Yes, we offer brand new dancers a 3for2 trial opportunity; dancers attend three lessons for the price of two drop-ins. To take advantage of the trial, go to our Uplifter registration site and follow the steps below.

1. If you don’t already have one, create an account by clicking ‘Login’ and follow the prompts
2. Add the dancer(s) that will be taking classes
3. Navigate to the Products/Trials tab, click add to cart on your desired trial and follow the prompts
4. You’re done! Please do not register for your desired class while on your trial, we’ll manually hold your/your dancer’s spot for you
5. Once the trial is complete, if you/your dancer want to continue, you can then register for the class on Uplifter and pay for lessons as well as any costume rentals, socks or shirts that still need to be bought.

Just two! Our youngest dance class is called Tots and it’s for toddlers ages two and three years old. We also have multiple levels of adult dance lessons for brand new beginners to retired competitive dancers. We welcome new beginners of all ages from across Halifax. If you don’t see a dance class that’s right for you, please reach out and we’ll let you know what to register for.

1. Review our dance class descriptions to find the one for you
2. Registration tips are on our website or you can go directly risingtideacademy.uplifterinc.com
3. Click Login to create a new account or use your existing one
4. Navigate to Registration or Products/Trials depending on what you’re looking for
5. Select your class/products and follow the prompts!

Dance classes run all year.

The new dance year begins in September each year and lessons run at their regularly schedule times until the end of June. Some classes end for summer but most run at adjusted times during July and August. However, classes are not held on the weekends in July and August.

To help keep track, we recommend printing out the schedule and important dates document found at risingtideacademy.ca/classes/importantdates.

Yes! We aim to have at least two coaches at all lessons, allowing us to welcome new dancers at anytime, as long as there is space in a class.

Rising Tide dancers are charged mandatory annual fees for tuition, tshirts and costumes (costume not applicable for adults and tots). Class equipment and dress code policy may result in other costs. A 10 per cent coaching fee is charged on tuition beginning in the Intermediate class level. View all fees and payment policies at risingtideacademy.ca/classes/fees-payment.

Class dress and equipment needs are listed for each class at risingtideacademy.ca/classes. Needs vary from class-to-class so please review the description for your/your dancer’s class. Generally, dancers require proper Irish dance shoes, poodle socks for female dancers, and athletic clothing as well as a full water bottle and small notebook.

Poodle socks can be purchased through Rising Tide. Dancers looking for Irish dance shoes should review our accepted products document. Rising Tide does has preferred brands and products that dancers use so please refer to that document before shopping.

Beginner dancers can find simple, black slippers locally at places such as Twiggz.

Unfortunately, no. Parents and guests are asked to wait outside the studio with the exception of Tots classes where parents/representatives are required to stay in the building and may join the lesson if desired. Family and guests are always welcome to wait in the Community Room and socialize or use the books/toys provided.

All classes are held at our studio at 3 & 4 – 325 Rocky Lake Drive in Bedford.

There is a small amount of parking available in the lot of unit 325. Additional, free parking is available on both sides of Rocky Lake Drive and in the larger parking lot between the first two buildings of the Bedford Trade Mart complex. The ‘no parking’ spaces in front of Rising Tide are reserved for our staff. Please do not park in these spots unless you know that they won’t all be in use. Please do not park in front of other units’ spots as they are reserved (ticketing and/or towing may occur). Thank you for your understanding.

Definitely not! Today, Irish dance is taught and performed all over the world. In addition to being a unique, cultural art form, Irish dance is a highly effective method of fitness and students learn critical life skills including goal setting, team work, listening, giving and receiving feedback, sportsmanship and confidence.

100%. Practicing at home is an expectation of all dancers at Rising Tide, but we do our best to help support at-home practice. Irish dance is a very technical style and it takes lots of practice to learn and make progress, so it’s important that dancers reinforce what they learn in class, at home. To help motivate dancers, we have a practice challenge program. Dancers earn points for the practice they do and those points can be used to ‘buy’ prizes and enter draws. We also have a members only page on our website where we post training guides, exercise routines, instructional videos, music guides and more.

Dancers are generally expected to participate in feiseanna (competitions), exams and performances. Each class has different expectations for participation. Details for each class are at risingtideacademy.ca/classes. Feiseanna are the primary way dancers progress levels in Irish dance. Staple events that all Rising Tiders are encouraged/expected to participate in generally include:

• Rising Tide School Feis (February)
• St. Patrick’s Day Parade and performances (March)
• Atlantic Canadian Irish Dance Championships (April)
• Year end recital (June)
• Feis Nova Scotia (August)
• East Coast Feis (October)

Exact dates for the current dance year can be found at risingtideacademy.ca/classes/importantdates. Feiseanna outside of our local area are events to be considered too. The two most common regions we feis in are eastern Canada and New England. Eastern Canadian events are listed at idtac-er.com/regional-feiseanna and New England feiseanna are listed at neidt.org/feiseanna. For additional listings, view planxti.com and idtana.org/feiseanna. Rising Tide dancers are allowed to compete at any CLRG-sanctioned events worldwide. If you’re considering going to a feis, please let your coaches know and post to our Facebook group. Feising is always more fun with friends and company (and splitting costs helps too).