TCRG & TMRF Certifications

  • All exams must be taken in person.

  • Only RTN members may sit certification exams, with the exception of Provisional TCRGs, who must be sponsored by an RTN TCRG.

  • TMRF & TCRG may be done in sections. Candidates will have 2 years to compete their full exams.

  • Candidates will have 2 years to resit any portion of the exam in which they were unsuccessful. If they do not resit those sections within 2 years of the original exam, they will be required to retake the full exam.

  • Candidates must be 18 years or older to sit their exam (see Provisional TCRG below).

  • Candidates registered for exams will be added to our Facebook examination prep group.

  • Candidates take the examinations at their own risk. Candidates who are pregnant or suffer from a serious physical condition that might impact their health or ability to dance must notify the examination committee when applying for an exam. In these instances, a doctor's note must be provided on the day of the examination stating that the candidate is physically fit to take the exam. Failure to disclose a health issue may, if it later comes to light, result in a candidate being disqualified from taking any examinations with Rince Tua Nua in the future.

  • Certification Examinations and their results are confidential to the Candidate, the Examiners and the Board of Directors. Results will not be revealed without the consent of the candidate themselves.


Cost - Each section of the exam costs $200. 

Provisional TCRG

  • Candidates ages 18-21 must be sponsored by an RTN TCRG for whom they are teaching. The RTN TCRG must submit a letter of sponsorship stating how long the candidate has been their student and assisting in classes and why they think the candidate would make a good TCRG.

  • Candidates under age 21 will receive a Provisional TCRG upon successful completion of the exam. They will be allowed to work with their sponsor school only.

  • When a Provisional TCRG reaches the age of 21, they may open their own school and/or teach under their own name, providing they abide by the school location rules and any contractual obligations they have with their sponsor.

  • Provisional TCRGs will pay membership dues of 50% of the full membership rate and will have the same voting rights as new TCRGs.

TCRG Exam (5 Parts)

Written Ceili (exam time 2 hours)
10 short answer questions relating to the movements and figures of the ceilis and how they are danced in competition. Each question is worth 10 points. Passing grade is 70.

Teaching Ceili (exam time approximately 1 hour)

  • Candidates will be asked to teach 2 separate dance movements, one from an 8 Hand dance and one that is a Long/Progressive, Round, 4 Hand or 6 Hand dance. The Walls of Limerick and the 16 Hand Reel will not be part of the teaching section of the exam.

  • Candidates will be asked to teach the ___ movement of ____ dance. Ex: Teach the 2nd movement of the Walls of Limerick. State the name of the movement prior to teaching it.

  • Candidates may be in the dance to demonstrate, but then must have the dancers perform it. Diddle/hum the music when appropriate. Explain the dance in a way that makes sense to the dancers.

  • Candidates will be scored on: naming the movement; setting up dancers; giving the position & gender of dancers; explaining timing; explaining steps; giving clear instructions; correcting errors; knowledge of the dance; breaking down movements; explaining hands; confidence in teaching.


Written Music (exam time approximately 2.5 hours)

  • Section 1: State type of tune & time signature for reel, light jig, single/hop jig, slip jig & hornpipe. (Hornpipe can be either 2/4 or 4/4 so write both.)

  • Section 2: State the name of the set dance, time signature, bars in step & bars in set

  • Study tip: Memorize the poems on the members page


Solo Dancing (exam time approximately 2.5 hours with 5-6 candidates)

  • Prepare 2 modern set dances at the Open Champion level - 1 in jig timing & 1 in hornpipe timing. Candidates will be asked to dance one of these.

  • Candidates will be asked to dance 2 steps for each dance: Novice soft shoe (reel, slip jig or single jig) and Prizewinner hard shoe (treble jig or hornpipe).

  • Candidates will need to prepare all 8 trad sets RTN offers in competition and will have to dance all of the parts of that dance (5 parts for St. Pat's & Blackbird, 3 parts for Job).

  • Candidates will be assessed for their potential in showcasing material to students, not as if they were dancing in a championship event. (Sometimes top dancers do not make the best teachers.) The most important elements are suitability of material to the requested level, rhythm & timing and technique.

  • Candidates will be assessed for suitable material for the level (1-5 points), rhythm & timing (1-5 points), technique (✓ or -), knowledge of steps (✓ or -)

  • If you have a physical condition that will affect your dancing, a doctor's note must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the exam. Ex: candidate X has asthma. If it is acting up, she will have to stop dancing and breathe. 

  • Older candidates are not expected to dance like teenagers! If you have any questions about your ability to pass the dancing exam, contact the RTN board.


Teachers may opt to do their grade exams rather than the live dancing exam. If they sit the rest of the exam within a year of finishing the grades, they can skip dancing. After a year they will just have to dance Open Champion Slip Jigs and a non-traditional set dance (have both treble jig and hornpipe sets prepared). There is no charge for the dancing exam for those who complete all eight grades.

Teaching Dancing (exam time: 1 hour)

  • A student will be selected for you and a dance assigned. You will have to asses the dancer's ability & then teach an appropriate step.

  • Candidates will teach 1 soft shoe and 1 hard shoe step. The step does not need to be finished in the 30 minutes of teaching time allotted for each dance.

  • Candidates will be assessed on teaching steps suitable to a dancer's level (1-5 points), demonstration of rhythm & timing of steps (1-5 points), teaching ability by giving clear instructions, breaking down steps, progressing at a suitable pace, identifying and correcting mistakes (1-5 points), confidence in teaching (1-5 points), discipline (1-5 points)


Scoring for Solo Dancing & Solo Teaching

  • 5 = you got this

  • 4 = very good but room for some improvement

  • 3 = needs work

  • 2 = not at standard

  • 1 = a lot of work needed to reach standard

TMRF (Ceili Teacher) Exam

3 parts to the exam (see above for descriptions):

  • Written Ceili

  • Teaching Ceili

  • Written Music