GOING PRO.

Canandaigua, NY. In five days I’m off to New Jersey with Renée, a fiddle, nine days worth of dance gear (don’t ask) and a dream now almost 18 years old. Studio2stage has been a focus for the last six months and at the moment there’s some uncertainty as to whether that’s a light at the end of the tunnel or an oncoming train. It’s rather like that when you’re constantly throwing yourself into ever more foreign and challenging situations. Apparently, that’s where the opportunities are.

Studio2stage came about when Renée’s dance teacher (the fabulous Paula Burke) passed along notice of an audition. It looked to be right up Renée’s alley, like all these years of competitive Irish dancing led exactly here – pretty convenient. So, an audition was videoed and uploaded, a headshot and a bio and then we waited for word.

While we waited, we counted down to World Championships and a trip back and forth to London followed by North American Championships in Montréal and a feis or two. No point in sitting by trying to hatch this dream on the off chance she would be selected for this very exciting professional try. When we learned she had been accepted on to the Studio2stage Crew we were pretty stoked. Then we had to bone up on bank wire transfers and boogie overseas.

This particular opportunity isn’t like getting hired, but it is getting a good look-over by some people who could conceivably hire or refer you — producers, dancers and choreographers from the big shows like “Riverdance”, “Lord of the Dance”, “Heartbeat of Home” and others. So, it seems more like a professional workshop, which many professions have. However, we get a big dance show at the end of it, and we’re very excited to see Renee and a good group of the dancers Renee has competed with and against for years coming on to perform.

If competing in the major Irish Dance competitions has shown us anything, it’s that you want to get things over the hump and rolling down hill so when precious golden moments arrive, you’ve got lots of motivation and momentum in the desired direction. Anyway, I think we’ve got it, and if the packing goes well we should have it knocked.

There’s certainly glory in living, and Renée has proved that. There’s also exhaustion and overload, so with Renee away, perhaps Cherisse and I can va-k. We’ll see her in Union, NJ at Keene University on August 3^rd. Anyone wishing to come to see the show is invited, and I can vouch for the talent.

You can check out the venue and ticket details here: http://www.keanstage.com/seasontickets/dance.asp

My heart is pounding already.

Jim

Perpetual Bling

 The Trish Hardner Memorial Trophy awarded by Rince Na Tiarna Association of Erie, PA.

 Canandaigua, NY —  “Perpetual-ity”. The PGA has it. Irish Dance has it.

As I watched Jason Dufner hoist the gigantic Wanamaker Trophy at the 95^th PGA Championship, golf’s final major tournament of the season, in nearby Rochester on Sunday, I thought about how surreal it must be for him right at this moment. He certainly looked as if he’d awakened in a dream world.

Only a champion gets to experience that moment.

At every Irish Dance competition (feis)(fesh), a whole bevy of new champions are recognized and awarded their trophies and sashes and medals. I always wondered if Renee would ever win a perpetual trophy, and have her name engraved on it for posterity. It’s been a rarity for Renee to actually be in a competition where a perpetual trophy is awarded.  The major competitions like World Championships, North American, British, Australian, Irish and Scottish Nationals, etc., all have them, and there are quite a few throughout the Irish Dance world that are awarded each year at local feisiana.

So it was on Saturday, and anticipating the prestigious award adds a little zing to the competition, I’ll say that. We spent a long day in the Niagara Falls Convention Center, and it was a good day for the Young School with two perpetual trophies won, and a new champion welcomed to the growing ranks of the Young Champions.

The Trish Hardner Memorial was established this year, 2013, to commemorate her efforts to successfully establish a branch of the Rince Na Tiarna dance school in Erie, PA. She was recognized at the awards ceremony for the Champion Girls Under 17 competition and was represented by her daughter and grandchildren.

I’m reminded that it’s in the Irish dance tradition for the teacher to bring the dance to the students rather than having the students come to them. It must be a lot like missionary work, because it reaches into some very small communities throughout the world. And wherever you are, you could be sufficiently inspired by Irish dance to be a conduit for its learning.

We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time here in little old Canandaigua for Renee to have begun her formal dance career when she did — when the Young School came to town. Really, it would probably not have happened otherwise, so we feel honored that she could become the first to commemorate Mrs. Hardner’s pioneering and giving spirit. It’ll be fun shifting that big cup all about the house for the next year until we return it for next year’s Feis at the Falls.

Harkening back to the previous post, “The Bling Thing”, of course, awards are great, when you win them. However, they can be a bitter reminder when you lose out. We’ve been together on both sides of the equation, experiencing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat (thank you ABC Sports).

The recognition Renee receives because her winning talent and personality has been a vicarious thrill through the years. She rarely disappoints. I personally have no trophy to hoist, save for Renee. She’s grown far too big to toss in the air any more. Instead, she lifts us all up with her latest accomplishment.

Stay inspired.

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

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