Children in Irish step dancing contests seem to be required these days not only to dance well, but also to wear these absurd wigs with huge stiff plastic-looking curls. And of course when you do this type of dancing, with all the up-&-down steps and kicks, there is a constant danger that the wig (always gigantic and probably heavy) will come off. So they then have to pin it securely in place with a nun-like headband that does absolutely nothing for the child's face, which is then plastered with make-up. WHO started this? It's obscene.

I've taught harp in Ireland for 18 years, and a lot of my students - being interested in traditional Irish culture - also go in for the dancing competitions. I can remember a time when wigs were unheard of; then a time when little girls started coming into their lessons with their hair in rag-curlers, in order to have ringlets for some upcoming feis. Nothing wrong with that, I thought, it looks kind of cute. Awful hassle, though. What's it got to do with dancing? Oh, well . . .

But now it seems to have become a requirement. I asked another adult teacher WHY they had this added burden and she said she had heard that it was because the curls would bounce, and that enhanced the visual effect of the dancing. Do dance-adjudicators really pay attention to stuff like that? And award or dock points on it??

There is also the horrible expense of it all. The dresses - which are at least pretty and don't intrude on the child in inappropriate ways - already cost in the four figures, and the kid will grow out of it in a year. Then there are the silly-looking baggy "poodle socks" which make an ugly bulge at the ankle and are twice or three time the price of ordinary socks. I can understand shoes being expensive, but the rest of the kit is ridiculously exorbitant. But you'd better fork up or your daughter is going to be the odd one out and boy will she suffer for it. You guys have no idea (actually, maybe you do) of the number of harassed mothers who have confided to me their despair over this situation. Most do not have one child but two or three or more to outfit. And they all say they "have to."

I also can't believe that the wigs aren't uncomfortable to wear. They must get hot and sweaty, with dozens of pins irritating the scalp. I remember how this feels from various plays I was in when I was young, how disagreeable wigs were, and what a relief it was to take them off and let my head get a bit of air. And my little drama parts didn't call for the physical exertion that dancing does. Don't these kids already have enough on their plates trying to perform well under public pressure, without the added burden of physical discomfort?

In another thread, the poster very aptly described it as "child abuse". And so it is: physical,mental (peer group scorn if they don't conform, one more thing to stress them if they do), and financial.
Who actually started this, and how does one put an end to it? Obviously a lot of commercial concerns are making good money from the "enforced" sale of these irrelevant items, and targeting people's children gets them where they are most vulnerable. With money so tight and jobs being lost and all the other economic horrors, why should they be obliged to line the pockets of the fashion-accessory industry? Why should they smear paint on the beautiful, natural face of a ten-year-old?

You all know what'll happen: dancing itself will lose out. How many people actually approve of and like this latest trend? Or do they all just desperately go on competing - on another whole new level - for fear of being left out? Can't everyone who objects - parents and teachers (not just dance teachers) and everyone who cares about the culture - stop it? It certainly isn't helping the children any.

What's it like in The States and Britain? Has the Wig Disease spread there too?