Fairwell to Feisianna

Renee takes 3rd place at the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Region Oireachtas in Philadelphia

Canandaigua, NY. I’ve selected this picture for the blog in the past. It’s a favorite because it represents one moment when we were all so completely happy with the Irish dance experience. Previous Thanksgiving sojourns to Philadelphia had been pretty disappointing. When you don’t get what you want, experience is what you get. However, when you do get what you want, what you are, is HAPPY, and that’s what I see when I look at this picture.

As our run in competitive Irish dance has now come to an end, I figure, let us look back upon it with our fondest memories up most in mind. The 2012 Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas and Renee’s come-from-nowhere podium finish kind of started it all for the feisfunder blog, and so I think it’s fitting that it end feisfunder’s somewhat late-to-the-game run. A nod to Renee as she is endlessly inspired by her own accomplishments, and hers was the inspiration that kept us all going through four North American Nationals and three World Championships, all the way to a humble, but inspiring retirement from competition at the Bob Gabor Feis in Syracuse, NY.

It’s a little difficult to characterize our entire Irish dance experience in a few hundred words, when I finally have Renee’s entire competitive career to look back on, although it was just a scant 12 years. In that time a dream came to life before my very eyes. Not my dream mind you, but Renee’s. Her vision, focus and dedication have produced a future for her and our little family that eclipses any personal prize I could ever imagine short of Herbie Hancock asking me to join his band.

From the experience I got I can tell you that what you need as you hustle from feis to feis is fuel. You need fuel, and inspiration is that fuel. I know not from whence it comes, but I see it in the determination of the young people pursuing the glory that comes from perfecting a primal cultural expression – dance. And when it’s true to form and performed majestically with pride, any culture’s dance is its identity and forms the nervous system of a people who, while unrelated are still related.

True cultural expression is welcome around the world because people are naturally interested in and want friendship with their kinsman and neighbors in the world. Music, dance and art in their classic representations accomplish this for all of humanity. I mean, why would you want harm to come to a people whose civilization can offer such inspiring imagination, beauty and energy? What’s the use of fear and separation?

At the World Championships, the champions just get out on that stage and throw down. They already know there’ll be a hundred dancers behind them that want the prize, and they already know that there’s someone out there who maybe worked the harder and wants it more, and in the end – it’s all up to a panel of judges. Thankfully, having a life of its own, sheer pageantry carries the day. Every dancer wants to look their best, and each wants to do their best, oh, and have the performance of a life time, this time (no pressure).

I knew we were in for a long day when Renee returned to us from the stage after her first round, and while receiving compliments for her performance announces that she has just “bored John Carey”. The 8 time World Champion, trainer of World Champions and now judge at her Worlds competition was apparently not exactly rapt with her hornpipe. So I guess it was about time for some drama to ensue, and I guess you’d better impress him with your reel then.

Cherisse and I really had no expectations as Renee had precious little preparation for this competition compared to her normal un-injured run from Oireachtas in November until Worlds just before Easter. However, with only 7 to 8 weeks available to train flat out after the knee injury, her competition had been out-preparing her with every passing day for over three months. We didn’t really know what she’d have in the tank on competition day. No matter, Renee was here to dance like the champion who’d earned her right, and she would not accept anything but her best and now she’d bored John Carey.

Her second round, the reel in soft shoes was magnificent as it usually is, and a style trademark she’s known for in the ranks, but in the last few measures, breathtakingly close astride the dancer on stage with her she was unable to perform her final spin. Though she landed her final step with customary aplomb, she had blown it. That’s what she said. “I blew it.” As often happens dancers will tangle on the stage in the course of their dances and the results can be disappointing because your flow is broken, steps are missed. Fortunately for Renee, it was right at the end of the dance and in a situation in which judges could conceivably give you a pass on a flub in which you weren’t necessarily at fault, which she wasn’t.

Nonetheless, with a boring hornpipe and a flubbed reel, the girls set their minds on a hasty exit. I set my mind on a painful wait for the recall numbers. Roughly two hours passed and finally the recall list was in hand and the numbers were called out to the waiting dancers and their supporters. My heart was pounding as usual as I waited for the numerical result in which two thirds of the field was summarily eliminated — thank you, better luck next time.

The hush in the ballroom was punctuated by occasional outbursts as dancers received their recalls. The wait for Renee’s #181, being 81 numbers down the list was excruciating. Handfuls of dancers eliminated with each number called, and then “181”! Oh my God, she’s recalled, incredible, incredible! I rushed from the ballroom to find them. Round three would begin in just minutes.

Perhaps our fondest memory of this Worlds is Renee performing her set dance to “Vanishing Lake”, a contemporary set dance composition being played stage side on piano by its composer, Francis Ward, who had also been accompanying the dancers since 9 o’clock that morning. He played and Renee danced, and together I thought they were magic.

That Renee recalled and retained her World ranking is so much more than we could have hoped, Cherisse and I, but I learned something about these champions and that is, when you’ve worked hard enough to be at the top, you want to get to the top and so for some there was chagrin behind a gracious smile at the awards ceremony. This may have been their last chance, as it was for Renee, who accepted her medal with just a little disappointment as did many others on the awards stage with her.

Although competitions were over for her, Renee decided to attend her regular Sunday dance class and she found out that A. she can still dance those steps, though not without raising a few blisters; B. her feet and legs felt so much lighter without the weight of the dread of having to compete the new steps. So much lighter did they feel that she was actually enjoying the new dances for a change. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the story of how one little girl got happy feet.

Thanks to those who have faithfully followed and read the feisfunder blog. It’s been fun to write and reflect on a truly unique opportunity to engage with the fascinating and vibrant world of Irish Dance. As I’ve said, I never would have dreamt it, nor the future in Irish dancing that lies ahead for a young aspiring performer with her whole career now ahead of her. Perhaps there will be a subsequent reporting of the exploits of a young up and coming Irish dancer looking to conquer the world on the professional stage.

Keeping you posted, as always, and many thanks for your support.

Jim

Now Graduated?

Canandaigua Academy Graduation Ceremonies

Canandaigua, NY. Congratulations did abound following the early afternoon swelter of an award-filled graduation ceremony. As the class of 2014 scattered, Cherisse and I noticed a hint of anti-climax. I think we thought this would be a much headier event for us. It seemed to be a much bigger day for everyone else. We were happy and proud, of course, but a little jaded, perhaps?

It was a little confusing at first because we really didn’t have a lot going for our graduate. Fortunately, there were several parties being thrown by parents much better prepared than we were for this big of a day. Later, over early dinner (sans graduation-partying Renee), we concluded that today was just another in a long series of graduations in Renee’s career thus far. Plus, we needed to get her packed up and out the door to Montreal for North American National Championships (NANS) in just 4 days. This would be yet another graduation.

Loosening the definition of terms a bit, we had always considered our annual sojourns to Renee’s major competitions, Nationals, the Oireachtas regional qualifier and World Championships, during the last four years as like graduations. Preparing sufficiently and testing successfully, you may cross the stage to be awarded and designated as one among the best. You can flunk out too. For these young people, these are all big and true tests requiring grueling preparation, laser focus and travel. Don’t forget travel.

This year for the first time, we’ll send the girl off on her own to compete on the Nationals stage. That’s right, no mother to fuss over bun wigs and make-up, no father to tape shoes and run for water. She’ll be in the company of her wonderful teachers and friends of 10 years, so never a worry about her care and readiness. We’ll try to track her progress and results via facebook, since our cell phones won’t cross the Canadian border, and since we can’t quite figure that out, we’re a little less convinced we’ll figure out facebook, so we’re hoping to receive news via currier.

In any case, the point is, she’s on her own for this one, which probably represents more trepidation for Cherisse and I than for Renee at this point. If she can qualify for World Championships at Nationals as she’s done for the past 2 years, that’s the goal, and we joke about how this year she’ll conquer the podium and we won’t be there.

The overall point of the post is that we have had so many uproarious “graduation” celebrations thanks to Irish Dance that marking the official completion of four years of secondary education did rather pale in comparison. I knew that one day I’d be watching Renee cross a stage and receive a diploma so that adult life could sort of officially begin, I didn’t know she would have the equivalent of a college education already under her belt by then — which is good, because we sunk a lot of money into it.

Currently we’re talking a lot about her post-secondary academic potential, but technically we’re a year behind her classmates entering colleges this year. In August Renee will skip college to make her professional debut and turn 18 — lots of potential there.

I think a dream is not a thing captured, but something each of us holds, that slowly unfolds.

Keeping you posted.

 

Jim

A NEW WORLD VIEW

Round 1, Heavy Jig.

Canandaigua, NY – So much brilliance, so much drama, so many dancers, so few winners, so this is what it’s all about. We’ve had a month and a half to unwind from the London World Championships adventure. Things do look different from here.

I think back on London and last year in Boston and the world of difference between Renee’s outcomes in those two World Championship events, and how achieving a world ranking this year places her among her peers. It is perhaps, the most sought after level of success in Irish Dance, partly because the chances of becoming the World Champion are so slim for most of the field.

I think about the 94 dancers in Renee’s competition that were unceremoniously eliminated after two rounds, and would have no chance at a ranking this year. Well, maybe next year. That’s what we were saying a year ago. Not recalling at Worlds is a pretty hard pill to swallow after fighting your way into World contention. Credit Irish dancing for commanding dedication as thousands are called each year, but alas, few are chosen.

Of course, it’s not a lottery, it’s about getting on the floor and making it happen, performing under pressure, when it’s all on the line. It’s a life lesson, a wake-up call. When you don’t recall, and competition is all over for you, you can say that just getting here was a great accomplishment, and that’s true, it’s just not much comfort.

Happily for us, this year is different. Renee achieved her world ranking. Even so, we think, gee, we could do better, and we could. Even the World Champion can say, I’ll repeat my feat next year, watch and see. I can tell you, it won’t be easy for her.

Now with a new season under way, we have the benefit of added experience. We have a view of the World stage we didn’t have before, and a new mission that begins with North American Nationals in Montreal next month. It’s the first chance to qualify to compete next year at World Championships and be recognized once again as one of the very best.

For Renee, as with so many of her contemporaries in Irish Dance, it’s high school graduation time, as well. As she, and we, anticipate the change of venue, and the move on to the much bigger stages of life, her mother and I are  thankful for her timely rise in the ranks this year. From now on, the girl has charge of her own career, and we can say we have her well prepared and positioned for her future.

As I write tonight, she is enjoying her Senior Prom and time away from training to just be a regular kid with her best friends. We would forgo a feis (competition) so the day could be completely set apart from Irish dance, and it was. Tomorrow, however, she’s due for a 3 hour dance class at 11:30.

Oh, well.

I’ll keep you posted.

Jim

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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

Happy New Year from the Tudor Studio

Canandaigua, NY.  A hearty hello to all and a wish for your success and happiness in 2014, with the hope that wherever you are today, you’re safe and warm.  Brrrr!!

Not much happening at the Tudor Studio currently. Winter came early and has driven the dancers into the basement. This, of course, has meant the conversion of my man cave into a dance studio.

Actually, my rather dingy basement was devoted primarily to my drumming, and I guess it still is, sans drums, until it’s warm enough to get the dancing back out to the garage, out of which I was driven back in September. I’ve had the stand of tall pines just outside to shelter what couldn’t be kept in the garage any longer.

Thanks to all this shifting about, we’re eying a total move, probably sooner than we realize, just so everyone can have a home. What began as simple ceiling plaster preservation seems to have generated a new 5 year plan, Irish dancing, more or less, leading the way.

If you’ve got a kid with talents and abilities and dedication, there’s nothing to do but support them the best you can. And so my hat’s off to all of those I have met and have come to know who go all out so their kids can be all in on the opportunities that are out there for them.

We’re currently counting the days to the Irish Dancing World Championships in London this April. That should speed the winter days by like nothing else we currently have available. We could be sitting on beaches soaking up the equatorial sun or enjoying the hot tub in some mountain resort where they have a roaring fire in every room. Instead, we’re going Irish dancing, and really, I couldn’t be more excited.

We know this phase will end, and soon. With Winter Olympics just ahead, it brings home with emphasis the amateur’s sojourn and the hopes and dreams that accrue through years of training and competing. It sure shows how if you want to be the best, you’ve really got to want it.,,a lot. And, you have to have a bunch of people who want it with you. None of those good things ever happen by themselves.

We’ll share our ups and downs and parlay the pluses into a life we have chosen along a path we’ll travel together with welcome wonder at where it all could lead.

As the great showman, Jackie Gleason, put it, “And away we go!”

Stay inspired in 20-14!

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

The New Dress Debuts

 Waiting for competition to begin at the New Jersey State Championships.

 

Canandaigua, NY.  This post’s picture gives you a pretty good look at Renee’s new dance dress. Although it arrived from Ireland less than 3 weeks ago, for us it’s been a constant source of weary wonder and wild speculation since the 4^th of July. Now at long last, it’s among the latest of Eire Design dresses to take the stage.

It was on Independence Day at North American National Championships in Anaheim that the girls met with world famous Irish dance dress designer, Gavin Doherty, founder of Eire Designs of Belfast. They laid out their vision for Renee’s next dress. Gavin personally measured her, twice to be sure, noting Renee’s athletic shoulder width and narrow waist. Colors were discussed that would comprise a dazzling spray of flowers for the bodice. He made note that Cherisse’s name was also the name of a color bordering on hot pink. This was not lost on the girls, but Gavin had a surprise.

Pink is not high on Renee’s list of favorites, but it is a perfect flower color, and Gavin liberally leveraged it. The general consensus thus far is that he did so very successfully. We’ve already had one offer to purchase the dress. I think Renee makes it look especially smashing.

The back story on the new dress is one of considerable angst because from the time you realize you need a new one until you actually have your perfect “majors” ready turn-out, you’re on a very long and winding road. That journey actually began right after World Championships in March. That’s when the timer began to tick in Cherisse’s head, because she’s the dance mom and it’s her responsibility to see to it her dancer is properly attired in time for the next “major”.

Renee’s previous dress was also a Gavin Doherty design, and a very successful one for two separate dancers thus far, one in Australia and Renee, here in the states. It took a great leap of faith to trust that this garment would arrive intact and actually fit, but it did and it did, and it sure looked great up there on the podium at Oireachtas (o-rock-tuss) in Philadelphia last year. The new dress was produced in time to be really ready for our annual pilgrimage to Philly in just a few weeks. Renee competes for the Mid-Atlantic title again on Black Friday.

       

3^rd Place at 2012 Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas.

There’s something about an Irish dance dress that apparently has the power to raise or lower one’s profile as a competitor, especially on the big stages, under the lights, at the major competitions. Figuring out that dynamic is not so easy under the florescent tubes in a high school cafeteria, inside the boards of a hockey arena or in front of the bleachers in a grade school gymnasium, typical environs for an Irish feis.  I think it will take me many more years to appreciate what that “something” might be, but suffice to say it is a spectacular and ever-evolving art form about which there are some very strong statements being made by some very creative people, and not just world famous designers.

Solo dance dresses are one of a kind, unique designs. This sets up a very interesting and tricky situation for the designer and the buyer. Although there are basic elements each dancer may choose, such as the color scheme, type of bodice and skirt, etc., the finished product is largely the domain and prerogative of the designer/dressmaker. You don’t really know what you’ve bought until you’ve got it in your hands. You hope you like it and you hope it fits.

We’ve been pretty lucky with this, but we’ve also done a lot of studying to try to identify the most forward trends, and a lot of worrying about getting the dress in time to acquire and make ready every imaginable accoutrement, from tiara to shoe buckle. The dress is just the beginning.

Renee’s teachers advised getting a top designer to make the new dress because they set the trends. Gavin Doherty is on a pretty short list of Irish dance dress trend setters. It was more money and less control than we’ve ever had over the dress making process, which was thoroughly bedeviling, but then we’ve never had higher hopes or expectations for Renee in her competitive career to date. So, you go for it. As I’ve said time and again, she’s the real deal. Can she work a Gavin Doherty dress? You bet.

As the feis dad, I try to stay removed from all the dress fluster, but it’s like a soap opera. It sucks you in and pretty soon I can’t tell whether it’s a dance contest or a sparkle contest I’m involved in, and I have a strong suspicion that my girls are becoming raging costume-aholics. But in a room full of Irish dancers and their moms and dads, the oo’s and ah’s smooth those wrinkles right out.

Flash back to this past Saturday morning, under the florescent tubes in the aforementioned high school cafeteria, thirty competitors pacing in hard shoes were waiting to get it on in front of the judges. We’d almost canceled our departure for New Jersey late the previous afternoon as a nasty cough had settled into Renee’s chest, but not wanting to miss debuting the new dress and waste a fresh spray tan she hydrated, medicated and we pressed on.

Fortunately, an early start to her competition and the great organizing and executing of the competition by host school, the Davis Academy, and the feisweb crew, Renee was able to compete at her best, the hard dry hack and low grade fever notwithstanding. Her showing, very happily, proved good enough to capture 3^rd place.

To me, that’s what Irish dancing has been all about, putting the best foot forward in every pressurized circumstance. That’s what Renee has learned to do so well, like last month in Pittsburgh — winning 3^rd on a fresh ankle sprain — and nothing could make a father prouder, if a picture is worth a thousand words.

No matter the sport, competing successfully takes a magical combination of grace and grit and a strong sense of destiny, because adversity is everywhere and true champions battle it all the time, they condition themselves to it, they must.

And so, my thanks to Gavin and Mary, Claire and Frances and Keith and everyone at Eire Designs, as their fabulous creation did indeed help Renee to carry on through a challenging day in a very big run-up to a major competition. With the new Gavin now in place, we’re confident that all the important pieces will fall together for this year’s Oireachtas.

Last year, Renee came from nowhere to take a place on the podium. This year, I think they’ll see her coming.

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

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