NBC coverage of Worlds

Seamus O'Se interviewed by Philly's NBC affiliate ... with footage of dancing competition included. Great promotion for the sport!

Live commentary ...

Well you can't see the dancing! But You can hear it, and I am watching the Girls 12-13 in line for sets, and our friend Kelsey from Mayer is in line right now. Yeah! Good luck, Kelsey!

Worlds' photos & results

Photos from Worlds are beginning to go online at Swoose.net. Scroll down to the World Championships section, and then click on the day for which you want to see photos.

And when it's updated, you'll be able to find results online at Feisresults.com.

More Worlds' video

Four CNY Dancers Going to the World Championship of Irish Step Dance

Four dancers from Johnston School of Irish Dance, in Syracuse--Colleen Augello, 11, of Camillus, Merry Jo Devine, 13, of Watertown, Colleen Byrnes, 14, of Syracuse, and Abigail Trageser, 16, of Brewerton--will be competiting in the World Championship of Irish Step Dance, in Philadelphia, April 5 to 12. The girls will be competiting against approximately 6,000 dancers from across the world.

More Worlds' Tweeting

Don't miss out on the updates at Twitter.com/irishdance for more great news about this weeks' World Championships in Philly. It's all getting underway now!

Worlds' dancers in the news

Ready to dance for the world
A group of Irish dancers from Lincoln have been making last minute preparations ahead of the world championships in America. (BBC)
Click here for video

Dancers hope to become world champs
(The Lincolnshire Echo, story about dancer school featured in video above)

OSU student to compete for Irish dance world title
(The Lantern, story about Michael Holland)

Stepping up to the Worlds in Philadelphia
(The North Shore News)

Getting set for Worlds' coverage!

As dancers & TCs Worldwide finish prepping for the Irish Dancing World Championships, those of us not attending are getting eager for information about the upcoming competitions!

CLRG will again be charging 12 Euros, as it did during the All Ireland Championships, for complete access to coverage - photos, recalls, results and the always-popular live commentary.

However, those of you who do not want to pay for your Worlds' news may want to take former dancer, now journalist S.J. Velasquez up on her offer. Velasquez will be covering the ultimate 2010 Irish dance competition via her I Heart That! Dance blog. She also will be tweeting Worlds' updates, so if you're on Twitter - or like me find that Irish dance is what gets you to finally sign up - you can send Velasquez a request.

Of course, the online community will also be posting lots of info and links on Dance.net. So check there regularly for great links! Not long now ...

McClanahan Dancers - St. Patrick's Day 2009

Here's a glimpse of some dancing from one of our performance troupes this St. Patrick's Day. We had four groups out this year - with a minimum of 10 performances on their schedule each! What a day ... and what a great way to celebrate our heritage!

St. Patrick's Performances begin

Here's just a little snapshot of our first performance this year ... we've many more to do!

Irish Dancing on the Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Photos for All Irelands now available to all!

With the subscription service that CLRG required this year for the All Ireland awards and live commentary, pictures certainly were hard to come by! But now FeisPix has loaded its entire gallery online for everyone to check out.
Enjoy!

Dress for Sale!

Well, maybe I'll feed them less ... then they'll stop growing so fast, right?
We just bought this beautiful, well-kept Dancing in Celtic dress in May and already it's beyond too small for my dancer. I guess that's what happens when they grow more than four inches in less than a year!
This two-piece dress has been well cared for and is in excelled gently used condition. It includes a floral headband, bloomers, and a gorgeous gold broach that we use on the cape.
The dress as originally made can be seen on DIC's gallery, No. 014. Since then, however, it has had hundreds of embellishments added, including the raspberry discs around the front ruffle and sleeves as well as lots of crystals.
It has been stored flat in a smoke- and pet-free home.

We'll have the dress with us at the St. Louis Irish Arts Feis on Feb. 14, and it's available now.

Measurements are as follows:
Bust: 28
Waist: 25.5 (underbodice); 26.5 (jacket)
Sleeve: 21
Total length: 28.5
Asking: $850
For more picture or with questions, email me at brookedesign (at) insightbb.com.
Thanks!

Storm delays updates

Sorry for the delay in posting this. We were without power for nearly five days in Kentucky, and had lots of cleanup following the major ice storm that went through the area.
So, by now, all of you probably know that the Consumer Protection Safety Commission has issued a one-year reprieve on lead- and phthalate-testing for children's items.
For more on the delayed implementation of the full law, read the following:
Lawmakers Rush to Delay Consumer Protection Law
Children's product sellers get 1-year reprieve on lead testing

This is good news for those of use looking for a dress in the next year, and hopefully the law will be rewritten in the coming year to allow for one-of-a-kind handmade items to fall outside the testing requirements. But if it doesn't ... I don't know where we'll all be getting dresses for those littler DDs in our lives.

CPSIA: Dressmakers', buyers' worries continue

For those of us having dresses made — and certainly for those whose livelihoods depend on dressmaking — the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has meant ongoing concerns. Micro-producers and makers of handmade items worldwide who sell their products in America are facing severe financial implications because of the law's language regarding lead and phthalate testing even for items previously identified as not problem-causing.
I have continued to follow this issue and wanted to provide links to some additional information. If you, too, are concerned, please write your legislators and ask that Congress revisit this act. Protecting our children is important, clearly. But putting small businesses out of business because the law to protect those children was poorly written is unconscionable.
Blog.Buyhandmade.org
CPSIA-central.ning.com
Nationalbankruptcyday.com
Handmade Toy Alliance

Scrap the CPSIA (Forbes magazine 1/16/08)
Scrap the CPSIA - Part 2 (Forbes magazine 1/22/08)

So I was talking to my inauguration lunch buddy yesterday and completely missed this beautiful music from Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill & Gabriela Montero called "A Gift to Be Simple."
Well, what do ya' know, the arrangement included a large portion of the Shaker Quick Dance ... also instantly recognizable to Irish dancing fans as "Lord of the Dance."

Listen and enjoy ... it's beautiful

And another video out of the vault!

Here's one of Sean O' Cuilleanain dancing the Liverpool Hornpipe in 1963. It's pure, Irish dance as it was meant to be done. His beats are incredible, and it's all done on a stage that looks to be about to cave in at any minute!

Amazing older ID video

Here is an AMAZING 1972 video of Celine Hession and Donncha O' Muimhneachain dancing a hardshoe slipjig at RTE Studios in Dublin.

Forget about turnout ... Their precision, posture and stamina during this performance of "A Fig for a Kiss" and "The Kid on the Mountain" is phenomenal.

More on the new product safety law ...

Again, not strictly ID related, but certainly important and it will have an effect. As I've done more reading on this issue today, I've discovered that the apparel industry is calling Feb. 10 "National Bankruptcy Day" because of all the businesses that will no longer be able to function given this law's rigidness. Here's a web site that is working to reverse some of the most egregious aspect of HR4040.

And just this morning, From the LA Times: "Regulators rethink rules on testing children's clothing and toys for lead"
Story contains links for how to get your opinion heard during the comments period.

New Consumer Safety regulations - how will it affect Irish dance costuming?

Costuming is an enormous part of the competitive Irish dance arena - for better or not. We can say the results should be all about the dance, but TCs, moms and dancers all spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about that crucial next dress. Not to mention, the sale of the current dress to help fund said next dress.
Well, partially in reaction to last year's product-safety debacle involving imported Chinese items, the U.S. government has passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which goes into effect Feb. 10.
The prohibition of lead and phthalates from prolonged contact with our children is important. But, as always, there are two sides and this law does seem so broad as to be detrimental to both small business and, ultimately, the environment.
It has far-reaching implications on both the production and sale of new and used products for children under the age of 12 - toys, furniture, jewelry, apparel and more. All materials used in the production of these items must be tested and may not contain more than 600 ppm of lead or any of several kinds of phthalates (a plasticizer).
While most large manufacturers can afford the testing of materials, small makers protest that they would never be able to afford to test the small batches of fabric, ribbon, plastic, etc. they use. Many of these people are artisans and/crafters who make unique and boutique items. Their businesses would be shut down, or at least banned from selling to anyone younger than a teen.
Additionally, resale outlets, such as consignment stores and eBayers, would be unable to test the materials involved in every item they sell for children. Owners of such businesses say the act would mean millions of children's items would end in landfills because they could neither be sold nor even donated to places such as the Goodwill or Salvation Army. And, of course, the resellers would lose huge portions of their own businesses by no longer being able to sell children's products.
According to Apparel News:
"Manufacturers, in order to comply with the law, must test every product detail, including each individual paint color, fabric, buttons, thread and rhinestones. Even if the same paint, zipper, fabric or buttons are used on a variety of different garments, each garment must be separately tested. Estimates put the cost of testing each garment between $600 and $1,500."

So, how does this affect Irish dance?
Well, how are dressmakers going to handle these regulations? Certainly, they cannot test all their materials for lead content. Crystals are one item that already has been mentioned as a likely problem. Surely some fabrics will be also - anything with sequins come to mind. Their highly plastic quality makes me wonder, as plastic and vinyl are both typical lead carriers.
Will getting a dress through U.S. customs become even more difficult? If so, will we in the U.S. have even fewer choices of where to have our dresses made? There are no "big-name" dressmakers here. No new Gavins, Phoebes or Elevations for the U13 crowd? Maybe the silver lining will be that someone in the U.S. will rise up and take a larger role?
Dressmakers already are talking about no longer making dresses for dancers younger than 12, and making sure that when they ship a dress it is clearly marked "Not intended for children under the age of 12." But what about a dress already under contract, or already in production? Feb 10 isn't very far away ...
As for used dresses, does that mean that the second-hand market for the dresses of younger dancers in the U.S. will no longer be able to sell online for fear of being caught and facing significant fines? If you've got a used dress for a younger dancer, now may be the time to get it sold.
Of course, the issue there is that everyone already else is trying to do the same thing. The number of new dress listings recently on Dance-Again for older dresses has been pretty significant. It seems the economic downturn has a lot of people looking deeper into the old dress bags under their beds.
And Irish Dance vendors likely will be affected as well. Those tiaras and pricey embellished headbands laden with crystals likely wouldn't meet the standard. What other products would be problematic?

It's a lot think about, particularly if you're a dressmaker or if you're getting ready to be in the dress hunt again. Here are some links to a few news stories on the topic:
New safety rules for children's clothes have stores in a fit (LA Times)
Upcoming CPSC Deadline Vexes Childrenswear Manufacturers (Apparel News)
When rules trump ingenuity (Seattle Times)
New law seems to ban resale of toys (Columbus Dispatch)
New law may hurt crafters at home (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The Smart Mama blog also has a good explanation.

Finally, if you are affected, this group has formed a petition to alter the testing standard.
And for dressmakers, here's a link to information that will be required under the new law on labeling for all children's products manufactured.

Ending 2008!

Wow, what an end to 2008! We were on quite the whirlwind ... the Oireachtas, which seems so long ago, followed by less than two weeks to get ready for our family's first big trip home to Ireland in six years.
I hated not to be able to do a post-O wrap up for 2008, but with only 14 days to do a month's worth of work when we returned from Columbus, plus pack and do all the much-procrastinated-about Christmas shopping, I was seriously behind schedule!
So here's a quick note on the Oireachtas that will never be forgotten ...

McClanahan took more dancers to the MWO in 2008 than ever before. It was a great year. We had 25 qualify, but due to college and an injury, 22 actually travelled to compete. But once we got to Columbus, we were beset by one crazy, unforeseen event after another.
We had one dancer - a first-timer at the O - who was in the group of dancers accidentally left out of the initial recalls on Friday. She had already returned to her hotel and was getting ready to hit the movies with her family when she found out she actually had recalled. What a rush to get back to the venue and onstage to compete!
Also, three of our dancers were in a car wreck the day before their comps. And two dancers were unable to compete after they got there - one because she got a violent stomach virus and was ill all night long before her competition.
After all that chaos, though, there were two great silver linings. We had two World Qualifiers! A first for our school. Lisa Morales, a senior ladies dancer, qualified by placing 9th. And Maria del Rosario (shown at right onstage with other U17 world qualifiers) placed 7th in the Ladies U17. What an inspiration to see these young women do so well amongst such amazing competition!

So, now the O is over once again, and 2009 is here. Many people are talking about how the economy will change feising. How will it change my family's feising? I don't know. I think we're likely skipping King O'Sullivan this year, which has been an annual favorite. But that's as much because I'm tired of traveling as anything. We spent the last two weeks of December in Ireland (here's a pic of the kids at the Cliffs of Moher), and I'm feeling like I haven't had much normal at home time in months!
Our first feis of 2009 will probably be St. Louis Irish Arts and then the new Buckeye Feis in Columbus. But, then again, that's only two feiseanna over the next four months ... can feisheads like us really dial back that much?!

Southern Region Oireachtas Updates Online

The Southern Region is posting live recalls and other info on its blog. Lots of awesome information and super fast updates!

Mid-America Irish Dance Championships Photos

Photos are now online from the 2008 MidWest Oireachtas! This link will take you to Harrington Photography's gallery page. Note that the pages for each day's photos from the O are at the bottom of this gallery.

Mid-America Irish Dance Championships Parade of Champions

Eastern Canada Oireachtas Awards photos

Click here to see photos on RincePix of the awards from the recent Eastern Canada Oireachtas awards.

Other Os getting underway!

The New England and Western Os are this weekend. You can find out more about them on their web sites:
New England Regional Oireachtas
Western Region Oireachtas

Results for the NE Region do not appear to be posted on the region's web site live, but many can be found in the NE Voy Message Board.
And recalls for the Western Region will be posted on the Feisworx blog and final results on Feisworx.

MidAmerica Oireachtas Blog

Get all the info before the O and follow along the MidAmerica Regional Championships online!

2009 Worlds - Provisional Timetable

The provisional timetable for the 2009 Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne in Philadelphia has been released.
Note: Solo events will be held at the Kimmel Center, while all team events except senior teams will be held at the Marriott Hotel.

2008 Oireachtas Results

RincePix is blogging from this weekend's Eastern Canadian Region Oireachtas

And Feisworx has the results of the recent Western Canadian Region Oireachtas.

Fall Feising ... Graham, Gem City & Halloween Feis!

It's been a busy fall feising season for us - add that to my son's travel soccer schedule, my real work schedule and everything else in life - and I've been a slackin' blogger!
But I did want to make note of these feiseanna, two we've attended before and one that was all new to us.

Graham Academy Feis
This feis certainly fixed its major problems from last year - venue and scheduling. The St. Charles Convention Center was a great venue. While a little small - champs had to be held in ballrooms upstairs, which was great for the champ dancers, just not for moms with kids in champs & solos LOL! - it was overall wildly better than the indoor tennis facility last year. This setup allowed the volunteers to focus on running the feis and not on worrying about damaging the facility.
The other big problem last year was scheduling. The feis had way too many comps with fewer than three competitors, and because of shared musicians and uneven numbers of dancers on stages sharing musicians, there was a lot of starting and stopping. The stages just didn't flow well, and for a feis that didn't have huge numbers, it lasted way too long.
Well, they fixed that this year, too, I was very happy to discover. All comps with fewer than five registered were merged, which not only helped the stages flow smoothly, but also gave dancers a chance to place in a competition that counted. My U7 Novice dd has been in so many comps with 3 or 4 dancers this year - I was thrilled that she had more competition!
The feis hotel also was very nice. The Embassy Suites St. Louis was great for us, as we travel with another family that has a preteen and an itty-bitty dancer, so getting a feis-rate on a hotel with a pull-out couch and two rooms was wonderful!
I will say however, that if I have to make note of one aspect of this feis that is not my favorite, it's the cost. This is the most expensive feis that we attend each year. Solo fees are $9 per dance, compared to a more typical, $7 or $8 per dance. That's not a huge difference - but it is higher. Champs are $35 - that's at the higher end of the norm. We have paid anywhere from $25 to $40 this year. But most often, it's $30. Then there's the set dance, which is a great opportunity right before the Oireachtas, so that's an added cost that is well spent. And of course, because the hotel is so lovely and comfy, that feis rate is a whopping $119 per night. We could have found somewhere cheaper, I'm sure, but I just wanted it noted here as part of this feis' overall cost level.
Now, thankfully, it was mostly true that Graham's feis was worth the money. It was in a higher-end venue with a higher-end hotel, and all that should cost a bit more. So participants have to make a decision on whether to attend based on that.
But there were two things this feis overlooked that its dancing families who are spending a lot to come should have gotten for their money ...
Ribbons on the solo medals.This is a big peeve of mine. These little kids want to wear their medals, and a feis that charges $9 for a solo comp should be able to afford to have ribbons put on their medals. We do it in Louisville for less. There's just no reason not to.
Results for champ dancers. When champ awards were announced, there was no statement about picking up your personal results stageside, as is typical. My dd was in the first group of awards announced, and several of us were confused about how the dancers were to get their personal results. My dd has only been in PC since May, but she's always gotten her results handed to her immediately following awards. But none of Graham's volunteers seemed to know what we were talking about when asked. Eventually, it was discovered that Graham's $35 champ entry fee did NOT include results. Results were only available by purchase through Feisworx for an additional $5. So, really Graham's champ fees were $40, to be comparable to most other feiseanna's offerings.
This isn't a huge deal. And it's only $5, but it should have been explained on the syllabus - I went back and looked, I can't find it. Or it should have been announced at awards ... "Dancers can purchase personal personal results at the Feisworx office."
I certainly understand how these little things get overlooked at a feis. There is a lot to undertake, and only two years in, Graham is doing a great job!

Gem City
The Gem City Feis was mostly the same as it has always been for us. No surprises - venue was the same, everything ran well, schedule seemed to work smoothly, results were timely. It was an exciting day because we had several of my older dd's friends who were dancing in PC for the first time.
The only thing that happened out of the norm involved my youngest dd's hornpipe. I've never seen anything quite like it.
She's was competing in Under 7 Advanced Beginner. And it was her first time ever to compete her hornpipe. Unfortunately, because she has been doing a slow treble jig for so long, when she checked to dance, for some reason she told them she was doing a slow hp. I don't know if they asked her or if she just volunteered it, but they separated her at the end of the group of 6.
So 3 dancers went, doing fast hp. Then 2 more, doing fast. And she was just waiting ... I looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she mouthed the word "SLOW" to me, and I understood the problem. I beelined it to the stage monitor and explained that my dd did, in fact, NOT do a slow hornpipe, but had been confused.
I've run many stages in my years of ID. Kids just learning hard shoe get confused between the speeds all the time. And she's 7 years old! So I wasn't surprised. The stage monitor took it in stride, went over to the musician and explained the situation.
So my little dd stepped out to dance, and the musician played the fast hp music again.
Well, the AD was now perplexed, so the stage monitor explained it to her. But that conversation seemed to go on for quite some time. And the AD did not seem happy about it one bit. But she let my dd dance, and all went well.
Then results were posted. And of the 6 dancers in the comp, all FIVE others but my dd were placed. So I waited patiently for my dd's results sheet at the end of the day.
When I finally got my hands on that sheet, it did not show that my dd had even been in the competition. So I was now the confused one. I got some volunteers on the case and discovered that the judge had not even scored my dd in that hp. The feis chair let me see the score sheet, and that judge did not even write my dd's number down as being in the comp.
I was absolutely furious. Who does that to 6 and 7 year old advanced beginners???
So she didn't know the speed ... she knew her steps. And I have seen more than one adjudicator take the opportunity at a feis to talk to younger dancers when they've not known something and actually tell them what to do. PJ McCafferty often will get up and speak to dancers if he feels he needs to.
Instead, this woman disqualified my 7 year old from an AB comp, made her the only one in the group to not see her number on the board. Ridiculous.
So what was a mostly uneventful feis ended with me turning into crazy feis mom! I haven't had a moment like that in a long time. But the feis committee was very accommodating and helpful in uncovering what happened, and it certainly wasn't their fault. And I appreciated all the did for us to resolve the issue.

Halloween Feis
We had a lot of fun yesterday at the Mullane-Healy-O'Brien Halloween Feis!
First of all, it was great to be able to travel light without dress bags and wig boxes, etc. And all the Halloween-themed music that started out the morning certainly seemed to get our PC dancers in the groove.
I love that this feis offered three rounds for PC dancers, and the nine-judge panel was a rare treat right before the O. I also liked the level-based schedule, although if I had dancers spread between levels it would be quite a challenge. And the fact that my dancers are in PC and novice meant that their levels were scheduled pretty close together. Friends with dancers in PC and prizewinner had MUCH longer days.
I had heard much about how well the MHOB feis schedule works. I think that this feis probably wasn't the best example of that.
The PC comps in the morning went really quickly. And the morning solo competitions seemed to fly by - at least on my younger dd's stage (4), but I think that wasn't the case on the other solo stages. Both my dd's were done with all their regular dances and had their results by 2 p.m.
ButMy dancemom friend and I had signed the little dancers up for their very first treble reel since the TRs at Halloween Feis get so much notice for their costumes, etc. We thought this would be the perfect first one for them. Well the novice solo stages that were not running concurrently ground to a halt at this point, and the schedule flew out the window. They signed the kids in, then let them go, then put them back in chairs. In all we waited almost an hour and a half for the TR. And stages 4 and 5 sat empty for all of that time except for two TS comps. The schedule is a great idea, in theory. But that's a lot of downtime for two stages in the middle of a feis day.
The other crazy thing that happened at Halloween Feis involved my little dd's hornpipe. What is it with that dance?? Her stage was moving so fast, and because of my bad time-management skills, I'm still not used to managing one dancer on the PC stage and one dancer all the way across the venue on the solo stages. So, I took my little dd to the bathroom and she missed her hp comp. After the Gem City debacle, I could not believe it!
But then another mom suggested that I see if there were any comps that same level still running that she could dance up in age to. I dashed across the venue and found a U10 AB hornpipe that was the only one that hadn't run yet. The WONDERFUL stage monitor heard my plea about missing the comp, added my dd in on the competitor sheet and helped me get her up on stage all in what seemed like seconds.
I didn't think she'd have any way of placing against dancers so much older, but at least she'd get to dance it. But guess what, she got fourth! Not too bad.
Overall, it was a much longer day than we'd anticipated, but I think it's definitely on our 2009 MUST FEIS list!

International Championship Results & Pics

Results for the 2008 Great Britain Championships!
Live Commentary (including photos) from Great Britains here

Photos from the recent All Scotland Championships

On the dress hunt

I used to think that most anyone who bought a brand new dress - save those few rare souls with lots of money to burn or whose dancers were tip top of the podiums regularly at international majors - was crazy. With the glut of second-hand dresses available, and many in such gently-used condition, I couldn't fathom why someone would pay full price when they didn't have to. 

Of course, I also don't buy brand new cars or shop the front racks at Macy's or buy $150 shoes for myself ... you get the picture.

But in recent months, I've begun to understand why there are SO MANY second-hand dresses available and why someone would be less likely to buy one than dig deep and buy new. 

Because I've had such good luck so far with dress buying for my own dancer, many of my dance mom friends often ask for my help when looking for a new dress for their daughters. And as these girls get older, the search gets amazingly harder. 

It was easy when the girls were built like planks - straight up and down, standard sizes with only height being the main variance. But now that so many of these dancers have grown into their distinctly unique shapes - some short-waisted, some long; some busty, some very slim; some with quite long arms; some with broad shoulders - it's become quite a puzzle to find a dress that matches a teen dancers' measurements as well as her color and style preferences, and is in good condition ... AND is within her parents' budget ideas. 

Phew, I'm tired just thinking about it. And we've been working on trying to find two of our dear dancing friends new gently-used solo dresses for several months now. With the Oireachtas approaching like a speeding train and the time for having a new dress made long passed, I thought I'd ruminate on the topic here a bit, but also ask for a bit of assistance. 

In an unlikely turn, both dancers have similar measurements and hair color.

So here's what we're looking for; if you have a dress you think would work, please shoot me an e-mail. Thanks!

Both girls have dark brown hair. 

One has more olive skin and could wear just about any color. She also is taller (5 ft 6 and needs about a 33-34 inch dress).  The other dancer is more rosey and looks better in jewel tones and pastels than in primary colors. She is shorter, just barely 5 ft 4, and needs a dress more in the 31-33 inch range.

The girls have similar other measurements: 

Bust: 32-33

Waist: 27-28

Sleeve: 24

Let me know if you have something that might work. Thanks again!

Busy, Busy August!

It's been quite the last month of summer around here, as I'm sure it has been for everyone. In addition to madly getting ready for school, we did more than our fair share of traveling and feising! It made for plenty of wonderful memories, though!

First things, first, however. My oldest dd's orange sold very quickly last month to another MW dancer from Kansas. And it has already made its debut at the Gateway Feis in St. Louis. 

In fact, ironically, one of my dd's close friends was also selling her Veronica dress at the same time and sold it to a dancer from the same Kansas school. So the two dresses have just moved west together about 500 miles to be with a new set of friends!

Now, on to the feising!

We started out August with one of our favorite weekends ... Columbus. 

The feis was as it often is — crowded and hot.

And right before Columbus we found out that my oldest dd was suffering from severe achilles tendonitis, so the feising part didn't really have much hope for an all-time high-outcome. That's OK, and there are plenty of other chances.  

As for the trip, for the first time ever, my husband didn't have to work and we made a long family weekend of it. 

We spent two days at the festival, shopped more than usual. It was great. 

He'd never been before and really enjoyed the whole thing — well maybe not the feis — but how many dads really do, right?

The feis seemed more of a sidebar really. 

In fact, my husband just wants to leave the kids at home next year! Who needs the kids and the feis,

he asked? We should go to the festival alone and spend some time just the two of us for a change!

But the kids did have a ball at the fest — rock climbing, sword fighting, bungee jumping and generally hanging out with their friends. 

All while the adults drank way too much fake Irish beer. 

Killians vs. Smithwicks — no contest. Oh well. 

All in all, lots of hot, sweaty fun was had by all. And we were exhausted but happy by the end!

Back to the Bus

We hit the road again this year with a four-day bus trip to Niagara Falls! We took nearly 40 total, including 18 dancers from our school as well as from our sister school in Cincinnati. 

While we were in Niagara, we did lots of soggy but exciting Niagara sight-seeing — the Maid of the Mist ferry ride, did the Journey Behind the Falls walk, the Falls Fury movie, the Butterfly Conservatory and the Whitewater Walk. 

On Saturday, our dancers participated in the Feis at the Falls at Niagara's Conference Center.

We've never feised in the Mid Atlantic Region before, and we were wonderfully surprised. It was a well-run feis — despite the overcrowded facility.  They had urged everyone to bring camping items on the feis web site, but there really wasn't sufficient camping space for a feis with, I believe, about 1,000 competitors. One of the moms with us called it "Dayton-like." I wouldn't go that far, but it was close. But that was the only big negative.

On their side was SPEED.

They ran a lot of competitors in a lot of competitions in a short amount of time. That included sets for not only OC, but also PC.

Champ awards seemed efficient, results were computerized and grades results were posted with names and schools. 

Had we not stayed for the treble reels, we could have easily been done by 2:30. Even with the treble reels and photos to commemorate the feis, some of our groups were still in the hotel bar by 4:30! 

Oh, and this feis has a bar that opened at about 2 p.m. The whole room started clapping when it was announced that it had opened ... now that's my kind of feis!   

We had so much fun on this trip. 

The feis was great. Canada was amazingly beautiful. It's really quite a shame that the American side of the border can't come near comparing with the Canadian side. It was landscaped gorgeously, perfectly clean, had lots of places to visit and eat and shop. 

The American side — except for our hotel and the convention center — was dingy and depressing. Quite a shock for us all, really. 

And, of course, this kind of bus trip is a great chance to spend wonderful time with our friends! 

We're already talking about where to go next year, so if you've got any great suggestions, please send them my way.

2008 British Nationals: Results & Photos

The 2008 British Nationals results and photos can be found online:

• Results
• Photos

At right is Caroline Cofoid of the Mulhern School Irish Dance in Chicago, who placed fourth in the Girls Under 10 competition.

More excitement from NANs!

I just want to congratulate another friend who had a great placement at NANs this year. We got to know U12 dancer Kelsey N. of Mayer and her mom at the girls' first Oireachtas several years ago. We've been friends ever since, and now my dd and I are so excited to see how well Kelsey's doing on the national and international stage. This photo shows her on stage at NANs this week, where she placed 9th. You rock, Kelsey! 

One of Our Own

McClanahan School Senior Ladies dancer Lisa Ann Morales was among our school's representatives at this year's North American Irish Dance Championships in Nashville, TN. 

We were all worried that Lisa, who previously has competed at the World Championships, might be unable to compete this week at NANs after badly rolling her ankle in practice just a couple of weeks ago. But despite being in some considerable pain, she did compete today. And we're all proud that she recalled and placed 39th out of 138. Way to go, Lisa!

Other McClanahan representatives at this years NANs are OC dancers Avalon Sutherland and Chauncey Olsen and U8 dancer Megan O'Keefe. We're so proud of all our McClanahan dancers!

North American Irish Dance Championships

Live Commentary and Results for this weeks NANs can be found online. There already are lots of photos up from the teachers reception and from dancers warming up for today's first set of competitions. Lot of excitement to come!

Long time, no blogging ...

Well, it's been quite a while since I've written here. I wonder if very many are still visiting? 

For those who are, here's an update of what's kept me away for so long. 

First, as some of you know, my mother's cancer prognosis was dire. And she never really recovered following her October surgery. She was in and out of the hospital with lengthy stays during the Christmas holidays and then again during Easter. As she reached a point where we knew her days were limited, we were determined to find a few ways to get her out of the house and make memories with the children. 

On Sunday, April 20, she attended the girls' dance recital. 

Here's a picture of Mom and my oldest dancer after the recital - the senior level dancers had performed a treble

 reel to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." It was a thrill.

And it was my mom's last outing. The following Saturday, we had to have her admitted to the Hospice hospital in severe pain. Unfortunately, by Tuesday, she was no longer able to speak or move. And she passed on Friday, May 2. 

In conjunction, surely spurred by stress, my own seizures continued, so I spent some time drivers' license-less, and at the mercy of my wonderful friends and family again. 

Now, again, my family is trying to get back on track ... and I'm back on the road to recovery - literally and metaphorically. 

In our dance world

Since I last posted about our feising, we also have been busy attended the following feiseanna, trying to keep some sense of normalcy for the kids: King O'Sullivan, St. Louis Irish Arts, Queen City, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Louisville. 

Since there are so many, and I've reviewed many of them before, I'll keep it brief. 

King O'Sullivan: We always love the venue. This time the kids went up in the cable car to the top of the mountain. Not me! This is a great little feis.

Queen City: Always a favorite of ours. This feis is well-run, in a nice big venue, with friendly volunteers. It ran a little long this year because of hosting the perpetual belt competition, but it was well worth it to watch such a high level of dance! 

I should also add that my oldest dancer move up to PC starting at this feis, so it was good to be at a feis where she felt really comfortable for her first PC competition.

In fact, she and her friends were so comfortable, they swarmed the podium late in the day for this group shot.

And my littlest one is doing pretty great, too. She's got all her dances in novice now except the hornpipe, which she hasn't competed yet. And she just recently placed out of her novice jig. 

That's her above with her QC "bling."

Cleveland: We hadn't been to the Cleveland Feis before, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The stadium seating kept our dancers from running around all day as they tend to do in a big convention center setting, and the velvet curtaining seemed to keep the noise level down a bit. Overall, I found it a much less stressful environment.  

And, since my dd placed at this feis in only her second time in PC, it's now one of our favorites, of course!

Detroit: We've been to this feis several times and have a pretty good idea of how to manage the heat. We took hand-held fans as well as a batter-powered floor fan, and we camped right by an outside door for the benefit of the breeze. But, boy, this year, it was just too much. 

By the time, my dd's PC comp went onstage in the mid-afternoon it was beyond stifling. She didn't handle the heat well, got tripped up and lost her train of thought in her hornpipe - completely stopping mid-step. 

When she came off, she was a white as a ghost and dripping in sweat. She went back on for soft-shoe, and I was glad that she did even though she knew she had botched her chances. 

It's that getting back on the horse life lesson they all must learn!

So, I think we're done with Detroit. Too far, too hot. And boy am I glad that we got Cleveland and Detroit out of the way before gas went to $4 a gallon!

On the upside, my dd got to debut her new dress at Detroit. It's a Dancing in Celtic two-piece. We're the second owners, as it didn't fit the first dancer well and they sold it after only a few wears. And we're absolutely in love with it. Now, she MUST stop growing for just a bit.

And, of course, that means we'll be selling her beloved orange dress. Watch here for more details!

Indianapolis: This feis was much better than last year. Of course, last year had issues through no fault of the committee - weather, sick judges, etc. 

This year, things were smooth and mostly fast. My dd's PC comp was in the morning, and her results were lightning fast. However, I heard that as the day went on the champ results overall took dramatically longer. 

Louisville: Our own feis went fairly well this year. Since we did so many new things last year, we didn't have nearly the number of kinks to work out this year. We did still have some computer problems in the morning that slowed our results tabulation down more than we would have liked. And we had a much higher number of open champs this year, meaning that their bigger three-round comps also took longer to tabulate than we had hoped, even with our increased tabulation staff and computer banks. 

But other than those slow downs, we felt like the feis went extremely well. Our new hotel, while farther away, was much better. The big venue always seems to please, and we've had lots of positive feedback about the hospitality of our volunteers, which is one of my main goals each year ... to make everyone feel welcome.

Each year we learn from the process, and despite the stress, our Louisville Feis is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a great opportunity to show the region that we in Kentucky may be small in number but we're committed to Irish Dance all the same.  

The 2008 World Irish Dancing Championships-Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne have begun at the Waterfront in Belfast and you can follow the action on the An Coimisiun's live commentary blog.

Don't miss this New York Times article on the Keltic Dreams troupe of Irish Dancers - mostly of Hispanic or African American cultures themselves - being taught in the Bronx by Irish native Caroline Duggan. The accompanying video will nearly bring you to tears, and the stories of what these kids have had to go through to participate in the program and ultimately their journey to Ireland are something to remember.

For more about the group, shown in the photo above, go their Web site.

All Ireland Championships information

The All Irelands are underway in Killarney, and the Web site this year is offering great information to those at home interested in the amazing competition at the 2008 Oíreachtas Rínce na Éíreann. 

Under the Live Commentary section there are blogs for each day of competition with detailed info as well as tons of photos. 

Here is a photo of results from the Girls 9-10 being called on stage in the INEC-Glen Eagle.  

2007 New England Oireachtas video

The video from the NE Oireachtas has finally made its way to 

YouTube and it's well worth the watch. The person shooting the 

video had a great spot, and there's very little of the usual noise

interfering or heads blocking the way. Enjoy!

Keeping up the ties between Ireland and America

My husband found something interesting online today that, although not related to Irish dance, certainly is of interest to anyone who cares about a continued strong relationship between the two countries we love so much. 

The U.S.-Ireland Alliance endeavors in various efforts to support the effort, including the George J. Mitchell Scholar program. 

The U.S.-Ireland Alliance's Featured Video explains the group's intentions, a little more about the importance of their work as well as giving insight into the high level of scholars they are seeking. It is a remarkably well-done, modern video - of interest to all of us, I'm sure - but even more so for those with children in the university stage of life. 

The opportunity to study and intern in Ireland's bustling, booming economy is certainly one I hope my children will have a chance to pursue in the years to come.

Ending 2007 & Feis review: Pittsburgh Winterfeis

Gosh, has it really been nearly a month since I last posted? It's been quite a hectic past 6 weeks - as if the holidays aren't normally hectic enough. 

Because of my illness this year, I did not go into the Christmas season nearly as prepared as usual. And when you add in my oldest dd's competition in the MidAmerica Oireachtas, boy was I behind schedule.

Also adding both to the frantic pace of the season - as well as to its accompanying stress - was my mother's illness. As some of you know, shortly after I returned to work, my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive, stage-four colon cancer that also is in her liver, lymph nodes, etc. Considering that we'd already spent months managing my illness, and given the gravity of my mom's illness, this was a major blow. As to her health now, she has been hospitalized several times, had surgery and chemo, and many complications from both. It's been a tough six months to say the least. So many of  you, as always, have been there for me, and I thank you.

Back to Irish dance ... as I said, we travelled to Chicago for the O on Thanksgiving weekend. Our whole family went, as did the largest group of soloists our school has ever sent. It was an exciting weekend - no recall for my dd - but half of our school's dancers did receive awards, and that proved extremely heartwarming.

Then, after the holidays, we travelled north to Pittsburgh for Winterfeis. It was good to get away as a family, and at least this hotel had a pool - unlike the O's Hyatt!

Information

This was our first trip to this feis, and it was a very good one. The experienced feis committee - Jim Graven and Kathy and David Yates, plus many other dedicated volunteers, I'm sure - did a great job of providing information beforehand. I particularly liked the downloadable program available online a few days before the feis. It saves a few trees as well as saving the feis committee more than a few dollars in printing costs. 

Location

The Expo Mart convention space was attached to the hotel and was just a short walk from the hotel elevators ... pretty easy for lugging feis gear. The stages were set up around the edges, so the center of the space was available for camping. Vendors were lined along one wall and made for easy access to their wares. 

Our only difficulty in regards to the space was that the early beginner/advanced beginner stages at one end of the room had no walkways to them, making it nearly impossible for the little dancers to get stageside to check in. The crowd around these stages, as is usual for B/AB, was pretty thick and became virtually impenetrable very quickly. 

Results/Awards

Results were easy to access in the entry hallway, and awards had its own corner that seemed pretty accessible - until the usual end-of-day crowds set it. Our dds' results were processed quickly, always a good thing! And the substantial medals were lovely.

Photography

Jim Graven, during opening ceremonies, announced that Winterfeis had An Coimisiun approval for authorized photographer Steph from Rince Pix to take action shots at the feis. It's so nice to have professionally done dancing photos of the dancers. Steph and her partner did a great job. We hope to see them at more MW feiseanna in the future!

So after this last feis of 2007 - and a difficult year overall - we're all looking forward to a "Great 2008." 

Southern Region Oireachtas Videos Online

More Oireachtas videos are going up. Sunny230 has begun posting awards videos from the Southern (U.S.) Region's Oireachtas. You can view that gallery of videos here.

Below is an adorable clip from the Under-8 Awards ceremony.

MidAmerica Oireachtas Photos

You can view candid crowd photos as well as award shots online at Scott Photography.
(Click Irish Dance Gallery, then scroll to the bottom to see the three buttons for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday photos.)

Photo at right shows a group of U10 recallers, including our own McClanahan School's Clare S. (in orange at left).

MidAmerica Oireachtas Parade of Champs Video

Part One

Part Two

Oireachtas Photos Online!

Photos for the New England, Eastern Canada and Western Region Oireachtasi are online here at Universal Event Photos.
(Click on "View your images," then select "Irish Dancing," then leave the white field empty and click "Submit.")

Mid-America Oireachtas Updates

For updates about the upcoming Mid-America Irish Dance Championships, go to the newly created Oireachtas blog. Already posted are the stage schedule and practice room assignments, as well as information regarding pool options for those staying at the Hyatt host hotel.

Halloween Feis makes the day fun!

The recent Halloween Feis hosted in Chicago by the newly formed Mullane Healy O'Brien Irish Dance Academy embraced the spirit of the holiday and encouraged participants to do the same. Many dancers wore Halloween costumes for the treble reels, and some even wore them for their regular dance comps.
To see photos from the feis, click below:
Halloween Feis photos

Great Britain Championship Results

GB Results (feisresults.blogspots.com)
GB Results (IrishDancing.com Tamasine's blog)

NAFC Convention 2007

Well, after last year's convention in Chicago, my feis co-chair Heather and I thought we had plenty of time to plan our own hosting of the the 2008 NAFC Convention. No worries. Ooops! Then we found out that the 2007 hosts had to drop out due to venue issues - anyone who has planned a feis knows that story all too well - and before we knew it, we were bumped up on the schedule.
So, a little less time to plan. We're pretty good organizers. That's OK. Right? Then we found out about a little something called a meningioma ... and there went a solid three months out of my schedule.
Could we have done things better? Sure. But you know what? It turned out OK.
We had more than 80 delegates from feiseanna across North America. Everyone got here safely - despite some tornado-laden storms. The pace of the meetings moved along nicely. We introduced our workshop on selecting a feis venue and the challenges that your choice can bring. And we got to come together with the North American feis family that has built Irish dance across this continent for more than 50 years.
Just a few specifics from this year's convention:

• NAFC vice-president Padraic Sweeney debuted the new NAFC web site, which should be a huge assistance to feis organizers. It includes much more detailed and sortable information on adjudicators, musicians and feiseanna, and much more.
• It was announced that a special group insurance package has been secured for feiseanna. More information is available on the web site.
  
• When the web site is completely transitioned, the 2008 feis calendar will be available. However, some feis information is starting to become available. Nashville will not hold a feis in 2008. And, apparently, the former Norton-Healy feis in March, now the Mullane-Healy-O'Brien feis, will be on the first weekend in May.
  
• An Coimisiún's Seamus O'Se confirmed that Worlds 2009 would be April 5-12 in Philadelphia.
• O'Se also reiterated that CLRG stands behind the no photography rule, but understands that it is a challenging rule for organizers to enforce and said he would address that issue with the group in Dublin to see if any additional guidance can be offered.
  

In the end, I was exhausted by the weekend, but thrilled to see so many wonderful faces - especially those lovely ladies from the Forest City Feis. Joan and the girls made my weekend!

Irish dancing gets a mention in Fashion Week Daily!

Canadian Irish dancer turned fashion model Coco Rocha brought a troupe of Irish dancers to Harlem recently benefit the Children's Aid Society. Read more about it here.

All Scotland Championship Photos

All Scotland Photos

Feis Review: Graham Academy, St. Louis

I finally got back in the swing of feising at Graham Academy's new feis in St. Louis. We traveled with with one of the other "4C" families, and I can't tell you how happy I was to be back on the ID trail with my girls and my friends.

What this feis got right:

• Graham did a great job before the feis of providing plenty of information on both its own well-designed web site and its pages on Feisworx, including competitor listings, stage assignments, lots of location/venue info, etc.
• Pre-registration on Friday seemed well-organized, and the Teddy Grahams tied with ribbon were a super-cute touch.
• The Doubletree was a lovely hotel, with very nice rooms and more than enough space to host the feis. I've made no secret of my distaste for the over-crowding that typically accompanies hotel feises. But the sports complex adjacent to the Doubletree meant there was more than enough room for stages and lots of camping, however it did lead to some other problems I'll revisit down the road.
• This feis offered non-traditional set dances for prize-winner and prelim dancers - a great option right before the Oireachtas.
• After some early delays, results were posted quickly and in a very convenient area. And the acrylic St. Louis Arch awards for OPW First were very cute!
  
• Stages were large and painted with black chalkboard paint - even if they were butted up against each other. I understand that this likely is because the stages were sharing musicians. But even a couple of feet of buffer between stages really makes a difference for older, taller dancers who already are quite cramped on solo stages.

What needs improvement:

• The biggest area in need of improvement is stage assignments. This is a huge challenge if you've never done it before, and the learning curve is enormous. I'm sure Graham's committee have already thought of how they might address this for next year. Here is my take on the situation.
  Over dinner after the feis, the 4C moms - all members of our own feis' committee - couldn't figure out why the Graham feis had run so late. There hadn't seemed to be any big lulls in the competitions, as we've seen before ... no hour and a half lunch breaks, for example. Everything had moved right along, there had been only about 600 dancers, and there were plenty of stages, so what was the hold up? Then we realized ... for some reason, Graham had a surplus of competitions with a tiny number of dancers entered.
  All feiseanna have comps like this, mostly boys groups, but Graham had more than 100 solo competitions with three or fewer dancers registered according to the stages assignments.
  This caused problems in two ways.
  One: A lot of time was spent stopping and starting competitions for just one or two dancers. If competitions had been merged, then much of that down time could have been eliminated. I would bet that two hours could be shaved off their finish time if they were able to consolidate these smaller comps (if they have the same comp sizes next year).
  Two: The other problem the stage assignments caused pertained to the shared musicians. This is always a challenge and requires much planning during the creation of the assignments as well as coordination between the affected stage monitors on feis day. Stage monitors MUST talk to each other about what comps they are on and try to keep pace with each other.
  Graham's assignments had two problems - uneven numbers of competitors in the various comps combined with the fact that not just beginners were running all at the start of the day but advanced beginners were, too. This interfered with the stages' flow. There was no pace to the day of reels followed by jigs, the slip jigs, etc. We all seemed confused all the time ... and we've been doing this a while!
  The uneven numbers also meant that the stages sharing musicians were very rarely on the same page musically for most of the first half of the day. For instance, one stage might have 1 in the beginner reel and its adjacent one might have 13 in the beginner reel. So the first stage had to wait around for jigs until the second one was done. Not very efficient when it happens over and over again.
  
• The other main challenge I saw for Graham concerned their lovely venue. The solo stages were built in the indoor tennis facility, which had plastic sheeting down to protect the flooring. This did not work, and MANY announcements were made about not dancing in hardshoes on the plastic sheeting. While I sympathize, I think it's completely unrealistic to hold a feis in a venue where your competitors have to worry about damaging the floor with the shoes they have to wear to compete.
  By the end of the day, I saw more feis volunteers focused on covering every tiny little hole in the plastic sheeting with black duct tape than on running the feis. The floor looked like a giant Dalmatian.
  I'm sure that's a hassle the committee didn't anticipate and doesn't want to repeat. I hope Graham can come up with some other cost-effective way to cover these tennis courts that will allow them to take a very good first-year feis and make it even better next year.
  

Overall, Graham got it right. They provided good info beforehand, secured a beautiful and spacious venue, staffed plenty of volunteers, built safe stages, and gave out nice awards. Well done!

Some of the best things in life...

There was a post recently on the Main Irish Dance Message Board that read like this:
" Okay, we know about the gossip. But, what about the great moms you've met in Irish Dance - people you can trust and confide in? Our little group is so fun and kind."

I have been thinking a lot recently about the band of friends I've made through my daughters' years in Irish dance, and I feel compelled to praise those friends for their impact on my life.
We've all heard before that tough times demonstrate for us who our true friends are. That certainly has been the case for me.
My "best" friend since childhood, with whom I admittedly have had a tumultuous relationship, has not called me once since my surgery. Not once in nearly eight weeks - after more than 20 years of friendship. And she was one of the first people I called after my diagnosis.
I just couldn't imagine going through this without her. But I did.
And I did just fine, thanks to the amazing women I have met in the past six years. We have a circle of about 12 who support one other, feis together and with our dancers - obviously! - and really bond at the studio. No one is catty, everyone seems to genuinely care for one another, and we all honestly get along. And so do our kids. Its a great atmosphere.
But on a more personal note, I have made some absolute best friends that I just cannot imagine living without. They have helped me beyond belief this summer.
While we've all been friends for a while now, our closeness really came to be in the past year when our girls became best friends. They have dubbed themselves the 4Cs - because their names all begin with "C." And as the moms of the 4Cs, we've been constantly together, too.
But with my illness this year, these other moms have picked up the slack for my family in ways I could not have even begun to imagine. They have arranged to have us fed, transported the girls to more practices and feises than I can count, carted me out so I didn't go stir crazy, visited me in hospital, brought me flowers and cookies and laughter and on and on. Not a day goes by that one of them doesn't call to check on me.
And dear others in our group also have come and kept me company, brought dinner, taken my kids to the pool, watched them while I was at the hospital, spent time keeping everyone updated for me, taken collections on our family's behalf, etc. It's been amazing.
It's a wonderful testament to the power of friendship, and I never forget how blessed I am to have all the dance parents at the McClanahan School in my life. Thank you, ladies and gents. I love you!

A Must-Read for Irish Dance Fans

First, let me say that I have felt much better yesterday and today. So, hopefully, I'm on the upswing. I still don't have enough energy to attend my dd's feis this weekend, as I had originally hoped. My husband put the brakes on that idea - and he's right. But I am feeling slightly stronger, a little less shaky, a little clearer in the mind and a lot more optimistic. Thanks, everyone, for your notes and comments of support!

Now, back to ID, if you aren't a regular reader of Ann Donahue's Taoknitter blog, then you should start now. Ann, a former ballerina, dance professor and now Irish dance dressmaker, has been writing recently about proper body alignment and how that relates to Irish dance.
Her posts have covered everything from foot strength and toe stands to why Irish dancers have over-developed calf muscles to how dancing posture affects the hang of your dd's dress.
I have learned so much from her posts, and I encourage everyone to check them out.
Thanks, Ann, for all your hard work on these. They are invaluable!

Recuperating is not fun

I've always been a glass-half-full person. And I still am. Optimism is my guiding principle in everything I do. But, boy, has this past month been a challenge.
It's not really dance related, but I've received so much support from people I've met through this blog, that I thought I might share a little bit about how my recuperation from my recent craniotomy for a benign brain tumor has progressed.
It's been much harder than I expected. I actually felt better the first week out of the hospital than I have felt since. Having such a low energy level was something I knew would be part of the process of healing, but my major challenge has been the side effects of the medication needed to control brain swelling. I've now been on steroids for nearly six weeks, and it has been a nightmare. They have caused a red rash down my neck and shoulders and swollen my face significantly, made me jittery to the point of vibrating all day and incapable of sleeping for more than five hours at night. And all my thought processes seem as if I've had a few too many adult beverages!
I'm now weaning down off them, and this week will be my last doses, thanks be to God.
Coming off the steroids has been an enormous exercise in patience for my family and myself, as I've become highly cranky and found all the side effects of being on the steroids are exacerbated by the weaning process. Add to that extreme joint pain from my now nearly shut-down adrenals, and I'm just counting the minutes until the last of these meds are out of my system.
I'm saying my prayers that once they're all gone, my body can truly begin righting itself and I'll be able to feel closer to a normal person again. It's been such a shock to go back to feeling poorly after having felt so well right after my surgery.
I'm sure this post must sound like a big pity-party, which is not my style. But I think it's important to share our stories in life. If there's someone out there who may have had a similar experience - or will in the future - I want them to know that life's challenges are here to help us be better people. And as much as I may be challenged in this experience, I am surviving it. I will feel better, and I will get back to my active live. I just hope it's soon.

British Nationals Results & Photos

I have been remiss in getting links up for the recent British Nationals. Here they are!
British Nationals Results
British Nationals Photos

And now for something completely unrelated!

I just had to put these photos up. It's so easy to always get caught up in the excitement of Irish dance, but there are so many other ways my kids have fun, too.
And the recent Harry Potter hoopla, which of course came during my hospital stay, was something my older dancer had been anticipating for many eager months.
My sister took her and my son to one of the area bookstore parties and worked with them beforehand on their costumes. My son kept it simple ... it was Harry all the way for him.
But my daughter was pretty pumped to dress as Luna Lovegood and worked awefully hard on the radish earrings, butter beer necklace, super-blond hair extensions, etc. It must have worked, because she won the costume contest. What fun!

The girls go feisin' without me

Well, while I'm on my spot on the couch ... surfing the Web, watching WAY too much Home and Garden TV and generally learning how to rest and relax, my dancing daughters went to their first feis together without me this weekend. My older DD has been with friends before, but this was the 5 year old's first such excursion.
A dear friend and her wonderful husband packed them up with their girls. Thank goodness they're all best buddies and spend loads of time together. So off to St. Louis An Samhra Feis they went. We've been to this one before, and it sounds as if it was a typical hotel feis. Crowded and chaotic. I'm not sorry I missed that part!
My girls did pretty well. The little one did her beginner slip jig for the first time and got fourth. She also got fourths in reel and jig, both of which she danced in advanced beginner for the first time. Not bad!
My older dancer had a pretty good day in some large, tough groups. Nothing in reel, unfortunately, but fourth in slip jig, third in treble jig, and fifth in hornpipe.
One cool thing this feis does is make a huge deal about the treble reel, which is my older dancer's favorite part of the day! She loves to choreograph her own steps and has had great luck with every step she's ever created. An Samhra does a "recall" for its treble reel. In my DD's group, apparently there were about 30 0r 40 to start and then 10 were "recalled" for a second step. She'd worked up something new and ended up with a nice third place for her efforts!
I'm proud of my dancers for their accomplishments and for their dancing. But mostly, right now, I'm so proud that they're learning to handle themselves well even in difficult circumstances and to go with the flow of life. If they can learn that now, they've got me beat for sure!

One followup about this feis: Champ awards apparently could have been managed a bit better. Given the current Oireachtas requirements in the MidWest, most feiseanna are placing out the added spot anytime there are an uneven number of dancers in a PC/OC group. And many are awarding individual round placements, as has become customary at most MidWest feiseanna. This feis did neither.
This weekend, one of my older DD's best dancing friends danced in a PC group of nine, which actually had many more than that registered. Her placement was fifth. However, she was not recognized during presentations, and she did not receive an award.
When her mother asked a volunteer about why the feis opted to under-award rather than go with the more typical method, she was told that the Beleek prizes were very expensive and the feis had basically decided to conserve them. Strange, however, that in this group there actually should have been quite a few awards left over since there were so many no-shows.
Overall, it didn't affect us personally, but it did trouble a friend who felt her new-to-PC dancer was left out of an opportunity for recognition. She doesn't need the O placement, but we all like a little time in the sun.
And it doesn't make good customer relations for the feis, which certainly had planned for beautiful awards but then didn't use those as an opportunity to boost their event.

Home and happily recuperating!

Hi everyone! I'M HOME!!!!
What a blessing it is to be home and recuperating.
My surgery went just as expected, and the neurosurgeon was able to remove my entire tumor, which turned out to be plum-sized ... even bigger than the little lime we were expecting. :-)
I had great care at Jewish Hospital and couldn't be happier with how things have gone. It's very surreal to think that just over a week ago, I had this enormous benign growth in my brain and now it's gone.
I do tire quite easily. It's hard to remember that just because I'm sitting here not doing anything active, my body is actually working pretty hard to heal from this huge invasive procedure.
But given some of the other neuro patients I saw on my wing, I couldn't feel more blessed. At most, I should have a bit of physical therapy for my weakened left foot and that's about it. Others have months of intense work ahead to return to normal life.
So, I'm taking it easy, resting whenever possible and enjoying seeing my husband and kids after a very long stressful week. And, of course, we're celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary today. Yet another wonder of God in my life!!!!
Just as all my amazing friends - near and far - are.
Thank you, from every bit of my being for your support, encouragement and friendship. You all are amazing!
Brooke

Thanks to everyone!

I'm off tomorrow morning for my surgery. I want to thank everyone who has been so kind with their words of support and friendship in this challenging time.
I'm keeping the best attitude I can and focusing on all the positive stories others have been sharing with me about their own outcomes and those of their family and friends in similar situations.
God bless all of you for everything. And here's hoping that I'm home and bored enough to be posting again within a couple of weeks!
Brooke

North American Championship Parade of Champs Video

Several clips have been placed on YouTube from the recent NAN's Parade of Champs. Here's just one, but there are five available. Enjoy!

For links to the others, click here.

North American Championship Updates

Click here for information, as it becomes available, on recalls and results at the North American Irish Dance Championships in Ottawa.

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

This legendary John Lennon lyric perfectly defines this moment in my life when I have found myself facing an enormously difficult challenge.
Earlier this week - following some vision problems and dizzyness I had as we were setting up for our feis - I received a medical diagnosis that has alternately scared and emboldened me. I have a large, thankfully benign, meningioma, which will have to be removed in coming weeks by a neurosurgeon.
There are so many ways in which this news is a challenge...

• I'm somewhat fearful of the surgery, as anyone would be, although my surgeon has an excellent reputation and is quite confident about my prognosis.
• My husband, children and other family are, of course, nervous for me and my health.
• Even in the best of circumstances, it will mean as long as two months off work, with no driving, housework, etc. That's not easy for someone as busy or determined as I am.

But what blessings I already have received from this experience.
In recent years, because of the time our family devotes to Irish dance, I have come to see that all my close friends are other dance moms. We spend countless hours in the studio and our cars together. And you can only dissect the most recent feis or workshop for so long. Our friendships now have moved so far beyond the casual aquaintences who used to pass in the parking lot.
These women have rallied around me, offered assistance from carpooling to grocery shopping and beyond, and been more generous with their support in the past few days than I could have imagined.
When I think about why we're so involved in Irish dance, now I understand. This is our community - the people who are committed to us, and us to them, even when their own lives are full and demanding.
I can't thank all the dance moms out there enough - even the ones who from a distance are sending their kind words of friendship and prayers.
As one of them so eloquently put it:
"This is certainly NOT a path which you have chosen, but by Grace it doesn’t have to be traveled alone."

Reviewing our Feis!

Thank you so much to the hundreds of families and their dancers who attended our Feis this year! What a great bunch you were ... and the level of dancing was wonderful to see.
We tried several new things this year, from processes to location. And for the most part, it worked. While there is a learning curve in anything new, we feel like our committee has already come up with a few suggestions that will make next year even better.

Venue We were thrilled with our new venue! The amount of space available for families, stages and vendors seemed endless. Since overcrowding is one of my least favorite aspects of some feiseanna we've attended, I was very pleased that we have found a spot that allows our participants room to breath.
From a committee standpoint, the staff was very helpful and met any needs quickly. Anyone who helps run a feis will know that the ability of venue workers to respond in a timely fashion - to full trash cans, temperature fluctuations, etc. - is key. And every time we asked them for help, they were on it.

Results We changed our results processing significantly in an effort to provide the most accurate results we could in a way that also would allow us to send out personal results quickly after the feis.
Following the Detroit model, we hired temps, set up a bank of laptops and got to work entering data for all comps and printing results for posting. While we had five laptops going at full speed, the learning curve meant that morning results took longer than we had hoped. However, by afternoon, our team was working very efficiently. And, I believe, all results were posted by about 3:45. Additionally, we had virtually no errors in our posted results because everything was double-checked prior to printing.
Computer tabulating results before posting is much more labor-intensive, but we're glad we did it - especially those committee members who usually spend more than a week doing data entry afterward. We'll continue to refine the process for 2008 - the accuracy and timeliness of the procedure is worth the effort.

Run time Last year, we finished later than we had hoped. So getting all comps done in a timely manner was a huge goal for us in 2007. And, I have to say, I'm so proud of our team. We had many stages done by 2 p.m. and all stages done by about 3:45.
I think we were able to balance out the finish time on all our stages this year through good stage assignments and our move from three volunteer shifts for the day to two. This meant that we were not re-acclimating as many volunteers as often. Once our crew got in the groove, they were able to keep it going for a longer period without turnover.
I had a personal goal that we would be able to meet Queen City's 4:30 finish time last month, and we beat even that ... I was shocked!

Stages
We had more issues with stages this year than in the past. But our stage maintenance crew members were dedicated to their task, and by mid-morning we seemed to have found all the problem spots and gotten them fixed quickly. While it meant stopping the PC stage for a bit to pull up a board and fix a brace underneath, we felt the stoppage was worthwhile and the monitors still were able to keep the stage running timely for the rest of the day.
For next year, we will be taking an inventory of our wood to replace the problem pieces. Maintaining stage materials from year to year is a challenge for virtually every feis, but we're on top of it and have a plan to keep stage quality under control.

Hotel Last year, when we found out that our space at the International Convention Center would not be available on our dates for 2007 or 2008, we were disappointed. That is, until we saw the 129,000-square-foot facility at the Expo Center. We ended up very happy about the venue change. However, it also meant that the largest hotel available to us would go from the brand new downtown Marriott to being the much older Executive Inn across from the KEC.
The hotel clearly didn't live up to what it had promised us - in terms of service, cleanliness or even security, in some instances. Of course, we can't know what other groups will book into a hotel after we sign our contract. And we don't expect any hotel to turn away business on our behalf. But, unfortunately, Lynnard Skynnard fans and Irish dance families just don't have much in common.
We are taking individual circumstances to their management team and hope to secure some kind of satisfaction for those affected.
We also have begun efforts to explore other hotel options for next year. It may mean we go to multiple smaller hotels or a hotel that's a bit further away. We're not sure. But, it's a key concern, and we'll be addressing it appropriately.

Awards We made the switch to new championship awards this year, and I hope those who earned them were pleased. I thought they were very pretty. Also, we offered beautiful glass bowls for our memorial treble reel winners. I sure hope my dancers earn them one day!

Vendors We had lots of our favorites back - from Gemma at Dearly Yours to Melissa's gang from The Red Ox. We also added J&K Designs and their super-cute embroidered items. Thank you to everyone who made all our vendors' sales day a success.

Adjudicators & Musicians I have to say, what a great bunch of people. They were dedicated to their tasks, happy to be there, kind to the dancers and flexible in meeting our needs. And all left with big smiles at the end of the day. Hooray!

Overall, I couldn't be more proud to have co-chaired our 2007 Feis. It wasn't perfect - but no feis is. We set out with a goal of being proficient and effective at planning and hospitable and informative to all those who attended. I think we did it!

Feis Review: Indianapolis

Kudos to the Indianapolis Feis committee. They put on a great feis - in spite of some fairly daunting challenges.
Storms the night before had re-routed flights throughout the northeast, and meant that more than one judge was facing delays. In fact, we had been put on standby that one judge would be flying in to our airport instead of Indy's and we would need to bring her with us early the morning of the feis. In the end, she couldn't even make it to us.
And she wasn't the only one. Indy started the day down three judges due to weather. That's a significant slice of any feis' judging staff, but luckily Indy had planned for one floating extra judge and also had one musician with his ADCRG. Joining those two in the effort to get stages running on time was Allison Erickson, a TC/ADCRG from Cincinnati, whose daughter was competing.
So with three judges in place to make up for the shortage, Indy's Carolyn Patton got the day going on time. What a feat!
The pluses for this feis are many...

• Large, open venue with loads of camping room.
  
• Big stages with plenty of space for dancers to line up.
  
• Kind volunteers.
• Lots of vendors.
  
• Well-planned stage assignments.
  
• Attractive awards.
  
• Timely results.
  

There were a few negatives.

• No water stations (and no coolers allowed) meant purchasing $3 bottled water to keep the girls hydrated.
• Splits seemed particularly uneven. Though this may have been due to dancers who skipped the feis, it still meant that splits were significantly out of balance in my dancer's U11 OPW competitions. For example, her hornpipe A split had 17 in it, but the B and C splits had fewer than 10. With hindsight, maybe there should have been only two splits?
  
• Insufficient signage - the stage signs were not bold enough nor large enough to be read from even a dozen feet away. It meant that the signs were often being crowded around by dancers and parents trying to keep track of stage progression.
• Combining results and awards in one meeting room made for way too much congestion - particularly during the end of the day rush when the throng on one side for results collided in the middle of the room with lines on the other side for awards.
  

Late in the day, things started to take a turn for the worse when yet another judge was side-lined. This time by food poisoning. For a while, all the comps on that U12 stage were moved onto our U11 stage, creating much chaos as comps were reordered. Being down four judges seems unthinkable. And it certainly wasn't easy for the committee, I'm sure. In fact, John Timm even had to step in and judge one comp just to keep our stage running. But as soon as champs finished and freed up a judge, the U12 stage was back at work.
Overall, this was a great feis. With some changes in signage and location of results/awards, I think Indy will rate right up there with our feis favorites!
Our school's dancers performed well, and another dancing friend earned her final placement needed for prelim! My beginner won her reel and got fourth in her jig - she may have mastered her steps, but she still hasn't quite figured out how to get around the other dancer on stage :-) My OPW dancer placed again in her hard shoe dances, but was unlucky in soft shoe. Good think our own Feis is just hours away!
I'm saying a little prayer right now that all our judges show up and stay healthy!

How time flies!

Our own feis is right around the corner. This is my first year co-chairing, and I've really enjoyed it. We've made some changes and worked really hard in advance as a committee to make it the best feis we can.
But all that hard work - on the heels of my family's recent move - has really put the slowdown on my blogging here. I've got the Indy Feis review all in my head, and no time to get it into the computer.
But soon, very soon, I'll get caught up. :-)

Preview: North American Irish Dance Championships

The Irish Dance Teachers Association of Canada-Eastern Region's web site runs down the A-Z of this year's North American Irish Dance Championships in Ottawa during the Fourth of July holidays.

From “A” for Adjudicators to “V” for Vendors.

No word yet on “Z” ... maybe ZandB???

Also, a competitor listing for NANs is available from InStep Feis Management.

We're looking for tiny hard shoes

I'm hoping someone out there may be able to help us find some teeny-tiny hardshoes for my youngest dancer. She can't wait until her advanced beginner class in the fall ... she wants hardshoes now! :-)
So, if anyone out there has a size 11 or 11.5 that they would like to off load, please email me.
Thanks!

Michael Flatley on RTE's The Gerry Ryan Show

Michael Flatley was interviewed on RTE's "The Gerry Ryan Show" this morning as a preview for the return of the "Lord of the Dance" tour to Ireland for the first time in 7 years.
Long-time radio personality Gerry, shown at left, chats with Flatley about the dance show, his wife and new baby, as well as the state of his health.
Click the link to download the show for Wednesday, May 30. The interview begins about 1 hour, 22 minutes into the show and lasts about 16 minutes.

Note: Please be aware that there is some adult content discussed in segments before and after the Flatley interview. Adults only, I'd say!

Feis Review: Peach State, Atlanta (Update)

Peach State Feis Results: All results information has been lost due to failure of the feis' single computer, according to Drake's web site.

May 30: Another update has been posted on the Peach State Feis results situation. Thank you, to the committee, for deciding to handle this challenge appropriately.

June 13: The Peach State Feis committee has begun posting the re-tabulated results on its web site.

Feis Review: Peach State, Atlanta

Never again.
It's that simple. After this weekend's experience in Atlanta, I will never attend this feis again.
Peach State is a long-running feis with an experienced leader. However, to this feis family, none of the experience or forethought that one would expect was present. And something else was keenly missing ... southern hospitality.
There were some pluses for Peach State. I can say that results were - mostly - posted quickly, the peach-shaped medals were adorable, and the host hotel is beautiful and staffed by helpful, friendly workers.
And that's about all I can say positive, unfortunately.
I'm sure others out there had a wonderful experience this weekend at this feis. And I encourage their comments at the end of this post because I want to have a fair representation of the feis' overall atmosphere.
But what follows is our very different experience ...
Going in, I was disappointed in the stage schedule, which had Beginners and Open Prizewinners starting at the same time first thing in the morning. These comps were then followed much later in the morning by a huge chunk of Novice competitions. Alone, that's not too problematic for the majority of people. However, when you add in that the dancers were going to be shifting from stage to stage for every dance in ball rooms that were beyond over-capacity, the situation became virtually unmanageable. Again, it is much easier to move individual adjudicators rather than packs of young children - especially in tight quarters.
And tight quarters they were.
The Westin's Grand Ballroom was split into two rooms, each housing three "stages." I hazard to even call them stages. What we really saw in each room was one long, narrow stage taped into three "stage" spaces. Each space was only the minimum of 16ft by 16ft - when jammed three in a row, it was entirely too small a space for the majority of dancers.
So the dancers had nowhere near the space they needed to dance their best. And, in between dances, they and their families had nowhere to go. The venue, while beautiful, is not suited to a feis of this size. In fact, according the Westin web site, the Grand Ballroom, which housed six stages for this feis, is a mere 8,064 square feet. That is impossibly small, and the noise levels and stress levels caused by the over-crowding made for a miserable day.
We've tolerated crowds before, and will again. But not here ever again. Why? Because we were consistently treated with rudeness and inhospitality.
Volunteers continually forced dancers who were kneeling stage-side awaiting their next comp - and protecting their dresses from the damage a chair can do - to move away from the stages. One told a group of waiting dancers that they must find chairs because "floors are for walking, girls, not sitting. So, move." Hospitality? ... Not so much.
Here's a rundown of a few other incidents at the feis.
7 a.m.: The feis is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. An hour before, not only is there no registration table, but even the feis' registration volunteers are milling around trying to figure out where they are supposed to work. And none of them even know where to find the registration supplies - including the all-important competitors' numbers.
8 a.m.: The feis should be beginning. Dancers are waiting by their stages. But the stage monitors have no competitor lists/competition check-in sheets. Adjudicators are sitting at empty tables - no sheets for them, either.
8:45 a.m.: The competitor lists and scoring sheets finally arrive. Beginners have been sitting in chairs for 45 minutes.
8:50 a.m.: The Irish anthem is sung to open the feis. No U.S. anthem is sung in the first of the two rooms. In the second room, an adjudicator rises and compels the crowd to sing the U.S. anthem after it becomes clear that the feis has no plans to include it.
8:55 a.m.: The host school's TC addresses the crowd. Highlights of his comments include the following:
1. The printing error that morning was unforeseen and unpreventable and if any of us had ever worked at a feis, we would know that the committee had done all they could do in the situation. Actually, I have worked at several feiseanna, and if the sheets had been printed in advance, there would have been time to manage the problem. Why on earth would anyone print out that amount of paperwork on the morning of the event?
2. He went on to note how much work is involved in running a feis - and, of course, he's right on that point - and that the crowd should be grateful that the volunteers were working so hard on behalf of our children. He belabored this point many times ... the volunteers were here because of our children and we should be eternally appreciative. Notice what's missing here ... No "Thank you" for attending the feis. No "Welcome to our event."
At this point, I was feeling fairly condescended to. As a feis co-chair, I am keenly aware of the effort involved. However, at our feis, the focus is on the dancers and their families, period. The volunteers do it as part of their commitment to our school and their own dancers. They are the background, not the main players.
3. Finally, I nearly lost my sense of reason, when the TC reminded the crowd that there were fewer and fewer Southern region feiseanna each year and that is because the "negativity" of Irish dancing families drives volunteers away from planning such events.
What? We personally had traveled seven hours for this feis, and I did not take kindly to being called negative and being berated into bowing down to volunteers.
And this was all before the dancing even started!
Once things were running, the dances did move quickly. Though, as I said, the rooms were highly stressful because of the noise level. And when hardshoe started, ugghh. Three hardshoe competitions going on simultaneously in such a small area was a nightmare. I don't know how the adjudicators judged anything because the thundering din was nearly intolerable.
Results were posted pretty quickly for three of the four dancers in our group. But when we tried to check my OPW dancer's results, we found this sheet (at left). It turns out that the competition stickers on my two dancers' number cards had been put on the wrong cards - and a poor Open Championship dancer had the number my U6 Beginner was supposed to have. Much chaos ensued for more than an hour while they tried to figure out who was who. Greg, the results volunteer who helped us, was extremely helpful and worked hard to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The correct results were reposted about an hour and a half later.
I have to note that when the feis paperwork is prepared in advance, one of the key benefits is the time available to double check it all. Certainly, errors are inevitable when processing so much information, but the confused numbers combined with the missing sheets from the morning convinced me that this feis needs to do more work earlier in regards to its administrative tasks.
One other small point: The stage schedule put the Novice/OPW treble reels after the huge block of Novice dances as well as Figures, basically making it impossible for OPW dancers to participate. We certainly weren't going to wait for it. And I'm glad we didn't. I understand that the TR finally ran four and a half hours after OPW competitions were completed, and results for it were more than two hours after that. This is another example of a feis needing to think about who its competitors are and how their day can be best scheduled. Moving that one competition up to run between OPW and Novice would have easily solved the problem. Instead, Peach State earned $8 in clear revenue from every dancer who registered for that dance but was unable to participate in it because of the unreasonable schedule.
From a results standpoint, our two little Beginners again did very well, with one first, two seconds, and a fourth between them. My older dancer placed second in her slipjig and fourth in her treblejig, and her close friend placed well also, including winning her final OPW first to qualify for Prelim.
P.S. At this point, we decided to stop worrying about how stressful the day had become. We got the girls in their swimsuits, popped into the bar for an adult beverage, and headed to the pool for a mid-afternoon respite in the sun. It was a lovely end to our day.
After a nice meal, we headed home late in the afternoon. We had a hearty laugh on the road when we saw this motorcyclist racing down the highway with two friends trailing behind. The girls thought his plumed helmet was the funniest thing they'd seen all day!

Recital clip: Our senior dancers channel Napoleon Dynamite

Feis Review: Queen City gets its mojo goin'!

The Queen City Feis in Cincinnati has been a favorite of ours in the past - particularly in its first year. For the past two years, we've still considered it a well-run feis with strong competitions, but timing issues made the overall experience among the more draining of the feiseanna we attend.
However, this year QC really made its schedule work - and what a difference it was! Treble reels were run at the end, as usual, and announced at the awards podium with the final PC/OC results of the day. I was amazed to look at the time as those last few placements were awarded and the hardy, remaining families finally cleared out - it was only 4:30 p.m. That's a feat this feis organizer can really appreciate!
One other problem QC rectified this year from 2006 was a venue that failed to understand the concession needs of so many families. Last year, all we wanted was a hot pretzel - not so much to ask - but the supplies of even this carney-food staple were out. This year, there were ample concession options - even a pasta bar and Skyline Chili - as well as a vendor selling decadent high-end chocolate treats! We avoided the temptation, but just barely.
Other positives for this feis included super-speedy results, lots of camping space and multitudes of chairs, a lovely big podium for awards, and the always-friendly volunteers. Not to mention the adorable flying-pig balloons marking each stage.
Now for our own big news of the day ... my 5-year-old beginner, who started the day in nervous tears determined not to dance - finally took the stage and won first place in both her reel and her jig at her very first feis! It's been so interesting to experience the beginner phase all over again, and I really see such a huge difference in her understanding of ID. She's been in our school's dance school three times a week since birth for her sister's classes, and clearly the basics come pretty naturally to her. In fact, she and two of her beginner friends - all the siblings of older dancers - each won at least one first today. I guess there's a lot to be said for early immersion! (In this photo she was so excited to call her daddy and give him the news.)
My older dd had a solid day, as well, placing third in treble jig and fourth in slip jig. She also placed second in a very large treble reel group - and even got to take the podium! So her day ended on a wonderful high note, too.
Overall, all our dancing friends placed extremely well - although I don't have a medal count - there were just so many from our school at this feis. But what a great feeling to leave a feis and see that everyone is smiling!

Our own Rose of Tralee (sort of!)

Last night, our local Irish Society sponsored its first annual Run for the Rose of Tralee event.
The competitors had to submit a brief essay on why they wanted to receive the honor as well as a compilation of their community service activities to earn points. Then, at one of the local pubs, the girls all got to compete with whatever dance they wanted.
Based on points given, and then audience votes after the dancing, the Irish Society crowned a junior and senior Rose. The girls will be honored at our Irish Fest next month, and they each got a scholarship for a semester of dance tuition.
There was a great crowd turnout, and it was such a fun event. And, for us personally, it was very exciting to have one of the winners in the family!

Recital time!

I can't believe it's been nearly three weeks since I've posted on my blog ... We've been house hunting, and that's consumed all our extra moments in the past month. Between that and planning for our own Feis, I've been so out of the loop!
But this weekend was our school's annual dance recital, and of course, I had two dancers in it this year. It was very exciting, and our beginners - the biggest group ever - had a ball. And of course, it was the official debut of my older dd's new dress. It was a big day, all around!
Here are a couple of photos: one of my younger dancer and her best buddy and another of both my girls with my mother.

P.S. I promise to start posting more often again!!

In the media: Playbill's coverage of "The Pirate Queen"

The legendary Broadway publication, Playbill, has an interesting article about the incorporation of Irish dance into "The Pirate Queen," and how the impact of ID has been heightened in the show since it's debut in Chicago.
Human Milestones Find Dynamic Life Through Irish Dance in The Pirate Queen (Playbill)

Also, to read the New York Times review of "The Pirate Queen," click here.

In the Media: World Championships coverage

Glasgow's The Herald and Evening Times are posting online coverage of the 2007 Irish Dance World Championships, including videos.

• It’s jig time for Glasgow (Evening Times)
• Best foot forward as dance event takes off (The Herald)
• The Herald video coverage: Including ceili performances and a demonstration by Owen Barrington (The Herald)

New dress is here!

My dd's newest dress is here! And we couldn't be happier. It's another beautifully crafted dress by Veronica Carroll from a design by JoAnn Connolly of Garden of Daisies.
We selected the design from Colleen's of Canberra selection of donated designs, then we purchased our own fabrics and shipped them off to Veronica in England. Four weeks later, we our vision has been made a reality!

RTE's Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels

RTE's Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels has started its newest season with these dancing couples:

• Former Miss World Rosanna Davidson and professional dancer Ronan McCormack for Spinal Injuries Ireland.
• Fair City's "Orla" Sorcha Furlong and professional dancer Damien Noone for the Laura Lynn Children's Hospice.
• Best-selling author, and conqueror of Mount Everest, Grania Willis and professional dancer Mick Donegan for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
• RTÉ 2FM DJ Ruth Scott and professional dancer Glenn Simpson for Trocaire.
• Ros na Rún's "Conall" Gavin O'Fearraigh and professional dancer Dearbhla Lennon for Debra Ireland.
• Irish Times correspondent and TV presenter Shalini Sinha and professional dancer Colin Ryan for Barnardos.
• Tenor and star of the West End Peter Corry and professional dancer Nicola Byrne for the Marie Keating Foundation.
• GAA All-Star Paul Curran and professional dancer Susan Ginnety for Crumlin Children's Hospital.
• Fair City's "Malachy" Gerard Byrne and professional dancer Paula Goulding for ISPCA.
• RTÉ's Afternoon Show chef Kevin Dundon with professional dancer Rachael O'Reagan for MS Ireland.

Also, you can hear presenter Marty Whelan chat with Judge Colin Dunne and the first participant to be voted off, Paul Curran, in a segment that aired on 2FM. Whelan, sitting in for The Gerry Ryan Show's vacationing host, and his guests can be heard here.
Note: Click on the Monday, April 2, link, and the interview airs from about 1 hour, 30 minutes until the 2 hour mark.

2007 World Championship Results & Photos

World Championship Commentary, Results & Photos Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne 2007 (An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha)

World Championship Results (Feisresults.com)

World Championship Photos (Feispix.com)

World Championship Photos (Professional Feis promotions)

In the Media: Kinsella School of Irish Dance

Irish dancing tradition endures (Texas news channel WFAA)

In the Media: Hibernia School of Irish Dance

Irish dancing tradition endures (Texas news channel WFAA)

Erin Reed's Hibernia School in Dallas is featured in this news clip.
Note: Scroll down to the St. Patrick's Day button.

In the Media: "Shamrock Steps" on NBC

Trinity Academy dancers, as well as Trinity founder Mark Howard, appear in a televised segment (The Today Show)
In addition to interviews with dancers and instructors, the segment includes lots of in-studio footage and a live team performance.

In the Media: World Champ Etain Mulvenna

Etain Mulvenna of the Mulvenna Academy in Belfast appearing with fellow dancers in televised segment (CTV)

To view this segment, click on the link above. Then, scroll down the headlines list at the right to "Canada AM: Traditional Irish dancing 2:35".
Note: This video is high-bandwidth and may be difficult for some browsers to download.

In the Media: Irish dance gets plenty of coverage this St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick’s Day Fever O’Riada Academy (Kansas)
Local Dancers Paint an Irish Portrait Teelin School (Maryland)
Dancer Heads For Irish World Championships Drake School (Georgia)
Irish dancer hits world stage Goggin-Carroll School (Ontario)
Irish Dancer to Compete in Scotland McCartan School (California)
Jigging and stepping to the roots of Irish dancing (McNulty School, Illinois)
Irish step dancers tap out a more intricate beat (McLoughlin School, New Jersey; Broesler School of Irish Dance, New York and Maryland; Trinity Academy, Illinois)
Irish dance revival (Claddagh School, California)
Dancers in step with tradition (Pender-Keady Academy, Connecticut)
Dance, the Irish way: Fundraiser a step on the way to Scotland (McAleer School, Delaware)
Irish dancers qualify for world, national events (Stewart School, British Columbia)
City celebrates Celtic culture with family-friendly festival Saturday (Inishfree School and Breffni Academy, Georgia)
A second style of Irish step dance pays a visit (Trinity Academy, Illinois)
Calallen girls to dance during an evening of Irish enchantment (Inishfree School, Texas)
Dancers strut their stuff (Young School, New York)
Ring of Chiarraighe dancers ready to take the stage (New York)
Meet Hot Stepper Maureen Murphy King (Irish Cultural Society, Pennsylvania)
An evening at the cabaret with Irish overtones (Washington)
Dance style links family to Irish ancestry Crawford School (Utah)
Toe-tappers enjoy rich family history (Utah)
Holladay step dancers celebrate Irish (Utah)

Getting back into the swing of things!

I've been in my busiest time of the year at work recently, and my ID blogging has taken a hit! But with St. Patrick's Day upon us, and my big project out the door, my DDs and I are ready to hit the performance and feis circuit again.
In fact, at one of the dancers' early St. Pat's performances, my little U6 beginner participated in her first show. It was beyond exciting, and believe it or not, she was the one who pushed to do it.
She stood at her TC's side, like a toddler at her mother's apron strings, and said she wanted to get up on stage, but not just for Hop-2-3s as her teacher suggested, she wanted to do her whole reel.
I thought it might be just a bit too much for her, but like the youngest child that she is, she marched right up on stage and did both steps without the least bit of fear.
After that, it was off to her first parade as an actual dancer, and not just a cute hanger-on. She and her new little group of dance buddies had a great time on a beautiful sunny day. What excitement!

Feis review: St Louis Irish Arts

We attended the St. Louis Irish Arts Feis run by Helen Gannon for the first time recently. I had met Helen at the NAFC meeting last year and was enthusiastically looking forward to checking out her feis, and I'm glad we did.
Helen's school is a branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, which promotes Irish culture, music and dance. And one key feature of the SLIA Feis is its focus on music students as well as dancing ones.
Music at many of the stages was provided by SLIA feis musicians in training. I was hesitant about how well the students might cope with the demands of providing consistant tunes for hours on end. But we had no problems. The musicians on our stage held their own with apparent ease.
The venue is lovely and seemed to offer plenty of space for the 650 competitors, plus attending families, teachers, etc. It's so refreshing to attend a feis and not feel fenced in by the crowds.
Results were posted with great speed, and sStages moved along well, with no more than a 15-minute lunch break.
One unexpected highlight of the day was the U13 treble reel competition. The comp itself was humorously disastrous! At some point along the line, the dancers began clapping OFF the beat. And with 40 of them and only two musicians, the remaining dancers ended up dancing to the much-louder clapping and not to the music.
Limerick-native judge Mairin Ni Ruairc Tuathaigh valiantly tried to get the kids to stop clapping so the music could be heard, but the dancers didn't understand and just kept plowing along! It verged on painful to watch - and was virtually impossible for the crowd to clap to.
At the end, however, the judge, who also is a vice president in An Coimisiún, took the initiative and came out from behind her table. She gave an explanation of what happened, saying that some "lovely dancers" were going to be disappointed by the results because they hadn't listened to the music. And she assured us that the treble reel started out as a dance done in the small kitchens of Ireland - so dancers don't have to "move all about the floor" in order to win.
I thought her feedback was wonderful - and refreshing. And having an overseas judge actually connect with the kids made for a special moment.
In the end, our tc's daughter - a U7 dancer - was the only one of our dancers who placed, earning a fabulous 5th out of 40 dancers!
As for problems, we faced mostly minor ones during the day.
At lunch time, the hotel was thoroughly unprepared to serve the crowds. With only one server and one cashier - and just unappetizing pizza and hotdogs available - lunch was less than satisfying. Friends told us they tried the hotel restaurant, but that it was not open. I certainly was glad we had brought snacks.
Also, a friend whose treble reel competition was announced as being delayed until the end of the day, waited only to find out that the competition had apparently been run anyway. Wisely, the feis volunteers allowed her to compete in the only remaining treble reel - but it was the championship one! She had fun anyway and got a third place medal for her trouble.
One disappointment concerned a dancing friend (who competes in Prelim) who has been sidelined for quite a while with injuries. This was her first feis in many months, and she was not announced during awards as having placed. Only after we returned home and checked the online results did we realize that she had placed. We're happy for her results, but it just wasn't the same as hearing her name called.
We ended the day on a fun note - thanks to adjudicator Mary Bryan's light-hearted announcement of OC results. She was making jokes and having as much fun as the dancers.
Competition at this feis was fairly tough - as expected - but each of our dancers received at least one award. My dd got second in her slipjig, another close friend got her final first to qualify for Prelim, and our little U7 dancer won a whopping three firsts.
This was a great feis, and we'll definitely be back!

Feis Review: Music City Feis, Nashville (guest written by my 10 year old dancer)

The Nashville Feis was a very successful one for the McClanahan Dancers this year.
In the past, I have not done great at this feis. This year, I finally got a first in my treble jig, so now all I have to do is get a first in my hornpipe, and I’m in Preliminary Championships. This I have been trying to do for a long while now.
The venue was a nice hotel, with okay ballrooms where the stages were. Surprisingly, it was not too crazy or crowded in the halls or the ballrooms; the Nashville Feis is usually one of the most crowded Feisanna that we go to all year long.
The people there were very helpful. The stage monitors were very nice, and at one point when some one “accidentally” turned out the lights, (We, or I, still haven’t found out if this was on purpose or not.) they handled it particularly well.
Once you started, your dances went pretty fast. Although after my hornpipe, the feis took an hour lunch break, and then there was another wait after that because of Traditional Sets. So it took about an hour and a half to two hours for my Non-Traditional Set and Treble Reel to happen.
The Beginner/Advanced Beginner room was, again, very crowded. I have a friend who was a dancer in that room, and my friend said it was awful. But that’s just the way a feis works. Every feis has it’s ups and downs. That room is just too small, though.
I’m happy to say that overall I got two firsts, a fourth, and a fifth. My dad thinks the cup I got for winning my set looks like the egg cup his mom used when he was a kid. We took a picture, and I think he's right.
All together, my school earned more than 50 first, second and third place awards. Congrats to all McClanahan’s Dancers! We did great this year!

Note: This review was written by my DD. I couldn’t go to the Nashville Feis because my husband had a formal event for work (here's a rare photo of us all dressed up!). So, my dd went with a friend and was happy to write her first feis review!

30,000 Hits!

Thank you to everyone who visits my blog. We hit 30,000 page views today. It's very exciting for me. Thanks so much, everyone!

2007 All Ireland Championships

2007 All Ireland results (Feisresults.com)
2007 All Ireland Live commentary (Feisresults.com)

Official photos are being posted on Feispix.

At right is Girls 15-16 winner Shannon Daly of the Feely School in Kildare, Ireland.

Feis Review: King O'Sullivan, Atlanta

Another great feis from the King O'Sullivan school!
A fairly good-sized group from our school headed south for this feis - eleven dancers in all. We were excited about the new venue at the Evergreen Resort in Stone Mountain park.
The park is just beautiful, with plenty to see and do, and the kids were excited about the bas-relief of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis that is cut into the granite mountainside. It's apparently the largest such bas-relief in the world. Impressive!
I was apprehensive going into this feis for 2007, because the numbers for my dancer's U11 prizewinner dances were surprisingly low, and two of them fell below the five-dancer threshold. I had corresponded with the KOS entry secretary, who assured me that comps would be merged to create qualifying groups. Upon arrival, however, neither my dd's competitor card nor the stage assignments showed merged comps.
The volunteers weren't able to answer my question, but they were friendly and concerned and directed me toward a resolution for the morning. Ultimately, I was told that the decision would be made stage side - for each competition with too few competitors checked in, the dancers would be merged into the next older age group immediately following. Coming from the Midwest, where our feiseanna can be huge and highly chaotic, I was pretty incredulous at this suggested fix.
But ... it worked! I couldn't believe it.
In the end, my dancer's reel and treble jig were merged into the U12 group, creating even more competitive comps for all involved. And the stage monitors handled this situation - and a later one involving lost results - with great ease and confidence.
Unfortunately, it was the results for my dancer's U12 reel group that were lost. The feis chair announced that the competition would be re-danced with the same judge and the dancers in the same order, if possible. This was done quickly between the treble jig and horn pipe, and the new results were posted with great speed. Shortly thereafter the orginal results were found and also posted. And wisely, all placements in both competitions were honored.
This certainly doesn't come across like a feis committee in it's early years!
We were done before 2 p.m. and ended our day with the treble reel and set announcements - which included gigantic trophies for all placements! Boy were the girls who got these excited. It made for a very fun end to the feis!
Ultimately, our dancers did extremely well. My dancer earned fourth in her reel (U12), second in slip jig, third in treble jig (U12) and horn pipe, and fifth in treble reel. Between all our dancers, they earned 23 first/second/third placements ... there was lots of "bling" all around!

2006 Western Region Oireachtas Parade of Champs

Another great Parade of Champs video!

More from the dressmakers

Boy, have our online dressmakers been busy this week!
Ann at Taoknitter has expanded her original dress-construction post into three highly detailed entries - and it's a must-read, a virtual thesis on how Irish Dance dresses should be made.
Another key bit of information on the dressmaker blogs comes from Anne Craig at Feisanne. It's a measuring guide, and since getting the correct measurements is key to a successful new dress, I found the guide immensely helpful. I've posted it here, as well, for those who are interested. Click on the small photo below, and a larger version will open in your browser.
Well done, Ann and Anne! You guys are great!

Dress blogging takes off!

In the past week, several blogs have come to my attention - all related to dressmaking. I've so enjoyed creating this blog, and it looks like the blogging bug is spreading even further into the ID world!
And make sure you read the post on Taoknitter about workmanship differences that can be seen between dresses made by big-name companies, individual dressmakers and inexperienced seamstresses. It's invaluable information for anyone looking to buy that next solo dress!

Lowland Design (Caroline Vermeulen, designer)
Feisanne (Anne Craig, designer)
Rowan Irish Dance
Taoknitter

Christmas in New York

I recently spent a joyous week in New York on a holiday shopping trip with family members and friends who were visiting from Ireland - mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, you name it - 12 of us in all. I got to show New York off to those who had never been there before - from street performers on the pathways in Battery Park to the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. We did loads of holiday shopping - including an entire afternoon in the fabric district purchasing beautiful pieces for my dancer's next dress.
Of course, getting to visit with family members I don't often see was the most glorious. And getting to know some of their friends who joined the expedition was a joy as well.
Included in our group was my sister-in-law-(to be)'s brother, James McDonnell (photo at left), a professional dancer with Gaelforce.
My dancer and I had seen the original Gaelforce DVD, created several years ago, and were familiar with the show. But spending a week with a current troupe member was such fun and a real insight into the current version. Wanting to read more about Gaelforce now, I searched out info online.
I discovered a production diary by Ann Margaret Keller that begins with auditions and follows the dancers through their debut in Estonia. It's an interesting - if lengthy - look at the process.
The new tour launched early in 2006, and much of the 2007 schedule has been established. Most of the posted itinerary covers the spring leg in Eastern Europe and Taiwan before a return to Ireland. But I'm hopeful that a U.S. leg may be in the works. And a new Gaelforce DVD has been filmed for release soon. Check it out!

Gaelforce (official site)
Gaelforce Diary on CelticCafe.com

2006 New England Oireachtas Parade of Champs

2006 Oireachtas Results & Photos

Mid-Atlantic, New England, Southern and Western Oireachtas Photos
Click on "View your images," then select "Irish Dancing."

Southern Region Results
Western Region Results
Mid-Atlantic Region Results
Western Canadian Region Results

2006 Mid-America Oireachtas Results & Photos

MidAmerica Oireachtas Results

MidAmerica Oireachtas Photos (Photography by Harrington)
Photo above is of U10 first and second place dancers Susanne Wiecek and Cara Horan of Trinity Academy.