Pre-Nationals Mini Update

Nationals: Here I go, off to my second north american championship!

• My goal is to recall, but I don't think I'll be bothered if I don't.  I have made excellent progress in my dancing since the Oireachtas, and I'm feeling good about where I stand, regardless of a nationals recall or not.  I'm trying to take this major with a no-pressure attitude.
• I'm looking forward to spending a relaxing five days in California at essentially a convention for one of my favorite things in the world.  I'm traveling alone, so Disneyland is probably out of the picture, but I'm hoping to spend lots of time pool-side with a book and an adult beverage when I'm not dancing, and/or making new dance friends.
• I won second place in the last instagram contest!  My prize is a photoshoot with Prine Photography while I'm in Anaheim, and also to be featured on the poster they are making.  Now, do I go buy a toy Cap shield for this?  I'm thinking yes.

• If you see me (or a version of me being Captain America), don't hesitate to say hi!  I arrive on the 4th (tomorrow!), dance in senior ladies A split on the 6th, and leave on the 8th.  I will be doing my best to send many updates through social media as I can in Anaheim. [Follow Rince go Bragh on twitter] [Follow sekubik on instagram]

Old Dominion Feis

• I placed 6th in open champs out of 15 dancers!  This continues to be a huge confidence boost for me, not only because I actually placed in open for the second time in my life, but especially so since my dad took a video of my set and it actually sounds fabulous!  After three years, my set is really becoming awesome.  I hope I can dance it at nationals.
• All three of my teams dances won!
• My social media updates were awesome (if I do say so myself).

Happy girl.

Goals: Don't become a head case
Days till NANs: 3

Mini Update

Old Dominion Feis: My school's feis is in less than a week, and I'm very excited!

• I will be dancing in all sorts of fun competitions including: old ladies open champs, 3-hand, 4-hand, and 8-hand competitions.  This will be my first local feis where I do some ceilis!
• When I'm not dancing, I'm running all social media outlets.  For champ results and more on the day, be sure to follow @OldDominionFeis on twitter, and like the Old Dominion Feis 2013 page on Facebook.  I hope all my years of blogging don't let me down!
• This feis also marks the start of my 6th year of feising!

Solo dress for sale!

• My red plaid solo dress. $450 with free US shipping.
• Dress was made in 2011 by Jennifer Blackerby.  It has been worn for a grand total of two competitions.  The dress is covered in hundreds of rhinestones I hand-glued on. There is plenty of let out room as it was altered from a 35” bust.  It fits comfortably on me now; not too tight, not too loose.  The dress also come with two headbands, but no bloomers…sorry.
• Dress measurements: 34” bust; 27.5” natural waist; 32” dropped waist; 15” across back shoulders; 31” total length.  It was altered down from a larger size, so there is let out room!
• Optional: I have size 5 (27” waist) pants that match the dress’ plaid perfectly.  I’ll throw them in for an extra $25.
• Drop me an email (RinceGoBraghBlog@gmail.com) for more info.

Nationals: Is quickly approaching in less than a month

• I'm looking into renting a nearby dance studio for an hour at a time when the school years is over so I have a nice place to practice with mirrors and a sprung floor.  Between my own practicing and scheduled dance classes, I'm hoping to dance five days a week.  While I know two to three weeks isn't much time to fix long-term issues, I'm hoping to hit stamina hard.
• I'm busy brainstorming my outfits for the handful of days I'm there.  In a perfect world, there is free wi-fi at the Hilton so I can quickly blog about my outfits each day.

I'm overwhelmed with the amount of positive response I've received on my new solo dress.  I still can't express how awesome it makes me feel when I dance, and having other dancers compliment my design idea is truly icing on the top.

The end of the school year is fast approaching, and with it, my wonderful summer break!  I can't believe how fast my first year of teaching went.  Here's to many more fun years!

Goals: Drill reels.
Days till NANs: 25

Mini Update

1. Just one week ago, I was in Boston for the World Championships   My figure choreography team had the chance to compete for a title, and we came just one place shy of a recall medal!

2. My new solo dress arrived the day that I returned from worlds!  I'm not ready to post a full picture of it yet (patiently waiting for the day when I'm all dressed up for a feis).  I'll tide you over with a sneak preview:

3. My red plaid dress will be up for sale shortly.  Check back later for more details!

4. Nationals update:

• I will be in Anaheim July 4th through the 8th.
• My TC has a vendetta to get us all super fit in the coming months, which I am really excited about.  I'm chasing after a recall.  I would be so happy with a recall.  Being fit with super stamina will help!

5. Summer feiseanna

• As I sit here writing this, I'm fervently trying to register for the CCE feis in May.  I cannot count how many error messages I've received.  Fingers crossed that I get in! (Edit: I got in!)
• I will also for sure be present at the Old Dominion feis because my dance school runs it.  I'm planning on both competing, and probably managing a stage.

6. As for other blog happenings, I will be playing catch up in this next month or so.  I plan to write about Boston over the course of four posting in the next month, as well as writing about St. Patrick's day and other random things I have to tell you about!

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

Mini update

Injury recovery

• May 16th was a big day for me.  After 98 days of injury recovery, I went to dance class, put on my hard shoes, and danced.  I can only do hard shoe dances at the moment due to not being able to jump/land on my bad foot without it hurting, but at least I can dance!
• I am still going to physical therapy, and am halfway through my second round of six weeks.  I will go back to the podiatrist at the end of June and hopefully he will graduate me from PT!

CCE Feis

• I kicked off the summer feising season by going to cheer on and watch my fellow 18&O champ dancers.  Congrats to them, and good luck as they continue preparing for nationals!
• In honor of being able to dance again, I also purchased some killer red ghillies to match my dress for award ceremonies and other fun things.

Old Dominion Feis

• This is my dance school's feis, so you can guarantee I will be there helping in one way or another.  (When I know what I'll be doing, I'll post it here so you can come say hi!)
• Old Dominion Feis also marks the start of my fifth year of feising!

Irish Dance How-tos:

• I did not do one for May.  I confess, my schedule is uber busy teaching full time.  Do not despair because there will be two in the month of June!  I am planning to have the first up on my blog and ready for you on June 6th.

Other things

• Curious as to what is my dance bag? (Come on, I know you secretly are.)  Check out Moira's blog, On My Toes to see a little collaboration post I did there!  Also, check out her latest post on joining the 'Mad Abs June' challenge!
• I'm going to go see Riverdance at Wolftrap on June 17th!
• If you're a regular reader, you may have noticed I changed the banner at the top of my blog just for fun.  What do you think?
• My school year is done June 15th.  Bear with me for minimal posts two more weeks as I finish teaching.  I'm already getting geared up with blog post ideas for this summer!
• On May 18th, I attended my own graduation ceremony since my college doesn't hold one in December.  Despite receiving my diploma in the mail in February, my graduation is officially official now!

Goals: PT exercises and stamina
Days till Os: 181

Old Dominion Feis 2011

You know those feiseanna where you look at the competitior list and just know you have no hope? That happened to me the Wednesday before the Old Dominion feis. One of my competitors just won nationals a few days ago. Another of my competitors was the reason why I went to worlds this year (out via association). At least two others placed top five at the Oireachtas this past year.

Lets just say it's a good thing that I set goals for myself that have nothing to do with placements.

I helped run stages all morning, which I sort of enjoy. I like organizing things, as well as seeing all the cute tiny dancers. If only the gym wasn't so darn hot... Anywho, after that I went and searched out a new headband for my new hairstyle. I decided that I would dye my hair back to it's natural dark reddish brown state, and cut of my full wigs into a bun wig. I think it turned out pretty well, and with the heat of the feis, it was a good plan.

I danced later on in the afternoon. I decided to break out my new steps (for the Oireachtas), which made me more nervous than I should have been. My goal for the feis was to make it through without stopping or forgetting what comes next. I can't just make things easy on myself: I had these steps for about a month, and I had never made it through them without a little blunder until the feis. I feel really good about how I did, but purely because I made it through all three rounds. I ended up placing 10th out of 11. I just can't catch a break in these open champ competitions. On another good note, my grandparents (who live in Nebraska) were able to come and watch. They haven't seen me dance since the 2009 Oireachtas.

Goals: Start practicing again

Almost NANs time...

Feis report: Old Dominion Feis

So I don't have any pictures for this feis, but let me just say... it's so nice to have a place on the podium. I am really proud of all my other Maple girls in my competition for sweeping third through sixth places. I ended up third place over all. I am really proud of what I did at this feis. It was that first stepping stone to me feeling ready for nationals this Sunday.

Up next: NANs, July 4th-5th

I am currently recovering from a minor freak out. My iTunes library decided to vanish as I was going to do my last practice before nationals run through. I had to wait 20 minutes for my poor laptop to find all the music files and put them back... I haven't even gotten to re-making my playlists. I don't know what this is going to mean for my iPod when I plug it on to charge it. Hopefully it doesn't act too lost...

Goals: PACK

Days till NANs: 2!!

Say WHAT?

Got lots of updates here...

Feis Report: CCE Feis
Ta-da! The first time I've ever placed at a prelim feis! There I am in fourth place. I'm going to go ahead and say that the CCE feis is my favorite feis ever. I love the venue, the stages are nice (but slippery), and it's really well-run. The schedule this year surprised me. Typically, old ladies prelims is one of the last competitions of the day, but at the particular feis, we were the fifth competition. it was nice to be done and out of there by 1pm. Overall, I'm really pleased with how I did, the only thing that I felt I could have done away with was my nerves. I'm sure it was mostly due to it being my first feis since the Oireachtas in December. Luckily, I have one more to get nerves out of my system before nationals...
Up next: Old Dominion feis, June 19

Riverdance, farewell performance:
I went with a few other girls from dance class to the performance last Thursday, and seriously, it was the best I'd ever seen it. Aside from spending it with awesome people, and seeing about half the dancers from my dance school there, the experience was completely awesome. It was a refreshing change, having seen Lord of the Dance back in April. Live musicians, not pre-recording the dancers shoes, the dancers being spot on... My only complaint was that the lead singer had multiple issues from a pedogological standpoint, and I feel like I could've done it better... Other than that, it was a performance I will remember for the rest of my life. I know this will sound so cheesy, but it's things like this that remind me why I do this stuff. I act about the same as a kid in a candy store while I watch. One can also not forget the failed attempt at getting picture with the dancers. Oh, we stalked them alright, and stood outside of their bus giggling for a while with no proof of our efforts, other than feeling like a creeper.

And oh yeah, the senior ladies are doing jigs for the Oireachtas this year. (say WHAT?!) It's a good thing that I learned these at the workshop over new years and haven't practiced them since January when we found out senior ladies are doing reel/hornpipe for nationals. Tell me, on what planet does that make sense? At least I know I'm not alone in this craziness. All the other senior ladies are in the same boat as me, having to learn new dances with only five months to perfect them. Unless they have been super on the ball and been doing all four. Which I most certainly will be doing until nationals is over.

Nationals:
It's nice to see they have the schedule out for nationals. My days will look a little like this:
July 3rd: Arrive in Orlando at 5pm
July 4th: I'm in competition 1B, so hornpipes at 8am, reels at 9:30pm, and sets (if I recall) at 3pm. Awards at 6pm. Then Disney fireworks, probably at EPCOT, since it's just across from the Swan and Dolphin hotel where we're staying/the competition is happening.
July 5th: Figure at 5pm, awards at 7pm.
July 6th: Go crazy in Disney World
July 7th: Leave Orlando

Preparing for nationals is like a totally different mind frame from the Oireachtas. I am not feeling any pressure at all right now. Although there is less than a month, I am not freaking out. I don't know if this is because it hasn't hit me yet, or if I don't feel as anxious because I know how these big competitions work now. I nationals it is a good opportunity, if not to see how I place against dancers outside my region, then to see and watch dancers from around the world who have been doing this their entire lives. I'm really not going into this expecting anything spectacular. I think I will gain more from the experience, and if hey, I come home with a medal, than that's all the more icing on the cake. Going to Disney World with your best friend will be an experience in itself.

Goals: Re-learn slip jig and treble jig
Days till NANs: 26

Halfway to prelim!

Holey mackaroley!

Feis report: Old Dominion feis
It was such a long (HOT) day, I was there at 8am helping run the green stage, which was very handy since all my dances were on that stage one after another after lunch. It was the quickest dancing at a competition ever, and I didn't have to wait on other stages or worry about missing my competition. All feiseanna should be this way. Big shocker of the day: despite the fact that my hardshoe still needs ton of work, I managed to get a first in both treble jig and hornpipe in prizewinner. Phew. Now I know my softshoe needs a lot of work, I didn't place in reel or slip jig. I hope I get good comments back from my judge... One of the best parts was I got to stay and help check in the prelim 18&O competition, which is what I'll be doing once I win my slip jig. So I scoped out my future competition. Muahahaha (not).
Up next: Nation's Capital, July 26

So in short, what this all means is that I'm nearly there to achieving one of two goals I set at the beginning of 2009 for dance:

1. Become a preliminary champ dancer
2. Recall at the Oireachtas

Both, I'm now certain, are now achieveable, and I'm psyched to know that. I can't wait to start learning my Oireachtas level steps, my new non-trad. set, and the 8-hand. Right now, I'm very happy I'm an Irish dancer. Words can't really describe what it means to me to come from a little girl of 12 watching Lord of the Dance for the first time, to starting dance as a new college student, and achieving in a year and a half what others have worked a long time for. I'm so happy I've had this passion in my life for so long, and my love of the dance has never waned in the 8 years I've known about it. Irish dance is truly my kind of world.

Goals: sharpen up softshoe
Days till Os: 167

No Slips in This Jig

OW. My %$&*#!@ shin splints hurt. But because I love everyone who reads this blog, here is my slip jig:

Now, this is one of the dances I'll be doing at the Oireachtas this year. I don't think I'll do these exact steps, I'm already learning a new lead, which I almost have on my right foot. :] I'll post that when I get it down pat, I've got the summer to work on it. So for this video:
Whats good: Leaps, kicks, and I've got bicycles down on my right leg, yay!
Needs work: Crickets, double pumps in the back, kicking my butt on hops, flutters, bicycles on the left leg, and turnout (always).

Saturday is feis day! My school is hosting the Old Dominion feis, and I am going to help run the green stage all day, except for when I'm dancing on it. I'm excited and not excited about helping. I have to be there god-awful early in the morning, but hey, I get to hang out with dancers all day! Vive la danse! Woohoo.

Goals: TJ video, practice for Old Dominion, go to gym
Days till Os: 170

Hornpipe time!

This is today's hornpipe:



I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it. My shins have been killing me all day.

Strong points: High slices, new hair cut so hair doesn't flop into face all the time.
Needs improvement: Hitting the clicks on click throughs and slices, getting ALL trebles (I got most of them), sharpening it up (landing of slices with feet crossed, pointing toes, cuts to hip), and as always, turnout.

My dance classes are now done for the summer, not counting the ceili workshop at the end of this month, and the week-long Oireachtas worshop in August. Now it's really up to me to keep my rear in gear about practicing, especially with a feis each month. I've been thinking about an effective weekly practice schedule for the summer, and have basically some down with this:
Monday: Softshoe
Tuesday: Hardshoe
Wednesday: Go to the gym (cardio/weights)
Thursday: Softshoe
Friday: Hardshoe
Softshoe and hardshoe will always come in sets: reel/hornpipe or slip jig/treble jig. Obviously, as the Os draw nearer (or I move to prelim), I'll be practicing slip jig/treble jig more.

Keep your eyes peeled for Old Dominion feis report this weekend!

Goals: SJ/TJ videos, practice for Old Dominion
Days till Os: 172