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The sacred altar of Irish Dancing, London, 2014.

Canandaigua, NY. It was my dear wife who spontaneously coined it, “the altar”. The few of us chatting together and waiting the painfully long time for the results of Renee’s competition did agree. We were all here to give thanks and praise for Irish Dancing at this year’s Irish dance Mecca, the Metropole Hilton, London, UK. It’s Holy Week, April 17^th, 2014.

We summoned up the last of our energy for the show of enthusiasm due these amazing dancers; for the phenomenal day of competitive dancing which now stretched to nearly 14 hours. We hoped that soon the judges’ tallies would be displayed up on the large video screens above us and we’d know who this year’s Ladies 17 to 18 World Champion would be. Probably more important to Cherisse and I, what would be Renee’s ranking be here among the world’s best? The thrill of actually having this opportunity is as yet, unparalleled in my life, and in the moment I can barely grasp it.

The ball room continues steadily filling with expectant family and friends and it feels to me like a huge family reunion. Many of us reflect on the day’s remarkable competition. Conditions were excellent for the dancers, I thought, and there were so many strong performances in rounds 1 and 2. Only 50 of the original 144 17 to 18 year old ladies had been recalled to dance in round 3. All that was left to do now was to rank them. This would be done by a very distinguished 7 judge panel. How they were able to eliminate 94 of these, the best dancers from 10 countries, I can only imagine because it’s done by numbers; not my forte.

World Championships competitive rankings are a judged affair, and that’s a real key in Irish Dance. I think of it as an art that’s competitive, but more like entering your painting for exhibition in a juried art show. It kind of comes down to what the judges like, as well as how accomplished an artist, or dancer, has become. Still, each of the 7 judges on the panel watching the day’s competition are knowledgeable well beyond the average spectator. To be sure, through the years a lot of consideration has been given to the judging procedures by An Coimisiun, the world governing body, to make things as fair as possible, because it could easily be a popularity contest.

Countering any attempt to reduce Irish dancing to mere popularity, you’ve got to hand it to the dancers and their teachers. They have individually, and together, assembled the most incredible, virtual non-stop, day-long show. Where the shoe meets the floor, that’s where the proof is undeniable. Irish dancing is not only a display of competitive skill, it’s an extreme sport. 40 measures of music clicking along, you dance, you bow, it’s a blur and “ding!” you’re done. Next!

Those few moments on stage have to be perfect. How do you achieve that? Lonely hours of stretching, drilling, sprinting through your dances, over and over; constantly having to correct the same little mistakes until you finally stop making them, then making your left foot leads look as strong as your right foot leads, perfectly in time, missing nary a beat, while keeping your posture arrow straight, your arms tucked neatly at your side. Also, make sure you’re exquisitely made up, wigged, bejeweled, dressed to the nines and perfectly tanned, thank you very much, and oh, make it all look completely effortless.

If all that happens at precisely the right moments, you have three chances to make your mark in the rankings and one competitor’s marks will crown them World Champion until next year when they’ll have to prove it all over again, or not. So, it’s only right that a total fuss is made over these dancers who recall at Worlds. It’s no accident they’re standing here at the awards ceremony.

As the results were displayed score by score, there came a number of surprising and varying official opinions about who this year’s champion would eventually be, and there was not a drop less drama than the room could contain when those final numbers were read out. It’s a very graphic representation of your standing based on your performance that immediately begins to settle out of the scores 1 to 100. In those moments, being at the top can still feel just like being at the bottom; when a half point can separate one place and the next. I believe there was a tie for 15^th. Renee claimed 37th place.

Needless to say, it’s been a welcome culmination of an entire year’s hard work and focus on this one goal. You made it. You punched your ticket for World Championships and now you know where you stand. The accomplishments of every boy and girl there competing at Worlds are somewhere around super-human because of their dedication to perfecting their dancing, and the teachers, their dancers, and the parents, the grandparents and the siblings, and, and, and…

It’s truly a world community effort to produce this order out of this chaos and the 48^th World Championship of Irish Dance was at day’s end, 7 days end to end, a very chaotic and orderly affair. Trophies and medals awarded, names and rankings, recorded.

So, nothing much left to do now about Worlds but set sight on next spring. Next up: North American National Championships (NANs) in Montreal, week of July 4^th.

Stay tuned.

Jim

The Bling Thing

Sash and vase won at St. Catherine’s Feis.

Canandaigua, NY. If you were to pay a visit to our dining room, you would see that it doubles as a sort of shrine to Renee’s Irish Dance career. I believe I’ve referenced the bling before, as in pounds of medals, scads of trophies, and lately, vases of every description. Shiny picture frames and assorted other totems that marked certain special moments in Irish dance competitions going back some 8 years are packed into curio cabinets and adorn virtually every book case, dresser, shelf and table around our house.

Hats off to Galway, Lennox and Balik, manufacturers of fine glass, for keeping up with demand from the Irish dance world. We’ve been giving their pretty vases away as they come in to some our most ardent supporters. It’s become a new way of staying inspired this feis season. It’s not like we need any more fancy glass. The giving perpetuates the meaning and spirit of the accomplishment the prize represents.

In Irish Dance they have perpetual trophies which are awarded to winners in various competitions at a feis. You don’t get to keep it, but it’s really big and they engrave your name on it. You might get to hold it for a year and then return it the next year. They’re pretty impressive.

So, thanks to the many feis committees for their kind attention to the awards they’ve chosen for the champion dancers at their events. Renee’s award for her first place finish at the St. Catherine’s Feis one year ago was spectacular. It was the largest glass candle holder I’d ever seen, a magnificent Galway creation. This year’s third place netted a slightly less ostentatious piece, but the lovely and perfectly functional Galway vase pictured above.

It’s all about the inspiration and the recognition, more important perhaps, to her mother and I than to Renee herself, as performing well and winning a place are her greatest rewards.

But, that wasn’t always true.

A first and 4 seconds at Feis Rochester.

Back in the day when you could rake in a medal or trophy in four or five events at a feis, it was a day at the fair for Renee, a first place, like winning that crazy toss the ring on the soda bottle game. Then, jingle, jingle, jingle, all the way home.

It sounds funny to reference “back in the day” for someone barely 17, but she’s been dancing her whole life and half of it competing in Irish Dance. However, as I look around, whew, she’s accomplished a lot, and she’s just getting started.

The day will come to move it all, and I imagine it can be reduced to a few box-loads, but for now, it’s the whole she-bang. As I look around I can see this is where we’ve been. Where to next? A lot of potential there.

Niagara Falls, the Southerntier and Canada are just on the horizon for August. Since last year’s Disney World sweet-sixteen birthday cannot be outdone, Renee’s upcoming birthday will be decidedly low key. It helps that it falls on a Tuesday.

When it’s suddenly September, we again try to figure out how Renee’s school schedule will fit into her dance schedule. This is always challenging because the dancers want to stay sharp for Oireachtas at Thanksgiving, the big regional competition, a major, the annual qualifier in Philadelphia.

It’s a lot, all the time, feis by feis, vase by picture frame, by medal, by plaque. To that end, I’d like to announce the coming of a new web presence that will attach to this blog which I hope will bring a bit of inspiration to every kid dreaming of becoming a Champion Irish dancer. My intention is to call it Inspired by Irish Dance, or something close to that, and it will convey an offer to both give a lift to aspiring dancers everywhere, and also to help support Renee in her ongoing amateur career, particularly her trip to London for World Championships next April.

Stay tuned, stay inspired.

Jim

California Dreamin’

     Renee on a stroll to Disneyland.

 

Canandaigua, NY. While all our friends and neighbors back home were sheltering from the rains and trying to escape the heat and humidity, we were enjoying that sun kissed California weather you always hear about. It does wonders for your mood, and apparently, your hair, according to Renee.

Arriving around noon, Pacific Coast time, the trip from LAX to Anaheim via the famous Los Angeles freeways was quite an eye-opener for us both. We found ourselves, to quote Leon Russell, strangers in a strange land.

There’s magic in the place wherever the great young Irish dancers gather to compete for their bragging rights. That it was right across the street from Disneyland mattered little, but that certainly didn’t detract from our continual fascination with our new surroundings.

And I wouldn’t want to imply that Irish dancers are a bunch of braggarts, however, when they compete at Nationals, they are ranked. When a dancer finishes in the top five of their competition, they are awarded a sash, and sashes can be seen worn by the winners for the duration of the competition. Renee has had that opportunity once at a major competition, she was very delighted to have earned the distinction, and wore her sash proudly.

Needless to say, to the dancers, winning the sash is a big deal, it’s symbolic, and it’s hands free, no trophies to have to tote around.

It also goes quite without saying that when you gather all of the very best dancers in America and Canada, and you host some more of the best from the UK, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere in Irish dancing’s far flung universe, you not only get great dancing, you also get drama. A lot of it is there on the stages, and a lot of it is private, between the dancers and their parents, teachers and other supporters, as well as among the dancers themselves.

Pile on all the big-buck costumes, big hair, spray tans and high fashion make-up you want, there’s no disguising all the emotional highs and lows careening around in the big ball rooms.

When you put up to three Irish dancers at a time to compete on a stage, large as it may be, they’re all vying for the attention of a panel of three judges sitting directly in front of them. The music begins and in two bars, they’re all three of them suddenly making the most ridiculous maneuvers within inches of one another, and sometimes they crash. Sometimes one of the dancers will just slip and fall down, and occasionally sustain some pretty serious injuries. NASCAR comes to mind.

Until a dancer takes the stage for their first round, they really don’t know what kind of competitive conditions they’re up against: the feel of the stage, the sound of the music being played live side stage, the view of the room and the audience, the demeanor of the three judges, and what the dancers next to you may do during the course of your performance. But that’s Irish dancing as we’ve known it from the very beginning. No apologies made, and very few concessions, which are at the sole discretion of the judges.

July 4th: The customary set-up for the day’s competition would become all the more dramatic as the first round began and it became apparent almost immediately that stage conditions were unusually slippery as well as uneven. Slips and falls began to mount, and by rule, if a dancer within the performing trio or pair falls, the judges will ring a bell signaling a stop to the competition and that trio or pair are sent off stage and the next trio or pair comes on. Several rotations allow time for the fallen dancer to recover and usually, she will come back to successfully re-dance her round with the other dancer(s) she was originally on stage with.

However, the treble jig was producing carnage on stage seldom seen and the judges finally called a halt to the competition to allow time for everyone to compose themselves. Renee was among a group of dancers awaiting their turns back stage while so many crashes were occurring and they were witnessing this close up. The judges had a potential fiasco on their hands, but after some cursory consultations, inspections and some random sweeping, they did the only thing they could do – begin again.

I could sense a feeling of dread was beginning to pervade the room, but in the end, we all took a deep breath and forged ahead with the competition. Victory would surely go to the sure footed.

Fortunately, the slippery stage would not affect the soft shoe round nearly as much, and this is where Renee excels, and she did not disappoint. We sweated out the recall when half the field of 120 girls was eliminated. Those left standing would continue on to the set round, when each dancer has the stage and the judges to themselves, the champion make or break round. However, this is a hard shoe round and it was Irish dancing on ice again.

The first to dance in each round is chosen by lottery, and by that lottery Renee’s number 58 was chosen as the first to go in the 3^rd and final round. Renee has great confidence in her ability to perform her set dance and she was ready. But a slip in the middle of her first step once again evidenced the problem dancers had in the first round. To her credit she regained her composure and form in the split second she had available and finished her set, albeit with some considerable embarrassment at her lackluster performance. Tears flowed as she got off stage and out of sight of the judges.

So, we were done, Nationals was essentially behind us. We’d salve ourselves with a good meal and a stroll through the Grand Californian Hotel and Downtown Disney. Renee was sure she’d place somewhere on the bottom of the list, 50^th perhaps. This is very disappointing after placing 15^th last year in Chicago.

She dreaded the awards ceremony, but knew she would have to face the music. It probably didn’t help that she would have to go around with her bun wig and tiara in place until after awards that night, which always invites curious stares from passersby. Thankfully, Disneyland is one place where the princess look pretty much fits.

That night, the throngs cheered through endless awards. Hundreds of dancer’s names were called out, and their schools’ as well, enthusiastically by our garrulous Irish MC, and naturally, Renee’s competition would be dead last to receive awards. Through the hours, I felt her angst, and her mother too was worried sick because Renee just did not feel good about her performances, and nobody’s tougher on her than she herself. Her mother’s a close second though.

The relationship among the three of us in competitive Irish dancing is pretty symbiotic by this time, so as she stood back stage and the names and numbers of 60 girls began to tick down, my heart began skipping 3s and 7s. I don’t know how many times Cherisse and I looked at one another in amazement as 40 names were called, but my heart was pounding out of my chest when the MC shouted, “Let’s hear it for the top 20!!!” Wooo-hooo!!

“By the way,” he added, “these 20 girls are qualified to compete for a world championship in Lon—don!!!” We’re stratospheric now, and the next name called was, “20^th place — number 58, Renee Burns of the Young School, Mid-Atlantic, USA.” Woooo-hoooo!!!!

And now we have a week booked at two hotels in London for some time next April, and little geranium blossoms sticking out of the cute Galway crystal vase she won in the living room.  And that’s how we do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June buggin’.

First podium finish at a major competition.

 

Canandaigua, NY.  It’s that time of year when we transition from days of school to days of dance. Training and touring get pretty intense. With the exception of a week at North American Championships in Annaheim, we’re traveling to a feis every weekend. Why do we do this?

Actually, it was little by little over the years that we just sort of got in the habit, building in another feis here and another feis there, trying this one instead of that one; anything to stay in the game and keep up with the competition. Everyone in our Irish dance family it seems is on tour now, in earnest, and we’re all doing this because these kids (or maybe it’s us parents) want another go at the brass ring.

I relate to the brass ring analogy because it really felt for some years like we were living on a merry go round. A competitive Irish dancer has to travel to a lot of competitions and win a lot of first places to advance to the Champion levels. The sheer number of medals, trophies, crystal vases, picture frames, Christmas tree ornaments and candy dishes that accumulate is ridiculous. Still, we treasured every win and gave it a place in the trophy case, the coffee table, the end table, the mantle, the occasional table, the desk, the Christmas tree…you get the idea.

This is a marvelous thing, because it just doesn’t happen for a lot of dancers. Nevertheless, we’re all in it together and we want the best of luck for every dancer we meet. We wish that each one will perform positively brilliantly today and have a fist full of medals or a big old trophy to tote home at day’s end.

Renee’s 2012 Mid-Atlantic Region Oireachtas (or-ock-tuss) picture makes a second appearance on the blog, because this was the brass ring we were shooting for on this occasion – a top five finish at a major competition. It was the next logical leap. Now, a top 5 finish at the bigger major, the North American National Championships, is the next logical leap. We’re counting down to July 4^th.

This is very exciting, of course, flying coast to coast on a dream, but we’re very conscious of the mission. Until dance day is done, we stay completely focused on that brass ring. The music plays. How far will we be able to reach this time?

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A tip of the hat to members of our Young School family who have organized a fund-raising raffle for the ever-growing group of Champion dancers at the Young School. Top prize is a Kindle Fire HD 7” 16GB.

I believe I could arrange to get anyone interested a ticket in the game. Chances are $5 each or 3 for $10. I can scan and email your ticket if you can purchase via paypal, as I know many readers are not local to Canandaigua/Rochester.

This will help lots of talented dancers from the Young School along their way to the National competition next month.

The drawing is on June 23^rd.

As I wish for an exciting summer of Irish dancing, in all of your endeavors, all the best to all of you.

Jim

Irish Upgrade

 Weekend project: garage to dance studio.

Canandaigua, N.Y.  See this? This is where I used to keep all my junk that I couldn’t keep in the house. And it was really good junk too. Now it’s where I keep my Irish dancer, and she’s a really good Irish dancer, so I guess it’s a pretty fair trade off.

In the current technological age, we frequently refer to the “upgrade” as that which can be improved in the same basic way that our computer systems are improved. And “that” can be virtually anything. In this case, an Irish dance studio.

You know the thing that seems to be true of upgrades universally and in general, is that they’re usually preceded by the intrusion of some intractable problem you didn’t really count on. Now caught pretty much by surprise, you’re basically over a barrel to spend a wad of cash you weren’t planning on having to spend for an absolute necessity that was working just fine a week ago.

Well, the fine, long cracks we noticed in the old plaster ceiling of the living room of our historic home, just below the spare bedroom where Renee has been plying her steps rather intensely for the past few years, proved to be the shot of reality that turned my happy little storage unit into the happiest, cutest little dance studio you’ve ever seen.

The cute part is thanks entirely to my dear wife, Cherisse, whose vision and flair for instant décor made us believers once again, because this was one dirty, dusty, cluttered and stinky space. Renee certainly had her doubts when the outrageous plan was proposed. I did what I have been trained to do, which is to just keep nodding and repeating, “Yes, master.” So we cleaned on Saturday and installed it on Sunday. BAM!! Air conditioned…BAM!!

I did a bang up job on the dance floor if I do say so myself. I know by now what an Irish dancer requires under foot, and it’s a nice forgivingly flexible, smooth surface that can stand up to having the absolute molecules pounded out of it. Fortunately, it’s the simplest thing ever to construct, although rather large and bulky. I didn’t have to cut or measure anything. I just had to screw it together and make it level, which is good because I’m no carpenter.

We knew right away this bode well for Renee’s Irish dancing future because in addition to more area for dancing and much needed head room, there’s a whole new head space here. This is where she gets down to business in a way that’s a total upgrade from where she spent her more formative years, back when practicing was sort of optional. When you leave your abode and walk through the door of your personal studio, you know you’re there to work, and I think her students will pick up on this significant change as well.

I’ll miss the thumping floors, the rattling pipes and windows, and the way the whole house got going on those heavy jigs. We won’t however, miss the worry about whether the girl would one of these days come crashing through the ceiling or hustling to have the house all cleaned up and ready for visiting students and their mothers early on a Saturday morning.

I must say, it causes me to wonder, what, where and when the next upgrade will occur and what sorts of problems it will solve, and ultimately, what opportunities it will bring. I can see how with constant improvement, upgrades are inevitable and natural. We sacrifice a little to gain a lot.

So keep improving and don’t be afraid to upgrade.

Good luck always,

Jim

The new season begins.

Renee and Young School principal, Charles Young TCRG.

Canandaigua, NY.  It feels like a family reunion of sorts, this great cacophony of accordions and clacking. Turn any corner in the cavernous Horticulture Building on the grounds of the New York State Fair in Syracuse, NY, and you’re assailed by the echoes of hard shoes hammering makeshift plywood stages. Our first out-of-town feis was here. Syracuse is my hometown and I’m very familiar with the surroundings. Many friends from the Young School of Irish Dance are here. It has been our custom to dance here at least twice each year.

The Central New York Feis, now having registered its 22^nd year, proved to be the perfect beginning to the new 2013 feis season. We had a few pretty significant firsts this time out. Renee registered her first 1^st place of the year, and her first 300 score as a champion dancer. That means each of the three judges picked Renee for 1^st place. This feat was a long time coming. Also, for the first time ever, we forgot to bring the back sash to the dress. That was good for a few moments of panic, but no one seemed to notice it was missing.

I could see from her performances that Renee carried with her the experience and confidence she gained throughout our adventures of February and March, from London, to Glasgow to Boston. It all adds up to the total package the judges see when you take the stage. Renee, minus her back sash, was very poised, and I’ve always said, if often in jest, “Poise counts!”

We’ll take ourselves to Cleveland for our next outing at the end of May. There, Renee will be debuting new steps. It’s a bit daunting and tougher to prevail competing with dances you haven’t already done a thousand times but the new steps must be ready for North American National Championships, also known as the NANs or Nationals. Hard to believe it’s just a couple of months until we’ll be winging to Los Angeles for that one, another first for us.

Nationals, held each year during the week of the 4th of July, is the first major competition of the year, and the first opportunity to qualify to go on to compete in the World Championships again next spring. The dancers must earn their way every year.

If you want to make a splash in the Irish Dance world, this is an excellent place in which to make a name for oneself. Once again, each dancer is pit against well over 100 competitors from all over the US and Canada, and yes, dancers come from all over the world to compete at this huge event.

We’ve recently heard from Cheryl Young, principal of the Young School of Irish Dance in Queensland, Australia. It was from Cheryl that we purchased Renee’s current solo dress. She will be attending, presumably with a contingent of her own dancers looking to take top places at the NANs.

Not much I can point to along the Irish dancing road that’s old hat. So many of our experiences have been totally exciting and new. Looking over the year’s feis schedule, I can see there are a bunch of trips we’ll be making that we’ve made before during the past eight years of competitive dancing. However, when we get there this year, we’ll be different and new; reinvented, revitalized, retooled and real hungry.

One thing I’ve noticed, true champions are always hungry for the next opportunity to compete and test their mettle. They relish the sore, blistered feet, the long hours of conditioning and practicing, the butterflies in the stomach on competition day, the pursuit of perfection. There are so many of these kinds of individuals in Irish dancing, it inspires me.

Support your Irish dancer.

Jim

 

Worlds in the rearview.

Round #1 at Worlds 2013

Canandaigua, NY.  Now can I say, “Been there, done that.”?

No offense intended to the great institution of Irish Dance because now I understand. I see how sometimes you’re just not fully aware of where you are and what’s happening around you. Our maiden voyage to a major championship, the World Championships in this case, was just a little other worldly for us. Each or our first cracks at a Worlds qualifying event in its turn has been a trial, or a series of same, followed by early elimination, and a very long trip home.

Thank the lord for an occasional triumph!

When a competitor steps into that arena naturally they want to feel that they’re prepared, focused and ready to perform, but they may be feeling like they’re in way over their head; and that goes to confidence or the dire lack of it. Renee, to her great credit, has always taken her dancing to the next level and come through with even greater accomplishments after her most difficult and disappointing days.

The outcome and the net effect of our week in Boston is that we’ve now been the full circuit:  North American Championships to regional Oireachtas (Mid-Atlantic Region Championships) to Worlds. That’s such an incredibly meaningful experience for Irish dancers. For one, you’ve proven to be among the best, the best in the world; two, your eyes are wide open for your next run at the event which helps in fine tuning training and routine; and three, the whole next year is all laid out for you. You’re on tour!

We’re all learning as we go, right?

And, of course, there’s the new dress we’ll need by next November. The thing that really makes competitive Irish dancing so much more than a sport I think is the fashion intrigue. Sparkle was going over the top in Boston.

For now we’ll forge on to Nationals, heads up, motivated with a whole new perspective. Now that we know how good the best are, we’ll be better than the best we’ve been able to manage up ‘til now. That ought to be better, right?

But seriously, from here it’s the heart, mind and spirit of the dancer that guides us. What’s the next plateau? There are always new heights to shoot for. How good can she really get? We’ll put her to the test and evaluate our progress every step of the way.

Hoping that for you, somewhere in life, there is the chance to achieve something that gives you that towering experience that lets you say, “I did it and I’m happy.”

Feisfunder will be announcing a new feis funding initiative very soon, and I’ll be inviting you to be a part of it.

Thanks for all of you taking notice and following the feisfunder blog. It’s a whole new and awakening experience for me personally, and I value newness very highly.

Keep dancing.

Jim

Irish Dance is #1

Canandaigua, NY  Irish dance is #1 around here. We brush our teeth and eat breakfast, go to work, go to school and it’s one of those things we do and think about all the time, I mean religiously. Which is to say, the girl dances and her mother and I think about all that that entails that isn’t the actual dancing.

However, the one thing that makes all the rest worth it is the dancing. It’s the most inspiring. It’s joyous. So, you like something that truly  captures those most inspiring moments for some of those other moments when you’re wondering what happened and how did I get here?

We’ve got cabinets full of trophies, and podium pictures dotting our house, but alas, one’s prizes collect dust while the future looms.

One day though another dedicated dance mom and her camera captured one of those moments. A camera, and a nice one, a Nikon I believe, in good hands caught a young Irish dancer in flight.

Hail the digital age! You can see your pictures right away. She showed it to me and I thought, “Wow, it looks like Sports Illustrated.” Irish dancers will recognize this step, an over, and it’s a favorite, if not one of the more difficult steps for the dancers to do perfectly. The form is as lovely as it is impressive when done well.

Our excellent photographer remarked that it was too bad she couldn’t have caught more of her face, but immediately I responded that it’s so much the better that she had not because even against the rather mundane background of a church parking lot, the shot looked iconic: this is Irish dancing, this is the essence. She sent it along to me and I kept looking at it. I was firm on my first impression.

Readers of earlier blog posts will likely recognize the dancer in the image above. And it didn’t hurt that she had designed and commissioned the dress with the colors of the Irish flag, but then enter Photoshop wizard and good family friend who lovingly put in the hours to peel every little curl off of the raw photo so that Renee could be emblazoned on the Irish flag.

Iconic, spectacular, I thought. For all these Champion years (competitive level – 4 years including pre-lim) this image has been a constant source of inspiration, and has actually appeared on a couple of occasions in local magazines.

I use it for wallpaper. It sparks memories of when the weekend highlights were dancing for folks at sunny Saturday afternoon strawberry socials. One of them yielded this small testament to the fascinating beauty of the art of the dance, whatever form you may favor.

These days we’re looking at World Championships in the rear view and ahead to North American Championships in July in Anaheim. I think we’re going to be right across the street from Disneyland.

It takes a lot of focus and dedication to carry on with competitive Irish dancing, as it does with any competitive activity you’re religious about. It helps having a little inspiration. It helps a lot, in fact.

Stay inspired.

Jim

Worlds Away

Waiting for a recall (pay no attention to that date).

Boston.  You’re always hopeful, but by this time Renee was beyond caring about it. She had resigned herself. The bobble in the first round had doomed her, even though her soft shoe round was excellent. “Lovely” was how Donna, her Irish choreographer described it. And it was, but it was not enough as absolute perfection is what the judges expect on the World Championship stage.

This year’s 16 to 17 year old champion is a name we know well, Paige Turilli. Congratulations to her. She is now a 3-time World Champion – very impressive. So too was the fact that she had to get up off the floor to accomplish it. Loud, shocked gasps filled the ball room as she went crashing down on to the front of the stage just a fraction of a step into her first round. Interestingly, a fall does not end your round, while the slightest slip virtually ends your chances.  The judges allow the dancers involved, three in this case, to exit the stage immediately, and then return a few sets of dancers later to “re-dance”.

There were 144 girls who danced in Renee’s competition this year. Only 50 would “re-call” to dance a 3^rd round and be rewarded with a World ranking. That’s the way it works and it’s no mean feat to be recalled, regardless of where you wind up in the ranking, as these are all the best dancers in the world from the previous year. The dancers from Ireland, Eire, as they’re referred to, are the traditional favorites for obvious reasons, which makes Paige’s accomplishment all the more impressive. She’s from the Inishfree School on Long Island. Third place went to another American, Melissa McCarthy, last year’s World Champion, from the Harney School in the New England region. Sandwiched between the two of them was the lovely Irish girl, Ellen Kennedy, who graces the cover of this month’s edition of Irish Dance Magazine.

I felt Renee’s performance was admirable, and the improvements she was able to make in her dancing were noticeable, and noted by her toughest critic, herself. More importantly perhaps, choreographer, Donna Griffin, who delivered some very intense tutorials while in Boston, and last month in London, saw improvements. Still, the distance between a World class competitor and a World Champion is quite vast, and it’s almost impossible to realize until you’ve witnessed it.

Beginning a new competition year now, I’m heartened by Renee’s resolve to go out and re-qualify for Worlds. We will have our sights set on London for the entire year, no doubt, her first “major” coming on July 4^th at North American National Championships in Anaheim. She will have a new set of dances to perfect and she’ll take them to probably a dozen or more local feisianna as a means of preparing them for her toughest competition, the aforementioned NANS and the annual Philadelphia campaign, the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas.

I’m very glad that Irish dancing comes complete with a very high bar to be reached, not just in terms of the skills and steps necessary, but also the acuity of the performance, the ability to “bring it” when it counts. It is after all, just a precious few minutes overall that a dancer has the opportunity to make an impression. The best dancers are not only foot perfect, but they have a noticeable style, which is to say, they must dance to the music, and they must have that certain something extra that distinguishes them.

Some begin with the sureness of foot, but with a certain reticence for the performance aspect – great technically, but not that captivating to watch. Renee has always been the other way around – a true performer who loves the stage, and whom the stage loves, but whose technical aspect needs more polish. Judging is weighted a bit more to the technical side, and that’s to be expected. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.”

True to her past experiences, the first time out at the “majors” have all been kind of a bust, but always result in very determined and impressive performances going forward with much improved results the next time around. We’re confident this year will prove out the same and that’s sufficient to keep the train moving down the track. And if the dollar doesn’t go bust, we’ve got enough to make it to London next Spring.

Now as I reflect on the previous post, having the first World Championships behind us is a welcome relief, but an ever beckoning beacon as well.

Be your best everybody.

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

To Boston and the “Big Show”

Renee with Sheila Hayes, Feis Rochester 2010: 2nd Pre-lim win.

Canandaigua, NY. Not sure why, but I’m thinking about how one week from today, we’ll be heading home from Boston and the World Championships of Irish Dancing. Then we can say,  ”Okay, been there done that.”

Conjecture on my part really, as we haven’t had the experience yet, but with all the intense preparation and the anticipation lately, I’m almost anxious for it all to be over, even before it’s begun. Like another chapter completed, a page ready to turn, there’s a new chapter and a new beginning we’re about to see, ready or not. Of course, the outcome of our adventure will color that experience, and we’ll move on from there, the wiser, having run ‘round the block a few more times.

At present and in reality, I’m too green to be jaded about the whole thing. I’m just trying to stay focused on getting there, getting it done, putting another notch on the Dodge and rolling home until it’s time to roll out again. Renee is pretty nervous. I think the best thing for the nerves right now is just to get into your shoes and drill.

I could say that this sort of living vicariously through the girl is driving the three of us crazy, but as a practical matter, each of us has our role to play in getting “Worlds” accomplished. So, there’s very little time or space for fantasy. But, yeah, we’re getting a little stir crazy.

Thinking about Renee taking the stage at Worlds for the first time I’ve noticed causes Cherisse and I to feel as though our lives depend on successfully completing this World Championship mission, and Renee can sense that, I’m sure, as it reflects pretty accurately our day to day since Nationals last July in Chicago. Cherisse and Renee especially, but we’re pretty kinetic with one another. So, God bless Renee, doggedly dancing like her life depends on it.

When you dream a big dream, you better be ready for the drill you signed up for. I try to give her the very best encouragement I can think of, which in the immortal words of James Brown is, “Git up offa that thing, dance, and you’ll feel better.”

Here’s hoping everyone survived and has great memories of St. Patrick’s Day 2013. We felt privileged to have the benefit of a very well attended fund raiser that will help us a step along the way to Worlds. So, our thanks go out to the Young School and our local Quaker Steak & Lube for putting it on. We are lucky to have so many families involved at the Young School now. Our collective tribute can really help out the many Young School dancers now competing at major competitions throughout the year. There is strength in numbers.

I’m very pleased that joining us at Worlds will be our close family friend, Laurie, as well as my eldest daughter, Jessica and her daughter, my eldest grandchild, Asja. They get how big a deal this is and they don’t want to miss it. Many others in our family and circle of close friends were hopeful of being there too, but we appreciate how big a stretch it is for someone to step into our Irish dancing lives, and take it on, if only for a day or two. We consider it rewards for making it to the “big show”. It really is what you want to show to the world of your art, your vocation, seeing so many great dancers from all over the world there to compete for a World ranking. Some 6500 competitors are expected I hear.

I’m guessing it’s the same at every school, where there’s a celebration for every dancer that gets their wins at Pre-lims and makes it to Champion level. Thanks to the near divine inspiration of Sheila Hayes and Donna Griffin, Renee was transformed into a Champion dancer in fairly short order. With close monitoring and encouragement from Rachel and Paula, her devoted and erstwhile instructors, she was able to nail down her three required first places in the space of 6 feis’ at pre-lim and enter her first Oireachtas as an Open Champion.

That summer brought us some very sweet and exciting moments, but as it turns out the prize is yet another starting line. We emerged from the desert and found ourselves in the foothills of another range of high peaks to be scaled: winning 1^st place against the Champion competition; doing it again to prove it wasn’t a fluke; winning against the Canadians in Canada; qualifying for Worlds; winning a podium place at a major; what’s next?

Seems we’d only just begun to dance when Renee stepped out as a Champion dancer after 6 years in the grades. Now it’s on to the “Big Show”, the baseball term which, of course, I stole. A few years back, I stole a moment with Irish dance legend and teacher, Ms. Sheila Hayes, and I asked her if she thought Renee could make it to compete for a World Championship one day. Her student, two-time World Champion, Donna Griffin was standing with her outside during a break at our yearly dance camp. “How old were you when you won your first majors,” she asked Donna. I believe Donna replied that she had been 12 or 13. That was Renee’s age then, as an Open Prizewinner. Sheila thought it over for a minute, and finally said, “Well, she’s a hard worker.”

Dancing in the “big show” is a high honor, and I realize I put Ms. Hayes on the spot, but I also knew that Renee would never settle for less than a shot at the very top. She just needed a kick to get her rolling.

Sheila Hayes, if you’re out there, thank you, God bless you, I am indeed shocked and thankful to have exceeded your expectations perhaps. I feel the hand of destiny must have had a hand in it, as now we find ourselves among these elite of Irish dancing.

When you see your child’s passion ignite, and the fervor come pouring out, it’s very impressive, because you see the hand of God in it. You see the connections that power the process. How amazing will it be to walk among so many with similarly impressive stories of hard work and triumph, now all in Boston, in the “Big Show?” It will be amazing, that’s for sure.

Be sure to watch for my post-Worlds wrap-up.

Peace.

Jim