Surgery Update, part 3

I am now done and graduated from physical therapy. My next doctor appointment is a month away. I am a regular participant in everything at dance class, even leading a fitness class during our Oireachtas prep Saturdays.

Did I really heal this fast?

Three months seriously flew by! Maybe I just feel that way because the past month has been a blur with the beginning of the school year and my own insistence that I never have days off to do nothing.

For the most part this past month, when I wasn't working, I was doing something to improve my physical fitness. I was at physical therapy getting essentially an hour and a half personal training session. I was running (yes, running!) in the fitness center on the treadmill. I was choreographing a show treble reel for the Baltimore Comic Con.

So, yes, I finally got to attend a comic con in my Captain America dress! I entered a costume contest for fun, and danced on stage for a bit of an audience. They went wild! My costume was totally a hit, and I loved getting all the comments on how cool an Irish dancing Captain America is. Now, I'm going to dedicate a whole post to this outing very soon, but until then, have a picture!

I have officially registered for two feiseanna this fall before the Oireachtas. I will be doing only the set dance competition at Rhythm of Ireland to try out my new Downfall of Paris without the stress of having to push myself to have the other rounds ready (namely slip jig). Hopefully all goes well, and if not, there's still time to perfect it before the SRO (and if not, there's the ol' standby Planxty Drury). My one and only three round competition will be Feis Culkin a few weeks after.

And now for something completely not related to healing... Remember when I mentioned I won an instagram contest hosted by Marvel and Dr. Pepper that was run during San Diego Comic Con? My prize came in the mail last month. I was expecting five Dr. Pepper cans, which I got. What completely blew my mind was that they came in a fantastic case signed by the Avengers: Age of Ultron cast! Consider me blown away.

Goals: Stamina all around
Days till Os: 66

Mini Update

Oireachtas Prep

• With the Oireachtas being a month away, I have really solidified my goals.  I am determined that this is my year.  I have two goals within reach (and one other secret goal) which include: 

1. Be a world qualifier, and
2. Place in the top ten.

• I have been working on stamina lately, and am feeling less and less exhausted at the end of each dance.  Well, this is not entirely true.  I am less tired at the end of the first time through each dance.
• Have I mentioned the teams I am on?  Along with solos, I will also be part of a mixed 4, a mixed 8, and the senior girls choreography.

Rhythm of Ireland Feis

• I felt fairly confident in my dancing for the day, at least in those moments when I wasn't bumping into the gal I was sharing the stage with.  Our steps followed similar path, and we were constantly vying for the same space on the stage.  Despite that, nothing seemed to go horribly wrong.
• I was slightly shocked when placements were called!  Until that weekend, I had never placed above 6th in an open champion competition, and lo and behold, I found myself not only on the podium for third place, I also received a sash and lovely plate!  This gave me a great confidence boost.  It's great to have proof that my hard work it playing off.
• This was also the most fun I'd ever had at a local feis.  I greatly enjoy spending time with the particular group of senior ladies that are both within my dance school, and that I see only at competitions.  There is a lot of camaraderie between all of us.  The Maple seniors spend some time before awards playing a favorite game of mine, Cards Against Humanity, and it may just be a feis staple from now on!

Coyle Feis: I will be there this weekend!  My goal is to recall in this large and out of region group.

Non-dancing tidbits

• Work is going well!  My 4th graders will be putting on a Veteran's Day concert in a week.  It will be my first concert at my new school!
• I am moving to a new apartment in the very near future!  I will conveniently located in between work and dance.  I just now have the added stress of packing all my things up and moving when Oireachtas practicing is reaching critical mass.

Goals: Dance confidently at the feis
Days till Os: 31

2013 Goals and Aspirations

It's amazing how far I have come in the world of Irish dance.  When I started in 2007 as an adult beginner, my only goal was to simply learn anything and everything about this amazing dance form I have admired for so many years.  A year later, my goals shifted to the realm of competitive dance; something I swore to myself I'd never do after spending nearly a decade as a competitive gymnast.  Little by little, I upped the ante for myself from getting to novice, to preparing for prizewinner, to competing at my first Oireachtas and moving to the champ levels.  Now that I'm at the top level of dance, it's weird to me that my goals have hardly changed at all.

Granted, I did spend 75% of last year injured or recovering from an injury.

For 2013, my goals include to:

1. Continue to improve my turnout and cross technique in my dancing,
2. Begin to place more consistently in my competitions at feiseanna,
3. Recall at nationals, and ultimately
4. Qualify for the world championships as a soloist.

I aspire to be the best team member I can be by coming to practice with a pleasant and helpful attitude.  I aspire for good health and stamina.

In other news for this year...

• Feiseanna and majors I will be present at:
• World Championships (March)
• CCE Feis (May)
• Old Dominion Feis (June)
• North American Nationals (July)
• Rhythm of Ireland Feis (October)
• Feis Culkin (November)
• Southern Region Oireachtas (December)
• New dress, new dress by Elevation Designs!
• If you're wondering where the Shut the Feis Up posts disappeared to, the author (my boyfriend) has enlisted in the Army.  He is currently at basic training in Georgia, so he is unable to continue to write blog posts.

Goals: Work through new hornpipes and reels

Days till NANs: 179

STFU about Feis Nightmares

So as I’m on my way to feis umber one at 8 in the morning, all I can think about in my mind is how cool and interesting it will be to witness my first feis. Another huge reason why I was excited for it is because this would also be the first time I’d get to see my girlfriend dance at a competition, so I was also very excited for her.

What I thought would be a fun, easy going day turned out to be a long, repetitive day of the same music and the same metronome tick-tocking over and over again. I managed to tough it out with minimal complaints. A quick run to McDonald's helped me recover from the hours of sitting on my butt, and the sweet tea gave me energy to make it through the last couple hours. ...Forgot to mention, the night before the feis I stayed up until 4 in the morning, woke up at 7, drove the two and a half hours to Williamsburg, and I still prevailed through the long day at the feis… Am I a beast? I think so.

Getting past all the negatives: Finally the time had come to watch Sara perform. I frequently asked her if she was nervous and always got the same answer, “No.” I can admit that I was nervous for her; honestly my heart was pounding when I saw her up there. It was like she mysteriously transferred all her nervousness to me through some strange girlfriend powers. I was a bit worried because she was sick and had pink eye. I just wanted her to perform well! Turns out, she placed for the first time (which I told her over and over again that she’d do)! I’m so very proud of her. It put a huge smile upon my face. After the feis, I crowned myself her “good luck charm” for since it was my first feis and her first time placing, I gave her the good luck! Being able to see her perform was absolutely worth it in the end, nothing made me happier than to see her dance, because I know it’s what she enjoys doing and what is currently her passion, so of course I’ll be there to support her.

THE NIGHTMARES BEGIN:

But oh it doesn't end there. After the long drive back home, Sara and I were both exhausted. I congratulated her one more time and we both went our separate ways off to bed. Finally laying down in my bed, after three hours of sleep the night before, I easily fell asleep in my bed. To my horror, not only did I have one dream nightmare, I had three of them. All about Irish dancing. Yes, in reality I did escape the feis, but in my head while I was sleeping, I could not. All throughout my sleep, I dreamt about being at the feis, hearing Irish music play constantly, and every time the metronome ticked it was like a woodpecker was pecking at my brain. I did manage to wake up and go to work after a very unsatisfying sleep. All day at work, I found myself humming most of the songs I heard at the feis. They were all permanently stuck in my head. Even to this day, I still find myself humming them (especially Planxty Drury).

Rhythm of Ireland Feis

The day before the feis, I developed pink eye. The day of the feis, I developed a cold.

Despite the odds, I placed for the first time in open champs.

I liked how this feis ran soft shoe first for a three-round open champ competition. It cut down on the amount of times we had to change shoes, and in a quick local feis setting, I thought was perfect. I also was quite a fan of running open U18 and prelim/open 18&O competitions co-currently. Hello breathing time, which was much needed due to the runny nose, cough, general wheezing, and stamina that needs improvement.

I don't know what it is about performing my set at the past few feiseanna since (and including) Oireachtas, but I seem to be so exhausted that I make more mistakes than I should, like falling off of pointe, and generally being more sloppy. If it's a stamina issue, that's being worked on. If it was an 'I'm getting sick' issue, that will be solved in a few days. If it's a general sloppiness issue, then clearly I need to work harder.

One of the many of the things going around the message boards is about the choice in judges at this feis. What you have to understand about this world is that it it all 100% completely subjective. Unlike gymnastics which has an intense code of points and micro-manages how much of a deduction you get for not pointing your toes, Irish dance is purely about judges' preferences. One of the judges in question happened to place me really high, while placing another dancer from my school lower. I've seen that this is pretty normal; I've been to feiseanna before where a judge has placed me first, and another near last. Again, it's all judges' preference, and not something that's under any of our immediate control.

Goals for the year:

1. Improve turnout (work in progress)
2. Place at least once in opens
3. Place higher at nationals (did not attend)
4. Qualify for worlds

Goals: stamina, cross

Days till Os: 46

Quick Update

1. Saw Jig this past weekend in Maryland with my boyfriend (who I think enjoyed it...). It was awesome as well as inspiring.

2. Strictly Irish Dancing: if any of you fellow American dancers haven't seen it, there is a link on the Drake school's website. It is a lot like Jig, but gives more background on the history of Irish dance, costumes, etc. rather than the focus being solely on the dancers.

3. My first feis of the fall is coming up this weekend (Rhythm of Ireland). My hopes for this feis will be to place higher than second to last (because that's the highest I've placed at a feis ever in open champs), and to make it through all my steps without having any major stamina issues.

4. I have decided my big focus before the Oireachtas will be on crossing my legs, for two reasons. One: because it needs work, and two: when I'm crossing m legs, my turnout is better and doesn't look as terrible.

5. My 4-year anniversary in Irish dance passed this past week. Expect a post on that soon!

6. As for STFU (Shut the Feis Up), expect that first post coming up this week!

Goals: Stamina, cross

Days till Os: 53

Announcing: STFU (Shut the Feis Up)

Due to me being so busy, and to keep my blog being updated semi-regularly, I will be having a guest blogger come in and start a new chapter of Rince go Bragh: STFU (Shut the Feis Up).

A little about this new blogger:

1. He (yes, he) knows very little of the Irish dance world.
2. His only Irish dance background is of seeing Riverdance as a child. (Which he frequently confuses with and subsequently tries to convince me is the same as Lord of the Dance)
3. His first real foray into the Irish dance world will be seeing Jig the Film this weekend (as it's in theaters in my area) and attending the Rhythm of Ireland feis.
4. Last but certainly not least, he's my boyfriend.

I thought it'd be interesting to hear about Irish dance from the perspective of someone who's never been exposed to our world before. How many times has a significant other been brought to a dance function, only for you to sit and wonder what they're thinking of and what their reactions are? How many times have you bored your snookums with epic tales of Irish dancing? My hope is that it's humorous and enlightening for us hardcore dancers to see and remember what its like from a non-dancer's perspective.

Goals: Cross, stamina

Days till Os: 57

Huge Update, Part 2: Feiseanna

Since nationals, I have been busy doing various feiseanna in the area, and placing rather well. I did not place lower than third in prelim since July, which is rather neat, and quite an accomplishment after only having been dancing for three years.

Nation's Capital feis: Keeping with the trend set forth at the CCE and Old Dominion feiseanna, a gentleman won this competition, and I got my first ever frustrating second place. Honestly, I'm going to admit that I hadn't practiced my steps since nationals three weeks prior to Nation's Capital, so I was acting on pure muscle memory and prayers that my stamina would hold out. I was surprised I placed as well as I did, considering the circumstances: 30+ dancers (16 and over competition), no practice, and bad stamina.

Baltimore Feis: Well, my first time competing my new Oireachtas steps was at this feis. While I thought my treble jig round was rather poopy technically, rhythmically, and stamina-wise, it was definitely my slip jig that saved my life (nothing new there). Two awesome things happened here. The first is that Kristin got her very first prelim first (and awesome perpetual cup), after being in this level for a few years, becoming the first of the three of us older Maple people in prelim to do so. The second was that despite what I thought was a poor performance, I still placed top three, and received my very first crystal award.

Rhythm of Ireland: The coolest part of this feis was not just that I got my first prelim first (and sash), but the fact that all three of us Maple dancers swept the podium for our competition. Jess received her highest placement ever (2nd), and Kristin just came off an illness and still danced really well. It's amazing the camaraderie between the three of us, when we could just take the low road and be catty and super competitive toward one another.

Feis Culkin: This was a busy day. I spent the week before praying to the feis gods that my competition would dance first since I had a choir concert that evening, and we did! I can honestly say that this is my favorite feis of the entire year. It is always well-run (we danced, got our awards, and were done by 10:45 AM), and a good pre-Oireachtas check up on how you're doing. Despite the slippery wood stages, I danced pretty well, but not quite full out on my treble jig, since I was trying to avoid the treble sit. The highlight of the morning (pre-awards) was a "beautiful slip jig" comment from Russel Beaton, who wasn't judging that day, but just watching. There were four Maple girls who danced this day, and all of us placed! The most exciting part? Winning my second prelim competition, and my dad being there to witness it.

I can now say that I'm officially an OPEN CHAMPION dancer, and have met and exceeded two our of three of my goals for the year (place regularly and win at least one prelim competition, and don't get last at nationals). I am both excited and extremely intimidated by the fact that I am now in the highest level of Irish dance. I remember three years ago when I started dance class thinking how wonderful those championship dancers are. In my eyes, I have put a lot of pressure on myself to be that inspiring figure to new dancers that the champs were to me when I first started. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely stoked to have achieved so much in such short time, but I feel very daunted just thinking about regularly competing against people who have been dancing their whole lives, and have qualified for worlds, and possibly even recalled there. Clearly, I am just psyching myself out by this thought, as I am currently more freaked out about dancing open at CCE in May than I am about dancing at the Oireachtas in two weeks.

Goals: Do my homework for REAL.

Days till Os: 14

Catching Up With Recent Happenings

Feis Report: Rhythm of Ireland (ROI)
My very first prelim feis! I think I did well, considering. I got 8th of 15 dancers in the prelim competition, and considering my goal was to not place last, I say I suceeded quite nicely. I was just one place away from getting a trophy, which is encouraging... I also competed my set (The Hunt) for the first time, and while I got 6th out of 9 dancers, I'm pleased with my performance of it. I love the venue of the Williamsburg Marriott. There's plenty of space to practice, and everything's set up very well. The prelim stage (and accompanying hall) was absolutely ENORMOUS though. I got practice showing off my travelling (or lack of) skills.
Up next: Feis Culkin, November 1st

I'm really very excited. The 2010 SROs will be held just down the road from where I live (if you think of 395 as near my house, which it's not...), at the Gaylord in National Harbor! I'm looking forward to next year, but I also realize I've still got to get through this Oireachtas first... Oh dear. Am I feeling ready? I guess more so now that I have at least one prelim competition under my belt. My goal for this Oireachtas is to recall. I'd be so thrilled with a recall. Making it to nationals would be icing on the cake. Making it to worlds, I might die right there on stage.

Goals: Place in top half of my prelim competition at Culkin, PRACTICE EVERY DAY
Days till Os: 47 (eep!)

Making it's debut:

My new dress arrived in the mail today, and I'm absolutely pleased by it. It's gorgeous and everything I dreamt it would be. It fits like a glove. It's my new good luck charm. I can't wait to dance in it at Rhythm of Ireland. I can't wait to go to my first prelim feis.

I LOVE DANCE!

Goals: Practice for ROI

Days till Os: 72

Onward, Upward, and Over to Prelim!

Can I have your attention please:
I'M NOW A CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL DANCER
Goal number one for the year accomplished. :]

Baltimore feis report:
I may not have done as well as I hoped, I still didn't place first in my slip jig. I ended up getting 5th place. I also ended up with a 2nd place in both reel and treble jig, and many fearful glances from my competitors, however, I reassured them this is the last time I'll be in prizewinner, for their own sakes... I also love dancing on stages, which I go to do for my two soft shoe dances.
Up next: Rhythm of Ireland, October 17th

So I never got first in my slip jig, how am I in prelim, you ask?
Well, I did place first in my reel, and you do only need a first in a soft and hard shoe dance...
Yes, I may have cheated the system a little, but I need to practice this competition format for the Oireachtas, which are coming up in SEVENTY FIVE DAYS.

It's a bit of a neat feeling, to be a championship-level anything after only doing something for two years...

Upcoming:
The new dress!
Two year anniversary of starting dancing

Goals: get videos up here for TJ and The Hunt already! Prepare for ROI...
Days till Os: 75