WIDA Costume Rules

All dancers at a WIDA event in Beginner competitions up to and including the age under 12 MUST wear the following costume:


Dancers registered with WIDA schools: Dark green skirt and white polo shirt with the WIDA logo attached. Skirts of other green colours are not considered the appropriate WIDA beginner uniform and dancers wearing incorrect costume will be penalised accordingly.


Dancers NOT registered with WIDA schools: A dark green skirt and a white polo shirt. Boys must wear black trousers and a white polo shirt.


Failure to follow the above rules will mean a dancer will be unable to place in the top three of a result. If no dancer in the competition is following the rules then no dancer from this result can be promoted to the Primary level at the next WIDA event.


Dancers in beginner grade competitions from the age group U13 and above (i.e. age groups U13, U14 and U15) may wear the WIDA green and white beginner outfit or a class costume. In this context, a costume is considered a class costume if a school has at least 4 identical costumes (or matching costumes in the case of boys’ costumes).


The following rules apply to all dancers in Beginner grade competitions in all age groups up to and including U15:


No embroideries on WIDA beginner costumes or diamontes are allowed on ANY of the above costumes that would change their appearance in any way. This includes any tiaras and sparkly headbands.


No school logos or names are allowed to appear anywhere on the costume, no school tiaras or school headpieces or sparkly hairbands.


No full wigs. Bun wigs are acceptable.


Dancers in beginner grade competitions aged over 15 may wear any costume. WIDA recommends that costumes be appropriate to the grade.


The following rules apply to all dancers taking part in WIDA open platform Solo competitions:


Dancers up to and including the age of Under 12 entered in primary and intermediate competitions must wear a school costume or a beginner outfit. Dancers who fail to follow this rule cannot finish in the top three of a result.


Primary dancers in age groups U13, U14 & U15 may wear the beginning costume or a class costume only (ie NO solo dresses). Dancers in intermediate grade competitions in the age groups U13, U14 and U15 may wear solo costumes.


Dancers up to and including the age of Under 15 in beginners, primary and intermediate competitions may only wear bun wigs in competition. Full wigs are not allowed and may result in a dancer being dropped from the top three of a result if this rule is not followed. Tiaras may be worn in primary & intermediate competitions.


Dress and skirt length have to be appropriate so as not to cause offence or embarrassment. Necklines must also not be too low (i.e. lowest point of neckline should be around the collarbone). This also applies to costumes where leotards are worn. The final decision as to what is appropriate will be determined by the adjudicator who is judging the feis. Dancers who do not wear appropriate costumes in these respects will not be able to finish in the top three of a competition result.


Outfits that include any kinds of light (e.g. LEDs or similar) are not allowed. Dancers who fail to follow this rule will be disqualified from the competition.


FOOTWEAR:


Soft Shoes: Footwear worn for all soft shoe competitions including team events must be of a plain black leather construction. No patent leather or coloured shoes are permitted, even for prize awarding/presentations/parades of champions.Both the shoe and shoelaces must be black in colour.


Hard Shoes: Footwear worn in all hard shoe competitions must be of a plain black leather construction. No patent leather or coloured shoes are permitted, even for prize awarding/presentations/parades of champions. A white strap which attaches the shoe to the closing buckle to assist in keeping the shoe on the foot is allowed. The actual shoe itself and the shoelaces must be all black in colour. Buckles are not allowed. Dancers wearing buckles will not be able to place in the top three of a result. 


Dancers in all grades and ages may if wearing poodle socks only wear plain white poodle socks (no diamontes, coloured socks etc.) in Solo and Ceílí competitions.


Dancers in the age groups up to and including Under 11 are not allowed to wear make-up or fake tan.


A dancer may be allowed to re-dance if a Costume malfunction occurs as long as the dancer waits for the adjudicator to ring the bell. If a dancer stops dancing due to a costume malfunction without the adjudicator's permission, the dancer will be disqualified from the competition.


For safety reasons, dancers may:

  • Wear stud earrings only
  • NOT wear dress rings or necklaces while dancing.
  • NOT wear shoe buckles.

Dancers in breach of these rules will not be able to place in the top 3 of a result.

The following rules apply to registered members of WIDA and their dance companies and members thereof:

Class dresses should be more basic in style compared to solo dresses, if unsure please contact your regional coordinator before purchasing class dresses.

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