dance.
COVID-19 Policies and Procedures
Objective: The Hurley School of Irish Dance will reopen safely in accordance with the Maryland State Health Department Maryland Roadmap to Recovery, and the Montgomery County Health and Human Service recommended guidelines, as well as in accordance with the recommended Center for Disease and Control (CDC) considerations for youth sports.
Dancer Expectations
All dancers and parents representing the Hurley School of Irish Dance are expected to be courteous and respectful to others at all times during dance class, performance, and competition.
Class Attendance
It is expected that each dancer arrive 10 minutes before his/her class. Shoes should be on and double-knotted before class starts. There will be no refunds for missed classes. If a dancer will not be in class, please notify teacher in advance at hurleyschool@gmail.com or 301-367-4890, so class can be planned accordingly. Due to COVID-19 procedures, all pick up and drop off will be done through the front entrance in coordination with our reopening guidelines.
Dance Practice
All dancers should wear comfortable, cotton or athletic spandex shorts and a T-shirt or tank-top to class. Shorts should not cover the knees. Girls are required to wear poodle socks during practice. Beginners are required to have softshoes (also known as ghillies/pumps/reel shoes). For dancers in the advanced beginner class or higher, hardshoes are also required. Dancers may not wear jeans, sweatpants, skirts, etc. during practice, as these items will both restrict movement and cover the knees- making it harder to observe proper technique. Please have hair pulled back out of the face in a pony-tail or bun during practice. Dancers may not chew gum or eat snacks during class. Please have dancers bring a water bottle to practice with his/her name on it, as breaks will be given regularly.
Shoes
All first year dancers must purchase a pair of softshoes and poodle socks (boy dancers will need black dress socks for performance and competition). Dancers in the 60-minute class and above should have both softshoes and hardshoes. There are many different styles of soft and hardshoes to choose from, as you will observe on the specified websites below. Softshoes, hardshoes, and poodle socks can often be purchased used through our studio, or online through these recommended companies:
Fays Shoes: www.fays-shoes.com
Rutherford Shoes: www.rutherfordshoes.com
*When buying softshoes, please buy the newer, split sole shoe type of shoe (i.e. Fays “Celtic Choice”) as this shoe looks neater on the foot and accentuates the arch.
PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE CAPEZIO STYLE IRISH DANCE SHOES THAT ARE SOLD AT REGULAR DANCE STORES. THESE ARE NOT THE CORRECT TYPE OF SHOES.
Music
It is encouraged that all students purchase music to practice with at home. We strongly recommend you downloadpractice music on the following app:
Feis The App – Availbale on itunes and google play
Practicing Outside of Class
Each dance class will develop and progress from the basic technique taught at the beginning of the year. Thus, it is important for your child to practice his/her steps and technique outside of class. Beginning dancers should practice to the music with shoes on at least three times per week outside of class for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Private Lessons
For September 2021 – June 2022 the cost of a private lesson is $70.00/hour. A semi-private lesson is $35.00 / dancer. PLEASE NOTE: in order to register for a private lesson, regular tuition must be paid up to date.
Registration and Tuition
ALL registrations must be submitted online. The link to online registration can be found on our website (www.hurleyirishdancers.com). Tuition payment can be made online (preferred) or by check/cash at the studio. Tuition payments are due quarterly no later than September 1st2021, November 15th 2021, January 15th 2022, March 25th, 2022. Registration fee must be paid on first installment.
Tuition is determined by class length:
There is an annual $55.00 registration fee per family (not included for mini-sessions class)
45 minutes: $700.00 annually ($175/quarter)
60 minutes: $760.00 annually ($190/quarter)
90 minutes: $980.00 annually ($245/quarter)
105 minus: $1,000.00 annually ($250/quarter)
*Other mini-sessions may vary in tuition cost depending on the type of class
If attending a second class per week, the tuition of the second class will automatically be reduced by 20%.
Standard Sibling Discounts (applied automatically upon registration).
For a second sibling, there is a 20% discount off that dancer’s total tuition.
For a third sibling, fourth, etc., there is a 20% discount off that dancer’s total tuition and family registration fee is waived.
All checks should be made payable to The Hurley School of Irish Dance.
There will be a $15.00 late fee applied if tuition is not paid by due date and there will be a $12.00 fee for returned checks.
Checks can be mailed to:
The Hurley School of Irish Dance
6826 Olney-Laytonsville Rd.
Laytonsville, MD 20882
Fall 2021 – Spring 2022 Dates to Note:
Monday, August 31th 2021: Oireachtas Solo Classes Begin
Monday, September 13th 2021: Regular Classes Begin
Thursday, November 25th 2021: NO CLASSES (Thanksgiving)
Monday, December 6th 2021: NO CLASSES (Oireachtas Travel Day)
Monday, December 19th – Sunday, January 2nd 2022: NO CLASSES (Winter Break)
Sunday, April 10th 2022 – Saturday, April 23rd 2022: NO CLASSES (Spring Break)
Monday, May 30th 2022: NO CLASSES (Memorial Day)
Friday, June 3rd 2022: Last Day of Regular Classes
The Hurley School of Irish Dance will follow Montgomery County Health and Human Services as well as the Maryland State Department of Health for COVID-19 Guidelines. Hurley will also follow MCPS for weather related decisions. If school buildings are deemed open for regularly scheduled community activities, our studio will be open.
Feiseanna
Throughout the year, many Irish dance competitions are held all over North America. An Irish dance competition is referred to as a “feis,” or “feiseanna” in the plural form. Hurley is a member of the CLRG platform and may ONLY attend CLRG feises. There will be local feiseanna in the MD-D.C.-VA area that dancers will be encouraged to attend. Feiseanna will be explained in further detail when Fall classes begin. Please feel free to email Annie with any questions on upcoming feiseanna. North American Feis Schedule: www.love2feis.com
Performances
As the Hurley School of Irish Dance continues to grow, opportunities for the Hurley School dancers to perform in the local area will arise- especially around St. Patrick’s Day! Sharing the culture and tradition of Irish dance through performing can be exciting, and is always a great opportunity. Performances are encouraged, but not required.
Posting Performances Online
Parents and dancers may not post videos or pictures of performances or competitions involving any Hurley choreography on social media without permission from Annie.
Photography & Social Media
Pictures from Hurley School functions may be posted on the Hurley School Website or Hurley Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. If you would like to request for pictures of your dancer NOT to be posted on our website or social media, please email hurleyschool@gmail.com.
Feis and Performance Attire
All first year dancers who wish to participate in feiseanna and performances will be required to purchase the following:
Girls: Red beginner skirt, gold shawl, white short-sleeve (peter-pan collar) blouse, poodle socks. Hair should be half-up/half-down curly (tied away from face) with red ribbon/scrunchie. Barrettes are permitted to keep hair out of face. More information on school skirts/shawls will be distributed in the Fall Season. Cost is under $100.00.
Boys: Black pants, black dress socks, black dress shirt, red tie
Dancers who will be performing and competing multiple times per year will be encouraged to buy a school dress. School dresses are ordered in groups from Prime Dress Design (www.primedressdesigns.com). Please contact them directly if interested in ordering a school dress to find out when the next bulk dress order will be.
Once dancers reach the novice level and above, girls may wear a solo dress with poodle socks, and boys may wear a dress shirt/tie of their choice with black pants and black dress socks. DANCERS MUST HAVE APPROVAL FROM TCRG TO PURCHASE A SOLO DRESS.
School attire will be required for figure (team) dances.
Fundraising
A separate fund exists specifically for the travel stipends of those dancers attending major (National and World) championships each year. All dancers will receive a standard stipend towards their travel expenses to EITHER Nationals or Worlds. If dancers choose to attend both majors, they will have to pick which one they will use the stipend for. The amount given will be the same for all dancers. The amount will be based on the funds available in the travel stipend account. It will not exceed $250.00. The amount given in any specific year will be at the discretion of the director.
Any school-wide fundraisers/donations (i.e. Ceilis, performances, sportswear sales) will be split. 50% will go into the school umbrella fund that benefits the studio as a whole, and 50% will go into the major travel fund.
If the dancers/families who will be attending majors each year would like to come up with a fundraiser dedicated solely to their travel costs, it must be presented to Annie as a group fundraiser and the money made will be split evenly between all dancers. Dancers who wish to benefit from the majors fundraisers must participate.
Annual Hurley School Feis
The Hurley School of Irish Dance will host our 7th Annual Hurley School Feis on Sunday, May 23rd 2021 – venue TBD. 100+ parent volunteers are needed before, during, and after to make this event run smoothly. Over 500 dancers from around the region register. Volunteering is not a requirement but is HIGHLY encouraged. Thank you in advance for your time – you will hear more information about our feis in early Spring.