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IDTANA HISTORY
The
Irish Dancing Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA)
was born in March, 1964 when Mae Butler, Fedelmia Davis,
Kevin McKenna, Peter Smith, Cyril McNiff and Anna O’Sullivan
met at the Irish Institute in New York City. They
came together with the goal of assuring teacher and
adjudicator competency, as well as standardizing the
ever growing number of feisanna throughout North
America.
 The surviving founders of the IDTANA:
Anna O'Sullivan, Peter Smith, and Fidelmia Davis are
still active members and were recently voted lifetime
positions on the IDTANA Executive Board.
Since that small humble beginning, and
through the efforts of many dedicated Irish Dance Teachers throughout
the United States, Canada and Mexico, the IDTANA has
grown now to nearly 650 members - with over 100 members in Canada, 550 members in
the United States, and one member in Mexico. The
IDTANA consists of seven
regional branches: Mid Atlantic, Mid America, Western
US, Eastern Canada, Western Canada, New England and
Southern US.
The IDTANA operates in tandem with
An Coimisiun le Rince
Gaelacha in Dublin, Ireland. All members of
the IDTANA must be registered and certified as a TMRF, TCRG or ADCRG by An
Coimisiun. Additionally, North America currently has 23
voting members of An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha, which
includes the 7 Regional Directors along with two elected members
of each Region, the IDTANA Executive Board, and the elected
North American Vice Presidents of An Coimisiun.
The emphasis of the IDTANA is to promote Irish Dance
throughout North America. Through continued
cooperation with the North
American Feis Commission, each region regulates
Feiseanna in their area with a standardized syllabus of
competitions and rules.
Annually, the IDTANA
sponsors the North American Irish Dance Championships
during the first week of July. The "Nationals", as they
have become known as, is recognized as North America's secondary qualifying event for the
annual World Championships held each year around Easter
and sponsored by An Coimisiun le
Rince Gaelacha. The primary qualifying event for
dancers to qualify for the World Championships is their Regional Oireachtasi held in November and December each
year.
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Information
regarding the 2013 NAFC Championships and Music Scholarships is
The Irish Dance
Teacher's Association of North American is proud of the
accomplishments of all dancers not only competitively and
artistically, but also academically. To recognize the
accomplishments of dancers who excel in the classroom and in the
dance studio, the IDTANA is proud to offer academic scholarships: