MegaMAID's Parenting Parables

Gone Missing

2008-08-29T13:47:00.005-04:00

Congratulations! You now officially visit this blog more often than I do.

I love to write, and I sorely miss blogging… it just isn’t in the cards to be able to keep a blog right now.

If you’ve wandered here to see what’s happening, please call or email me instead. No worries - thankfully all is well! Busy, but lots of "good busy", and never too busy to want to connect with friends. If you don’t know my phone or email, dance.net-ers can PM me there, or anyone else can track me down through Teelin.

I debated deleting this whole blog, but that made me kind of sad because there are a lot of happy memories here. So I haven’t. Instead, below is a “table of contents” for what is left.

Cheers!

~Meg

Posts regarding competitions:
Attending Your First Feis
Pondering Passionate Parenting
How to Enjoy an Outdoor Feis on a Rainy Day
Precious Memories from the Nations Capital Feis
Some of the Reasons Why I’m Addicted
Is It About Winning?
Beyond the Step
Real Life
Stress Antidote
A MAID Moment
O, What an Experience!
Playing Hooky
When the Ghillie is on the Other Foot
Drinking the Kool-Aid
Our Trip to Ottowa – Part 1 – the Competition
(Will you forgive me for never actually posting Part 2?!?)
Post Oireachtas Poetry

Posts related to friends in Irish Dance:
A Time to Grieve
Thanks for Supporting this Dancer’s Family
A Time to Laugh
Kilt Shopping
I’m Official!!!
Book Quiz
Irish Dancer Falls at Feis, Gets Up and Runs Marathon!
Music Video
“You Make My Day!”

Odds and Ends:
Thanksgiving
Late for Everything These Days
A Passion for Performing
Portraits of Ireland Video Clip
Daddy’s Dancing!
Wow, It Actually Worked!
School Christmas Concerts
Locks of Love
Happy New Year!
Bear

My favorite:
Leaving Tracks

“You Make My Day!”

2008-02-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday I received a treat from a friend – Ann gave me a “you make my day” blog award...

Thanks so much, Ann, I’m touched!

One of the joys of blogging is that it connects a circle of friends who may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. In the spirit of encouraging and perpetuating those connections, I’d like to introduce some of the blogs that make MY day (linked at the side of my blog)... and I’m passing on this award like the hot potato that it is...

Zebadiah and Beauregard’s Front Porch – ZandB is my favorite Irish dance satirist. He is the Dave Barry of the Irish dance world. He is also a close personal friend, but believe it or not, I knew his blog before I knew him in person… and one of his posts triggered an incident two years ago which revealed to me the identity of this talented writer’s pseudonym. Since then, our families have enjoyed much fun together and have become lifelong friends.

Diochra.com – (I know, I know, this one is technically not a blog... but it has a blog within...) Although the home page is not updated as frequently as it used to be, there is a plethora of valuable Irish dance resources within this site. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Ashe (yet), but feel like I’ve met her through emails.

We Love Irish Dancing – Brooke has shared her professional experience as a newspaper designer with the Irish dance public and maintains a very informative site. I find her well-documented feis reviews most helpful. Brooke has also become one of my favorite Feis Friends. Although we live in different regions and don’t get to see each other often, we have fast become close friends.

Damhsoir.com – (Again, technically not a blog, but there’s a blog within so IT COUNTS!) This site has been my source for reassurance that I’m not completely around the bend to be attempting Irish dance as an adult beginner. It includes many helpful resources, and I particularly enjoyed the journal on the blog of an adult dancer who traveled to Ireland for Blas Week.

Megsdance Mumblings – Megan is a mentor and a friend whom I hope to have the opportunity to get to know better. Master of many other sites as well, Megan keeps this blog active with a smattering of interesting topics.

Feisanne – Anne Craig is an Irish dance dressmaker in the UK who I “met” on dance.net and through AIM over a year ago. Although we haven’t connected in quite some time, I would feel funny removing her blog from my sidebar, so there it sits... in hopes of rekindling a friendship someday. Hope that you are well, Annie!

Taoknitter & Taoknitter2 – Catch the potato, Ann!!! Ann Donahue is an insightful and innovative Irish dance dressmaker in Northern Virginia. Her sewing, her designing (with business partner Susan), her knitting, and her writing each exude creativity. Ann is also an educator by nature, to which I can relate. Top that with a wicked sense of humor and it’s not hard to guess why I cherish Ann’s friendship!

The next three blogs I’ve just added to my list of links...

Mother Bunny – This blog is the only one on this list that is completely unrelated to Irish dance. I LOVE reading this blog because it reminds me so much of those precious years of parenting my kids when they were very young. (It wasn’t even that long ago, but in some ways feels like another lifetime now that we’re so busy with school stuff.) This post is one of my absolute favorites, and in this post Jessica lists her favorite posts from last year. Jessica also shares her gift for photography on the site, which is particularly fun when the subjects are her adorable kids. (Jess, ever since you mentioned your interest in knitting I’ve wanted to introduce you to Ann... go check out Taoknitter2!)

Lymabean – OK, here’s a really good example of small-world syndrome... I first met “Mrs. Lymabean” through an email exchange when I replied to an advertisement for her daughter’s Irish dance dress. Long story shortened, Lynette realized that she had seen my daughter on a youtube video that ZandB had posted from the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Then, when we met at a feis to try on the dress (which sadly did not fit), I learned that her daughter’s new dress was one that Ann Donahue had just made. Later that week I saw pictures of the dress on Ann’s blog, and a comment linked to the Lymabean blog… which I continue to read and enjoy. Though I’ve never been a gardener, it is an art form that I admire. And I so enjoy having a Feis Friend who seems like-minded in so many ways.

Tinwhistler – As part of my midlife crisis, I am attempting all kinds of new and interesting things. Tin whistle is one of them! (Aren’t you glad that you don’t live in my house and have to listen to me attempt this new adventure?!) This site was introduced to me in a round about way from my Feis Musician friend Mark Arrington, who recommended the site Whistle This, which linked to the instructional blog. (How’s that for a paper trail?!) I have also explored the links from this blog to Ryan Duns’ other blogs, which in turn led to exploring other blogs with all sorts of interesting (and some challenging) reads.

So ZandB, Ashe, Brooke, Megan, Annie C, Ann D, Jessica and Ryan… thank you each, ‘cause you make MY day! Readers (if there are any others who read my blog besides a few of the people mentioned above!), please consider checking these out and continuing the connections. Exploring the links of friends’ friends could lead to an infinite array of blog surfing opportunities... mind bloggling, eh?!

May the connections continue indefinitely...

Bear

2008-01-31T23:34:00.000-05:00

(This post has nothing to do with Irish dance. It’s personal.)

Today is the last day in January and I still haven’t mailed the Christmas cards. And a new dilemma has arisen concerning one of the subjects in the photo card...

Bear died. Lots of tears in this house.

Scott and I have been married 17 years. Bear lived 15 1/2 years. He was our “first born”. We picked him from the litter when he was 3-weeks-old, and brought him home when he was 7-weeks-old.

He lived a very long time for a large male Golden Retriever. And for the most part his health was excellent. But the last several months he had more and more trouble with his hips, and often needed help getting up from the floor.

Then one day he just couldn’t get up. He looked at me with those big brown eyes and said, “Sorry, Mom, I just can’t do it anymore.”

The girls were at school. Scott came home from work and the two of us drove Bear to the vet.

We had the same vet for all 15 1/2 years. Through tears, we each said goodbye to one of the best dogs ever to grace this earth.

Many tears.

Then Scott and I went to pick the girls up from school, struggling with a strategy for how to break the news. We decided to bring them into the chapel. The girls knew that Bear was very old, and we had been prepping them somewhat with comments like “Bear may not live very much longer.”

So, with the four of us sitting in the back pew, I said, “Girls, today is a sad day. Bear died today.”

Katie (age 9) immediately burst into tears. Pure and simple grief.

Ellie (age 5) looked at her sister. She looked at me (also crying, but trying to hold it together). She looked at Scott (teary, too). She looked down at the floor. Then she looked back at me and asked...

“So... does this mean that we can get a cat?”

I love the practicality of my Ellie... and it sure felt good to laugh!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-07T22:17:00.000-05:00

“Mom, why does our Christmas card say ‘Happy New Year’?”

“Because the ‘Merry Christmas’ cards were unavailable by the time I ordered our cards this year.”

Hope to get them in the mail by Easter...

Locks of Love

2007-12-22T22:56:00.000-05:00

Big day for Katie today…

Each of my girls inherited their father’s blonde hair. They have thick, healthy, straight blonde hair. And until this afternoon, Katie had quite a lot of it.

Katie had been thinking about the possibility of donating hair to “Locks of Love” since the summer. A few of her friends had donated hair, and it is truly a beautiful gift to be able to help another child.

Unlike most children, Irish dancers are uniquely familiar with wigs. Wigs are OK for a special look at a special event, but it’s awfully nice to not have to wear one everyday. And if needed, natural hair wigs are much nicer than synthetic wigs.

Donating hair wasn’t an easy decision, and there were several moments of doubt, especially yesterday. It had to be Katie’s decision, not anybody else’s decision.

Christmas is a nice time of year to be generous.

Well done, Katie… That was a beautiful gift.

For more information: locksoflove.org

School Christmas Concerts

2007-12-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

‘Tis the season.

Elementary school Christmas concerts are simultaneously endearing and… well... endured…

Katie is playing clarinet this year in the “Beginner Band”, who performed their debut concert last Tuesday evening. Our school (a parish Catholic school, grades K-8) is blest with an outstanding band teacher. The Beginner Band consists mostly of 4th graders (youngest permitted to join) who were first introduced to their instruments mid-September (yes, merely two months ago). The well-planned concert featured three VERY brief songs by the Beginner Band (which were met with genuinely appreciative applause by polite parents), and then continued with a few numbers from the Prep Band, and several very enjoyable pieces presented by the 7th and 8th grade Concert Band.

I’m not sure that we have a future star clarinetist in the family, but Katie sure does enjoy it, and band is a great experience.

But that concert was last week.

This week's adventure was the School Christmas Concert, in which the even grades participate (K, 2, 4, 6, 8). Ellie is in kindergarten and Katie is in 4th grade, so we had much to enjoy.

The school’s music teacher is equally as talented as the band teacher and prepared a very nice program with a lot of variety. That said, there’s really only so much one can do on a Catholic school budget with a group of rural-suburban grade-schoolers who are performing mainly because it’s mandatory. (It’s part of the music program. Odd year grades are required to perform in the Spring Concert.)

First up was the kindergarten class…

The song “Tiny Little Angels” was my favorite. In fact, in the spirit of generosity, I’m even willing to share our recorded version of this treasure!

Please excuse the slight camera shake. During the close up views, that shake can mostly be blamed on the zoom. During the rest, my barely controlled hysterical laughter is to blame. If you can hang on until near the end (or skip to about 2:25 on the timer, if you feel the understandable need to fast forward), there’s nothing quite like a group of 5- and 6-year-olds attempting “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”…

Note: Really, it’s OK to laugh (or cringe) as you watch this video! A kindergarten music performance is part of the “endurance” that all parents are required to develop. Think of this video as great training! These kids are so darn cute that it actually permits tolerance of the… er… “singing”!

The kindergarteners were followed by the second-graders who performed an interesting hip-hop rendition of some tune about reindeer. Their costumes were complete with sunglasses and antlers. The fourth-graders then performed two numbers, the first of which was a “North Pole” broadway song (to the tune of New York, New York). The 6th graders offered an interesting array of “Jingle Bell” rhythms on items such as pots and pans, brooms, (root) beer bottles, skateboards, jump ropes, and bouncing basketballs. And the eighth grade rounded out the evening with a beautiful reenactment of the nativity story.

Given as this blog is categorized as an Irish dance related blog, yes, there is a reason that I have shared this year’s Christmas concert with readers…

The fourth-grade class’s second number was a performance of the song “Masters in This Hall”.

Even the “mandatory” school shows give kids invaluable character-building experience of performing on stage. And then, when a music teacher asks a student to consider performing something special, sometimes that kid will have the confidence to give it a try.

Yep, I’m awfully proud of these two little miracles named Katie and Ellie… so much so that even school concerts are fun!

Merry Christmas!

Post Oireachtas Poetry

2007-12-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Tis the week after Oireachtas
And all through my home
Nothing is decorated
And dust bunnies do roam.
The pumpkin still sits
On the front porch, you know,
And Wednesday was covered
With four inches of snow.
I must now switch gears!
Must be ready on time!
Break out the dark chocolate!
Break out the red wine!
There are cards to be written
There are presents to get!
But instead here I sit……..

…writing poems on Dancenet…

Music Video

2007-11-24T21:20:00.000-05:00

On the list of stress antidotes, laughter ranks as high as dark chocolate and red wine. So, to my fellow MAIDs and Irish dance enthusiasts who (like me) may be experiencing some pre-Oireachtas stress…… WATCH THIS!

The women in the music group “Uncle Earl” are friends with Maureen Berry (TCRG and Owner/Director of the Teelin School of Irish Dance). When given the opportunity to shoot their first music video, Uncle Earl asked Maureen to choreograph it and dance in it along with several other dancer friends. It was an incredibly fun project, which required a marathon weekend of dancing and filming in Nashville last June.

The video is being aired by MTV in China. Why China? Dunno really. They must have a thing for Old Time music over there. The lyrics are sung by Abby, who is fluent in Chinese. (I don’t think she’s actually saying, “eBay”, but given that I am NOT fluent in Chinese, I really haven’t a clue what she’s saying.)

In addition to the extreme fun of this video, I am very impressed with Uncle Earl. Here’s an interview with the group:

Well, back to the task of unpacking the suitcases from the Thanksgiving trip, and leaving them in the corner to be packed for the trip to Atlanta next weekend… still laughing as I sort the laundry loads… wondering what other adventures this amazing world of Irish dance will bring our way…

(Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!)

Irish Dancer Falls at Feis, Gets Up and Runs Marathon!

2007-10-24T19:54:00.000-04:00

An adult dancer friend of mine named Chris competed last weekend at the Rhythm of Ireland Feis, adding a bit of creative choreography to his dance steps as he was departing the stage. And in case anyone missed it, he valiantly offered an encore on his way to accept his award. Click here to see the feis photographer’s documentation of this move!

This same dancer will be running in his first marathon this coming weekend, the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 28 in Washington, DC!

Chris has been training vigorously for this event, but not only for his own quest to complete the race. His efforts are also benefiting many others by raising money for the Tourette Syndrome Association. His team could really use your help! Will you please consider contributing a donation? Click here for more information…

On a personal note, my 9-year-old nephew was recently diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS). TS is an inherited neurobiological disorder, and the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) is a well-run non-profit organization working to identify the cause, find the cure, and control the effects of TS. This organization has already helped my family immensely by educating us on the facts and myths of the syndrome, and offering suggestions for ways to help my nephew cope with some of the effects of TS.

Many people have either never heard of Tourette Syndrome, or only know of the Hollywood version of a rare symptom which affects a very small percentage of individuals diagnosed with TS. Whether you choose to donate or not, educating others about TS is very helpful. Click here to watch an educational video about TS presented by a young girl who, with her sister, founded the “TSA Youth Ambassador” program.

Thanks very much for your consideration…

And a big THANK YOU to Chris for his mission in this marathon! My family is cheering for him every step of the race!

Leaving Tracks

2007-10-16T22:28:00.000-04:00

The grass needed to be cut today for the first time in a month. Most of it is dormant because of the drought. But there were some wild and woolly green clumps scattered throughout the shady areas of the yard that couldn’t be ignored any longer.

There were a myriad of other things on the to-do list for today. But instead I rode a tractor over two acres of grass, most of it brown.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Around a tree. Back and forth.

It felt like all I was doing was leaving tire tracks on the yard.

From the road in front of my house you can see row after row of neatly mowed brown grass. Much of it isn’t any shorter than when I began.

Why bother? Because the neighbors might be impressed? Or because I live in rural suburbia and I’m a stay-at-home-mom with two school age kids, therefore …cringe… I must have nothing better to do than to ride the mower back and forth, leaving tracks?

Why bother?

While riding the mower, I saw a butterfly. It danced in the breeze, keeping pace with me for an entire row.

A delicate little yellow butterfly, with a wingspan no bigger than two inches wide.

Its movements looked like a giggle.

It was so fragile and so beautiful that I cried.

I couldn’t see that butterfly from sitting at my computer, or from driving in my car on the way to the grocery store.

My neighbors couldn’t see that butterfly while passing my neatly mowed rows of brown grass.

I could only see that butterfly while it fluttered along side me as I continued the discipline of riding the mower back and forth, back and forth.

Just doing. Just breathing. Just being.

But there's so much to do.

This year Katie will compete in the Girls Under 9 Championships, her solo dance competition for the Southern Region Oireachtas. She’ll also compete with a 4-Hand Team, 8-Hand Team, and Figures Choreography Team.

I’m already tired of the drives to the studio for the extra dance practices, which lead to the late nights, which lead to the rushed mornings the next day. In the car to go here, and back in the car to go there.

Back and forth, back and forth.

So busy. So tired. Not enough dark chocolate.

For us, it’s Irish dance, but it could be anything.

Just doing.

And then...

My kids giggle.

And they flutter along side me as I continue the discipline of driving back and forth, back and forth.

Just breathing. Just being.

And suddenly I realize…

I’m not just leaving tracks.

I’m loving the butterflies.

Just loving.

Wow, It Actually Worked!

2007-10-07T10:43:00.000-04:00

Ellie started kindergarten this year. Full day kindergarten.

She was ready. I was never really worried about her being ready for a full day of school. But I knew that it would mean tough evenings, at least at the beginning of the year. Last year she was in preschool three mornings from 9-11:30. This year she’s in school from 8am-3pm five days a week. She arrives home emotionally spent, and anything that would normally be a minor mishap instead seems a tragic calamity.

So I didn’t register Ellie for dance class this year.

Ellie is surrounded by Irish dance. I’ve often mused whether she will indeed develop her own passion for Irish dance, or if she only shows interest because she idolizes her big sister and is the sibling-in-tow to so many events.

Ellie is five. Look at these sweet eyes, equally excited and nervous about the first day of kindergarten.

But with a big sister to take her hand, to lead her up the steps, and to sit with her on the bus (OK, yes, at least for the first week of school), her confidence increases.

It begs the question, is Ellie just following where she is led in Irish dance?

Ellie started the “Teelin Tiny Toes” class for preschoolers when she was three. Last spring, at age four and a half, she had outgrown the Tiny Toes level and was ready for a Beginner class. So we tried a class that started in January and continued through June.

She was the youngest in the class, and although capable of the skills, she started to resist. Several times, right before class, her shoes suddenly felt horribly uncomfortable, or her outfit just wasn’t what she wanted to wear that day and how could I possibly ask her to participate in class if she was wearing purple when she wanted to be wearing pink.

Mean Mommy that I am, when my kids are registered for an extra-curricular activity, I expect them to stick it out and to attend the entire session. We always discuss this ahead of time, and I emphasize that they don’t ever have to participate in that class again if they don’t want to after the session is over. But they do need to give it a fair try.

Not every week of class was a struggle for Ellie. She still flitted and fluttered around the house showing off her hop-1-2-3’s and her pointy toes, and she loved dancing in the Spring Performance.

But there were enough questions in my mind, on top of the kindergarten factor, that it seemed best to not register Ellie for dance class for this year. I was NOT going to make it a battle, and make Irish dance become something that Ellie HAD to do.

So I asked Ellie if she would like to take Irish dance again this year. I reminded her that it was her choice, but that if she decided yes, she needed to commit to attending all of the classes without complaining.

She very wisely said, “Maybe I’ll take a break from dance class.”

Yes, I was disappointed. We’re at the dance school at least three days a week anyway for Katie’s classes. Wouldn’t it just be easier to have Ellie in a class one of those days instead of waiting in the lounge?

Evoking the wisdom of other mothers, I did not register Ellie for class. I was hoping that she would miss it and then would ask to return. It had to be her initiative.

Guess what… it only took three weeks!

Book Quiz

2007-09-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

Well, so much for “remedial blogging”. August and September have been consumed by back-to-school stuff. And that goes for both “real school” and Irish dance school stuff.

No time to write anything unless it’s a dancer handbook, a newsletter, or an email coordinating something-or-other. Even finding the time to read has been tough lately. My message board addiction is suffering from atrophy.

But this morning, a friend called to say that I simply MUST visit the SR board. So I obliged…

In a thread discussing the very important topic of locating the nearest emergency sushi restaurants in Atlanta, the sushi search was trumped by an even more important topic – the location of the best Margaritas in Atlanta. Ahhh… such fond memories of last year’s MegaMargarita at the SRO!

And of course, after reading one board I just HAD to read the other boards… AND some of the other interesting Irish dance blogs…. (It is Friday, you know…)

Ann has an interesting post on her blog regarding an online book quiz. I decided to click on the link and take the quiz. I answered a few short questions with multiple choice answers, and so I fully expected “my book” to be something unfamiliar.

I love surprises. Here are my results:

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Our Trip to Ottawa – Part 1 – the Competition

2007-08-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

Our family traveled to Ottawa, Canada July 3-9 to attend the North American Championships. I have severely procrastinated posting stories about this trip, so I’ll skip to the main event first, then fill in the fun details of the family vacation later… eventually…

The North American Irish Dance Championships is an event that is also known as the “Nationals,” which baffles me because first of all Canada and USA are two separate nations, and secondly the competition is open to (and well attended by) dancers from any nation in the world.

This was the first time that our TCRG, Maureen Berry, has taken dancers to Nationals, and Katie was one of the lucky four to represent Teelin School of Irish Dance. (Three of the four are pictured above – Katie, Mollie and Bridget.)

Maureen is a fantastic teacher. She competed at Nationals many years herself, so she knew well how to prepare her dancers. The extra practices that Katie attended in preparation for this competition were at times grueling, but have certainly brought her dancing to a new level.

Training for Nationals was not without a few bumps in the road. As I mentioned in a previous rambling, asking a nine-year-old to commit to the time and self-discipline required to train at this level requires almost equal commitment by her family. More than once tempers flared, tears flowed, and long discussions ensued confirming that yes, indeed, this was worth the effort, and no, we would NOT let this experience scare us all away from any future Irish dance competitions. (And if you assume that all of those tears were Katie’s, think again.)

Once the trip began, there were no further opportunities for second-guessing therefore some of the stress level actually diminished.

Attending this event was definitely a “wow” experience! We arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday and competitions began on Wednesday, so we were able to see quite a lot of amazing dancing before Katie competed on Saturday.

When watching such advanced level dancing, there is a fine line between being inspired and being intimidated. Thankfully, Katie was inspired. She saw a level of dancing that she hasn’t seen very often. Sure, her teacher dances that way, but that’s different – she’s a teacher, she’s supposed to be that much better of a dancer. But to literally see hundreds and hundreds of dancers of all ages doing such difficult steps with precision, confidence, and beautiful execution is quite an experience.

There are some negative aspects of any high level competition event, and yes the “greed to succeed” can bring out the worst in some people. It is unfortunate, though, that the negative aspects of the greed, the glitz and the glamour often get more attention than the positive aspects of these big events. Some “glass-half-empty people” may look at top-level Irish dancers and see only a view of eye-of the-tiger dancers attempting to claw their way to the top. But truly, at the heart of every champion dancer is a kid (regardless of age) who LOVES to dance. Looking beyond the fancy costumes and the sometimes intense quirky competition behavior, what I saw in the eyes of each and every dancer at Nationals was a spark that shone so bright it sang. The light from their eyes shouted, “This is why I’m here! Let me dance, let me soar, let me do what I love to do!” That indeed was inspiring!

Some of the best networking opportunities among dancers occurred in the practice rooms. Each hotel had a designated practice room, usually an empty conference room. The few days that I took Katie to our hotel’s practice room we met dancers from Illinois, California, New York and Alberta. Amidst well-disciplined rehearsals dancers chatted amicably, shared iPod speakers, and wished each other luck.

On Friday, Maureen called a rehearsal to work with Katie, Bridget and Joe who would all compete on Saturday. (Mollie competed on Thursday.) Because we were all staying in different hotels, we met in one of the competition halls after that day’s competitions had ended, hoping to practice on an actual competition stage. It didn’t quite go as planned…

So many dancers were practicing at the same time! For the most part, dancers waited along the back of the stage looking for an opening to run their steps, but still there were at least seven or eight kids dancing at any given time. That just seemed frighteningly dangerous for anyone, especially my small nine-year-old who looked half the size of most of those kids.

Check out the expressions on Katie and Bridget as they observed some of the activity from the edge of the stage while stretching…

So instead Maureen found an area along the side of the room to practice. We then took an obligatory picture of Maureen and her four dancers in front of the Canadian flag...

The next morning was the big day.

Katie and I arose before Scott and Ellie and walked to the Congress Centre. (It was GREAT not having to drive anywhere the entire time we were in Ottawa! More on that in another post….) I purchased my daily entry wristband that morning from my friend FeisMom Denise who was volunteering at the admissions stand.

Speaking of friends, do you remember me mentioning the “Three Katies” in my post about our Oireachtas experience? Well one of the most exciting parts about this Nationals experience is that “Katie, Katie, and the emergency back-up Katie” all competed together again!

Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of all three of the girls in their dresses.

Upon arrival at the event, each of the girls were handed a Canadian flag and a promotional-size zipper make-up bag with glitter eye shadow enclosed. (Propaganda, sayeth I!!!! Yikes.) Well, after a brief discussion with the other Katie-Moms and a nod of solidarity, we each did succumb to the tender pleas of our daughters and allow them to wear glitter eye shadow for this big event. But ONLY for this big event!

Along with a bit of lipstick, it was very glamorous.

Zipped up and ready to go, Katie headed off to the stage… (Do I look nervous? I was!)

Katie danced beautifully! On stage she smiled and looked confident, her treble jig dances were loud and clean, and her reels were gracefully energetic! Many of the dancers in her U9 competition had been dancing Open Champion level for quite a while, and even though Katie was still dancing Prizewinner level, she certainly danced as if she belonged on that stage. Maureen was so proud of her, we were so proud of her, and most importantly, Katie was thrilled with how it felt to get up on that stage and dance her best. It was a very positive experience!

The recall experience, unfortunately, was not so positive. Not wanting to dampen her confidence, I apparently did not prepare Katie quite well enough to not hear her number announced for an invitation to the third round. Katie was crushed.

As with everything, this too was a learning opportunity. Katie’s sobs and her inability to accept praise from her teacher for approximately 10-15 minutes after the recall announcements was poor sportsmanship. It’s alright to be disappointed, and it’s alright to have a good cry now and then, but there are times and places when the fortitude of good sportsmanship must prevail.

Katie and I have had many conversations about this experience and we’ve both learned a lot about handling some of the pressures of championship competitions. Some of the first discussions were whether or not Katie was ready to move to Preliminary Champion level. Scott and I certainly were NOT going to allow her to, when she qualified, if she was going to have these kinds of reactions for not placing. Other discussions involved hypothetical role plays of appropriate reactions for friends placing or recalling when Katie did not, and vice versa.

When our Katie finally snapped out of the doldrums, the three Katies enjoyed some more time together in the hall before hugs goodbye. By the way, neither of the other two Katies recalled this year either, and although disappointed, they each handled the announcements gracefully. All three of the Katies danced very well and overall had a very positive experience. We had hoped to connect in the city later that evening for some celebratory dessert together, but unfortunately we were unable to make that happen. (Lack of cell phone use was a struggle in Canada.)

Before leaving the Congress Centre on Saturday Scott managed to get a group photo of Maureen with her four Teelin dancers. Mollie was even convinced to wear her costume again for the photo! Joe had already changed, but his current Guinness t-shirt “costume” met with great approval from the photographer.

There are many more stories to be told from our week in Ottawa, and I hope to find time to write again soon…

Drinking the Kool-Aid

2007-07-24T07:34:00.000-04:00

Katie has a new solo dress. The beautiful labor of love that our friend Judy made last year had been altered to as large as possible and wasn’t quite fitting comfortably anymore. Sigh.

Miraculously, we found a very nice second-hand dress for sale at a feis which has a bit of growing room in it. Katie LOVES this dress, and it does look lovely on her.

It is very… champion. It is very… glitzy competition. It is… well, it is very!

Please don’t misunderstand me – I do love this dress. I love the way my daughter giggles when she wears it. I love the way it flows and sparkles when she dances.

And, much as I HATE to admit this, I love the way she “fits in” with the high-level Irish dance competitors.

Yep, we’re drinking the Kool-Aid.

Now, the defensive side of me is screaming, “But it’s not the ‘over-the-top-pay-through-the-nose-designer-froo-froo’ that truly hard core Irish dance champion dancer families seek!”

No, it’s not. But…

The really big change in costume regarding this solo dress purchase has to do with hair style.

Or lack thereof.

Wig.

Yes, wig.

Not cute little bun cover.

Not sweet curls surrounding young girl’s face.

WIG.

BIG wig.

(Uh-oh, here comes that defensive voice again…)

“But it’s not the BIIIIIIIIG wig with the poofy lifter thingies underneath and the multiple tiers of sausage curls piled three stories above two tiaras! Not THAT kind of wig!”

No, it’s not. But…

It’s still a LOT of curly stuff atop a nine-year-old’s noggin.

Curious yet? Here’s a photo:

Pink, of course! I’m glad for that.

I do love it.

This is the part with which I still struggle…

Look at this beautiful long blonde hair…

And this sweet young face…

And I’m covering it with…

…wig.

But like I said, she looks like the champion dancer that she is!

Sip, sip…

When the Ghillie is on the Other Foot

2007-06-11T00:17:00.000-04:00

As a parent of an Irish dancer one of the most common questions I hear is, “Did you Irish dance when you were young, and is that why your daughter dances?” No, actually it’s the other way round in reverse.

Yes, I am from a strong Irish-American family. But I feel more ties to Brooklyn and Queens than I do to Dublin or Galway. I had never even heard of Irish dance before seeing Riverdance, which was the event that later caused my 5-year-old to say, “Mommy, that’s what I want to do!” In fact, it was four years ago this month that I registered my oldest daughter, Katie, for her first Irish dancing lessons, an eight-week beginner class the summer before her kindergarten year.

My, how we’ve grown…

Upon recognizing the passion with which Katie was approaching her lessons those first two years, the protective parent in me wanted to learn as much as possible about this world of Irish dance. So, I immersed myself in “MAIDness”! And then, as I spent more and more time at the dance studio watching from my passive position in the waiting area, I began toying with the idea of trying this activity first hand.

On my 37th birthday, I bought a pair of ghillies, giggling while lacing them onto my own feet and not my daughter’s. They looked enormous! A few months later, in January 2006, I was able to coordinate our family’s schedule in such a way that I could join an Adult Beginner Irish dance class.

Never did I think that I would be learning to dance as an adult! The only structured dance experience that I had as a child was… not an entirely positive experience. At age seven, I took ballet lessons from an elderly French woman who stood at the barre smoking cigarettes while barking instructions to her class. She was a bit scary.

Yet now, thirty years later, I had become completely addicted to Irish music and the beauty of Irish dance, and felt ready to try a class. (Of course, it helped that I knew my instructor would not have the same approach to teaching…)

My reaction to that first Irish dance class? Man, this is harder than it looks!!! I am a fairly active and fit individual, but learning how to hop around on my toes with legs crossed, feet turned out, arms at my side, and any semblance of rhythm and grace is mighty difficult.

Within a few months, persistence paid off, and I was able to learn the basics and start working on the beginner level steps. Then, an interesting opportunity presented itself…

While registering for the Rhythm of Ireland Feis last fall, I happened to notice that the adult competitions were held on a Saturday night and all of Katie’s competitions for that feis were held on Sunday. I had always wondered what it would be like to compete in Irish dance, but with a young dancer competing and an even younger child tagging along, I didn’t see how it would be possible anytime soon. Yet, could this be the feis to try???

Holding my breath, I decided to give it a go and registered for the Adult Beginner competitions of the ROI Feis. (Yikes!)

After tackling the first major obstacle of deciding what to wear, the day of the competition arrived and we loaded the car for the four hour drive to Virginia Beach. Our family had been looking forward to this weekend trip for a mini-vacation, but unfortunately Scott learned two weeks before that his job had business in England which required him to be there. Major obstacle number two: how to be a responsible Mom to my 8-year-old and 4-year-old daughters while competing on Saturday night past their bedtime. I debated forfeiting my entry, but thanks to the support of very dear friends at our Irish dance school, we worked out a plan.

I love our Irish dance school, and I’m sure that’s a big part of my attraction to this activity. The pre-travel coordination of arranging carpools, exchanging cell phone numbers, splitting hotel reservations, and planning meals together are examples of the wonderful sense of community that our school shares. It’s a great environment for a MAID/Dancer… which I guess is officially what I am now!

The ROI Feis events began Saturday evening at 7pm with the music competition, followed by the adult competitions. After a brief warm-up in the hallway, I reported to the stage for the Adult Beginner Reel while my daughters sat with friends.

Waiting in the “on deck” chairs just before my dance, I was tickled pink when a gaggle of girls from our school came running over to wish me luck! I asked them all to promise not to laugh at me if I were to fall on my tookkus whilst dancing. Of course, ZandB’s daughter promptly responded that they would be laughing with me, not at me. How could I possibly ask for more support than that?!

Having vicariously experienced Katie's first feis, and the many since then, I expected that I should feel fairly well prepared for my own first feis. Right? Um… no, not really! There are certain events that you just have to experience to fully understand. Stepping onto the stage for that first competition is one of them.

With butterflies twittering in my belly, I walked out to line up in position. The wood stage felt different under my ghillies than our studio dance floor. The size of the stage somehow seemed enormous yet confining. The judge sat at the table facing the stage, pencil poised. The musician raised his fiddle and bow… and five, six, ready, go… I danced... and less than two minutes later, I was done. Phew! It was both terrifying and exhilarating!

One dance down, onto the next! Getting past the nerves of that first one was a formidable hurdle, and the subsequent dances were definitely more exhilarating than terrifying.

After my second dance (light jig), my girls were looking rather tired, so my friend Kim offered to bring them upstairs to the hotel room for bedtime. I gave Kim the room key, offered a few tips for bedtime, and kissed each girl goodnight. Somehow in those few minutes I missed my window of opportunity to practice my slip jig before it was time to check in for the next competition. Not good.

Next thing I knew, I was standing on the stage listening to an unfamiliar tune, second-guessing the count, and flubbing the beginning of the dance. Then, partway into a step, I turned a corner and my mind went blank – I hadn’t a clue which move was next. OOPS! With a slightly goofy grin on my face (suppressing laughter), I managed to fake my way through the rest of the song while dancing some impromptu choreography. The very polite judge chuckled as she dismissed me from the stage after the competition was over.

The lesson learned from that experience? Practice, practice, and then practice some more! I had underestimated the effects of stage fright, and the various factors of competing which require a greater level of concentration than dancing in a practice session.

In the end, I thankfully not only “survived” my first feis experience, but quite liked it as well! There is a different kind of energy at a competition than there is in a class. It’s not simply a sense of competition; it’s a sense of passion for this activity. The adults that I met at that first competition were friendly, supportive, and very welcoming. It was fun to be with a group of new friends who shared my passion for Irish dance!

Encouraged by that first experience, I registered for my second feis – the Comhaltas Feis on May 27, 2007. This competition presented new challenges…

The Comhaltas Feis is sponsored by our local branch of the CCE, and run by volunteers from the several dance schools in our area. It is also a one day feis, not a two day feis. Therefore, at this feis I wore three different hats: Dancer, Feis Mom, and Volunteer. Crazy? Maybe, yes, but it actually worked out just fine! Well, mostly anyway…

Role #1: Dancer. All of the Beginner and Advanced Beginner competitions at this feis were scheduled for the morning, Figures competitions around lunchtime, and Novice and Prizewinner competitions in the afternoon. My daughter competes at the Prizewinner level, and I now dance all Advanced Beginner level. So my first hat of the day was that of dancer. I packed everything needed for both my daughter and I, then drove to the feis by myself in the early morning, while Scott kept the girls home, then drove out later. So far so good avoiding the conflicting roles.

However, I was registered to dance a 2-Hand reel with an adult friend, and my daughter was also registered for the 3-Hand and 4-Hand competitions. Therefore, roles would need to overlap during the Figures competitions.

The original plan was for Scott and the girls to arrive early enough that I could help Katie get dressed and ready in between my own competitions. It didn’t quite happen as planned. I greeted Scott and the girls, started helping Katie get ready, then noticed that my hornpipe competition was checking in on stage. Scott is a great Feis Dad – he remained calm, and continued helping Katie get dressed. Unfortunately, though, he had never before attempted to secure a wig, and wasn’t quite as adept at it as I am.

A few minutes later, while I sat three stages away waiting to dance the Adult 2-Hand, Katie and her team were dancing the U10 4-Hand. Part way through the dance, Katie’s wig started slipping, and eventually pulled out her bun and dangled from the end of her long braided hair. Fantastic dancer that she is, Katie ignored the wig completely and continued dancing. After the dance, Scott met her at the edge of the stage and rescued the dangling hairpiece, in hopes that the judge might catch a glimpse and have pity on a Feis Dad by not counting the mishap against the team. Maybe it helped – the team placed first!

Meanwhile, I finished my role as dancer with fewer nervous blunders than I had experienced at my first feis, and an overall positive experience. Comhaltas Feis is much larger than the ROI Feis, and there were many more adult dancers. Each of my competitions had between 10 and 15 competitors. I enjoyed reconnecting with some friends I’d met at ROI, and also met several new friends. Yep, I definitely like this environment!

Role #2: Feis Mom. Sharing some giggles, I helped Katie secure her wig so she’d be ready for the next competition, then I changed out of my dance costume and into my Feis Mom clothes. This was the first local feis of the year, and I enjoyed a great afternoon of catching up with “Feis Friends” while watching my daughter have fun dancing.

Finally, Role #3: Volunteer. I then had the opportunity to assist with stage management for the last shift of the day, and with clean-up. It was a great feeling to be part of the positive energy of this event! Although most people are feeling pretty pooped by the end of the day, it’s usually the “truly addicted” who are still hanging around for the final competitions. As a stage manager checking in dancers, a quick word of encouragement and a confident smile can go a long way to cheer weary dancers. Having recently had the opportunity to feel it as a dancer, it was a true privilege to be able to offer it to others.

It’s all about the passion. I truly enjoy parenting an Irish dancer, and I truly enjoy being an Irish dancer myself. Sure, time management presents certain challenges, but that is true for every activity. For us, for now, sharing this particular activity together is worth the effort.

I would love to convince more MAIDs and DAIDs of this…

I'm Official!!!

2007-05-15T23:45:00.000-04:00

(…or is that “ofeisial”?!)

So, just how addicting is a MAID’s addiction, you wonder???

Beyond the obvious addiction to Irish dance, Irish music, and the trials and tribulations of parenting Irish dancers, scientists have recently diagnosed that many MAIDs also have a psychological dependency on message board humor, MoonPies, and men in kilts. (In extreme cases, Claddagh thongs have also been associated with the addiction. But that’s another story…)

Thanks to the tireless efforts of a Chicago-area MAID affectionately known as “Nutcase”, many MAIDs also have a unique artifact known as the “MAID’s pin”, which may be worn to feiseanna in order to announce their affiliation with the international conglomeration of MAIDs.

Sadly, the demand for these artifacts was greater than the supply, and the pins are now extremely difficult to obtain.

However, persistence prevails!!!

Thanks to the miracles of instant messaging and the forging of a new friendship, I learned that Nutcase recently discovered a few forgotten MAID’s pins tucked away in the corner of a closet. And after much pleading, I was able to negotiate a deal with Nutcase to obtain one of these pins!

With utter reliance upon the diagnosed severity of my addiction, Nutcase trustingly sent one of these coveted artifacts by post last week. I promptly photographed the pin in order to properly document its authenticity…

I then scrambled to keep up my end of the bargain…

Just what is the cost of such a rare and precious pin, you wonder? Thanks to Nutcase’s generosity, the fee for this particular transaction was all of the charms from a box of Lucky Charms!

Bending the child labor laws of several countries, I enlisted the assistance of my two dancing daughters to fulfill the obligation.

And voila! The charms were packaged and ready to be mailed to Illinois!

So now, I wear my pin with pride everywhere I go!

I’m not so sure the world at large is quite ready for that, though. Yesterday, after a delicious breakfast of Lucky Charms without the charms, I brought my youngest daughter to preschool. I was wearing my pin, of course, and one of the other mother’s said, “Oh, do you have a house cleaning service?”

A friend heard the question and laughed. A little too much. (She’s seen my house.)

Playing Hooky

2007-05-04T16:47:00.000-04:00

I’m late publishing the May newsletter, my house has tumbleweeds of dog hair spinning across the kitchen floor, and my youngest daughter is still wearing her pajamas at lunchtime.

But it’s a beautiful spring day, I’ve just finished mowing the lawn, and my allergies are exploding, causing far too much congestion to be able to actually work on anything that I should be doing right now…

So instead, here I sit playing with the scraps of a few ideas for the blog... Ah, the life of a freelance contractor... I love it!

Blogger.com has this new cool reference tag system. (It’s not so new really. I’ve just been too busy to learn how it works yet. So I feel less self-inflicted guilt if I refer to it as “new”.) The system allows a writer to tag a post with keywords that link to other similar posts. Great system! If I had made a New Year’s Resolution of cool new things to learn, this would be on the list. (There you go – I also could have linked something in that sentence to my post mentioning that I refused to make a New Year’s Resolution. But, seeing as I haven’t, you’ll just have to dig into the January archives if you feel so inspired, until I muster the energy to learn the tag system…)

So, on to Irish dance related thoughts…

With the Spring Performances behind us, the current focus is competitions. As I mentioned earlier, Katie will be dancing at the North American Championships this July in Ottawa. (Note to self: insert link to “O, What an Experience”. Eventually. No pressure. It’s only May, the fifth month of the year, and you never actually made a New Year’s Resolution. So it doesn’t count. Right?)

Sorry… where was I? Oh yes, competition stuff…

Since my allergy-enhanced scatterbrained thoughts are wandering, let’s jump back in time to the end of March… (Hey, who says these posts have to be in chronological order? It’s my blog!)

March 31, we traveled to the West Virginia Feis for Katie’s first competition in 2007. Even though she danced very well at the Regional Championships, her TCRG would still like her to get firsts in all of her Prizewinner level dances before moving up to Preliminary Champion level. She needs only one more, so Katie will continue to dance Prizewinner level until she can get that final first in Slip Jig.

Nope, didn’t happen in West Virginia. In fact, Katie placed third in traditional set, but didn’t even make the boards in any of her other dances. Which led to some interesting discussions about motivation…

(Ugh, this post is torturing me!!! MUST learn tag system, and link back to “Is It About Winning?”…)

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes, I did say, “Tell me again why we’re traveling to Canada this summer???” Katie’s dances looked a bit flat. No noticeable mistakes, still a beautiful smile on her face, just… flat. Not enough energy, nor enough height in her leaps. Not championship level dancing.

Did I mention that this feis was March 31? Granted, she had just completed an extremely busy performance season. Maybe she hadn’t kicked in to “competition mode” yet?

Dancing at these high levels of competition requires a significant commitment to practice. For a nine-year-old third grader, that also requires significant support from parents and dance teachers to help plan and structure that practice time. Katie has started keeping a practice log, which she shows to her teacher every two weeks. On days that she doesn’t have class, she is asked to practice something that needs work for at least 20 minutes. She also logs the reason that she misses practice (sick, forgot, etc.), then discusses strategies for improvement with her teacher.

So, the plan is in place, the commitment is there, and you’re assuming that we’re heading to Canada because my champion dancer is going to “bring home the gold”, right!

Uh… no. Yes, I expect significant effort from Katie in preparation to do her best at this competition. And, yes, I trust her TCRG’s decision to allow Katie to go. Beyond that, I have no expectations related to her results. Period.

Here’s what I do expect: FUN! And the West Virginia Feis was a good reminder...

Driving to West Virginia was a hoot. We connected by cell phone with Molly, who was headed to the feis with her dancer and 6-month-old son, and stopped together at a Cracker Barrel for dinner. It made for a later arrival than intended, but started the fun of vacationing early.

After dinner, having passed through several zigzagging interstates in Pittsburgh, we abruptly landed on the back roads of West Virginia. In the dark. Forty-five minutes of small curvy roads had us wondering exactly where in the world this feis was being held… and whether or not the hotel would actually have running water. But, lo and behold, a very nice Holiday Inn Express magically appeared on the horizon, complete with indoor pool!

Quite unfortunately, the winding roads had taken their toll on Molly’s daughter, who threw up all over the minivan. So while Molly heroically cleaned out the car, the kids enjoyed the hotel and I held baby Liam while reconnecting with my friends Jasmine, Brooke and Heather. With a tendency to hide behind her camera (much like her friend ZandB), Jasmine snapped this photo…

Don’t worry, Molly. I’m sure that the beer was much less detrimental to Liam’s growth and development than the chlorine fumes we were all inhaling…

Yes, there’s nothing quite like a hotel swimming pool to brighten a dancer’s weekend!

And there’s nothing quite like a good meal to brighten a dancer’s parents’ weekend…

Saturday night our friends had gone home, so we ventured out to dinner on our own. After asking the hotel manager for a recommendation, he sent us across the bridge to Ohio (less than two minutes away) and down a back alley near the train tracks. Never in a million years would someone find this restaurant by accident, but my oh my was it ever worth investigating! Casa D’Emilio’s has a welcoming, casual atmosphere, excellent food at very low prices, a nice selection of wine, and (drum roll please…) Guinness on tap! Yep, great way to end a feis day...

Sunday, we drove home a different route, following the Ohio River south toward Wheeling and then picking up I-70 East back toward Baltimore. The scenery was breathtaking, and we had a glimpse of a part of America with interesting “living history”. We saw more vibrant, thriving Main Streets in the handful of small towns we drove through than I thought existed anywhere in the States. We also passed right through the middle of a huge steel plant... which made me feel like an extra on the set of Flashdance. (No, ZandB, we didn’t see Jennifer Beals.)

All in all, a wonderful family vacation.

Which is what our trip to Canada will be this summer, too!

Balancing responsibilities and rewards, we’ll continue to travel this fascinating path of competitive Irish dance, loving every minute of it…

But if we’re going to be able to eat dinner at fun restaurants in Ottawa, I had better stop playing hooky and get back to work…

Second note to self: Next time you “play hooky”, teach yourself how to do blog tags…

Daddy's Dancing!

2007-05-01T10:39:00.000-04:00

The Teelin Spring Performances were this past weekend, April 27 & 28, and included a "Father/Daughter Dance" debut!

A recap…

Friday, 3:30pm: Dancers arrive at the theater for tech run through. A few hesitant Dads show up holding a kilt on a hangar, and casting furtive glances at other Dads, wondering who will be the first to don the dreaded garment…

Friday, 7:00pm: Approaching show time, half a dozen Dads are walking around the theater wearing their kilts, heads purposefully lowered to avoid eye contact with passersby. My two favorite kilt clad men seem to be seriously contemplating their camera equipment, which remains hung from their necks regardless of whether the cameras are actually in use.

Friday, 8:00pm: Showtime! Scott and ZandB busily distract themselves through the first act photographing the show from opposite sides of the theater.

Friday, 8:45pm: At intermission, all participating Dads head backstage to connect with their daughters for a quick rehearsal behind the closed curtains. TCRG and her two sisters lead the group with their Dad.

Friday, 9:00pm: Curtains open for the second act to a stage full of Dads (a handful of them in kilts, the rest in jeans) each wearing a matching t-shirt with their daughter(s). The girls are all grinning. The Dads are not quite grinning yet. Loud applause and catcalls rise from the audience!

The music begins... Dads and dancers take hands, point a toe, listen for the count… and the stage erupts into a colorful cacophony of well coordinated choreography! Everyone dances a simple step together, then Dads clap while girls dance a circle around their Dad, and girls clap (and audience chuckles appreciatively) while Dad dances a circle around daughter. Then all Dads for a ceili circle, daughters dancing around outside; reverse!

Friday, 9:10pm: Dads return to audience seats (or photography perch), and throughout the remainder of the show, there are more cheers from male voices than previously. The weight had been lifted! Fait accompli, the Dads seem to breath easier… and certainly have newfound appreciation for what their children are doing on stage…

Friday, 10:00pm: The show has ended, and the kilt-clad Dads now proudly strut their attire through the lobby, encountering many congratulatory remarks!

The next day…

Saturday, 6:00pm: Hangars be damned, Dads arrive at the theater wearing their kilts, eyes raised and smiling!

Saturday, 8:45pm: At intermission, the Dads who had participated the night before seem to be leading the rehearsal, joking comfortably with each other and with the TCRG!

Saturday, 9:00pm: This time, I temporarily abandon my duties as a backstage assistant, grab Scott’s camera and run to the audience, right as the deafening cheers arise……

Back home...

Saturday, 11:30pm: Exhausted dancers are all tucked into bed, and exhausted parents sit around the kitchen counter enjoying an adult beverage or two, recounting the weekend’s events. When asked about the pictures that I took during the Father-Daughter Dance, Scott and ZandB assure me that it will require quite a bit of work before those photos can be… er… properly formatted for viewing by ANYONE other than themselves. (Blasted male solidarity.) Instead, they plug a fresh memory card into a camera and start playing with photos of their current focus: Booker’s bourbon.

After two nights of dancing, I believe the thought of pouring a bit of bourbon directly on those tootsies was seriously contemplated…

Portraits of Ireland Video Clip

2007-04-26T23:33:00.000-04:00

On March 10, the Teelin Irish Dance Company had its signature performance "Portraits of Ireland", which was professionally videotaped by Pascal Agency. The DVD of that performance is almost ready, and the agency has sent Teelin a 30 second clip… which is now posted on the website! Click here!!!

Kilt Shopping

2007-04-15T00:28:00.000-04:00

There are certain pleasures that only a true MAID can appreciate. The honor of a kilt shopping expedition with two Feis Dads is one such occasion.

Two weeks from now, our Irish dance school will have its Spring Performances (end of the year shows) which will premiere a Father/Daughter dance. For a description of the chosen apparel for this performance, please read ZandB’s post entitled “Beer and Loathing in Picayune…”

Well, my dear MAID friends, the stage is set!

This afternoon, we took a trip to the Falls Road Running Store in Baltimore, Maryland. Yes, running store! Believe it or not, this shop is a secret treasure for anyone interested in purchasing a kilt. Several years ago, the owner was able to purchase a large shipment of high quality kilts at a great price in preparation for a race that the shop was sponsoring: the Men in Kilts 5K Race. There are still many different tartans and sizes left that are being sold at below market value.

While in the basement of the shop, where the kilts were shelved, ZandB and Scott were trying on various kilts while my daughters played on the steps. One of the guys working in the shop was heading upstairs and said, “Excuse me girls.” I’m sure that he was addressing the girls playing on the steps… right?

Nevertheless, the kilts have been purchased! ZandB looks fetching in his kilt of a lovely Campbell tartan, chosen in honor of his wife’s family name. Scott looks equally fetching in his purple kilt, chosen less sentimentally in honor of the Baltimore Ravens football team.

Sadly, I did not have a camera with me on the shopping expedition. However, I managed to take this picture here at home, while my two favorite kilt-clad men were leaning against the back of the sofa toasting the accomplishments of the day:

Yes, indeed, I have the signed documents! Bring on the fun!!!

A Passion for Performing

2007-03-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

Irish dance is a performance art. Yes, Irish dance could be considered a sport, as it certainly requires significant athletic ability. And yes, aspects of Irish dance could be considered a hobby, particularly the cultural interests which are an intrinsic part of Irish dance. But first and foremost, Irish dance is a performance art.

One of the most significant benefits that I see my daughter gaining from Irish dancing is the poised confidence that she is learning from various performance opportunities. I first noticed this quality when Katie began to compete at feiseanna. My normally shy child stepped onto the stage of her first feis at age 7 and stood in front of a judge with a smile that said, “I know how to do this – watch me, and you won’t be disappointed!” Her quiet yet confident body language spoke volumes, both while she was dancing and when she was waiting her turn in line.

Competing can be a lot of fun, and it is a great way to encourage the discipline required to develop advanced skills in Irish dance. But dancing for typically stoic judges at a competition is very different than dancing in a theater, or at a festival, or for a senior center, or in a parade. Performing for an audience at a show allows a dancer to hone the subtleties of stage presence. An eager audience fuels a dancer’s energy in a way that a judge keeping score cannot. What the dancer chooses to do with that energy is the essence of developing a performer’s stage presence.

Notice the slight “deer in headlights” look on Katie’s face in this picture taken at her first solo performance in April 2006.

The Teelin Irish Dance Company had a performance at an Arts Festival and needed a little more time between numbers that required shoe changes, so Katie was asked to join the performance. It had a different “feel” to it than dancing the same thing on a competition stage, and gave Katie a taste for performing that she now craves.

The Teelin Irish Dance Company is a “team” for which students of the Teelin School can audition to join. Katie auditioned last spring and was invited to participate for the 2006-07 school year. It has been a wonderful experience, and performing with the company is offering Katie a way to be a “team player” in a broader arena than competing on a figures team does. As mentioned earlier, it’s a different energy. (Director Maureen Berry is truly a gifted choreographer, and the larger venues that can accommodate more dancers on stage is where the Teelin choreography really shines!)

This past Saturday, March 17, was St. Patrick’s Day, notably the busiest time of the year for Irish dance performances. My workload as the school’s webmaster is about to explode because of the high volume of fantastic pictures from these various events. But before it does, proud Mommy that I am, I’ve chosen a few fun pictures that show the development of Katie’s passion for performing. Her comfort with a wide variety of performing opportunities continues to amaze me. So, if you’ll forgive the fact that this blog is turning into more of a photo album than a written journal of late, here are the photo chronicles of a young girl who loves to dance… anytime, anywhere!

August 2006, performance at the Teelin Open House:

September 2006, performance at an outdoor Renaissance Festival with ZandB’s daughter:

(There’s a video clip of this performance, too!)

October 2006, Teelin Irish Dance Company performance at the Notre Dame-Navy Pep Rally held at Oriole Park in Camden Yards:

December 2006, performance at a Maggie Sansone Christmas Concert held at the Cellar Stage in Baltimore:

February 2007, Teelin Irish Dance Company performance at Glenelg Country School:

March 10, 2007, Teelin Irish Dance Company in Portraits of Ireland:

March 11, 2007, the Baltimore St. Patrick’s Day Parade:

March 16, 2007, Teelin Irish Dance Company performance at Congressional Country Club:

March 17, 2007, Teelin Irish Dance Company at a senior center:

March 17, 2007, Teelin Irish Dance Company at a church parish's St. Patrick’s Day party:

And a March 18, 2007, performance at a Sunday afternoon Maggie Sansone concert:

(Um, ignore the “other dancer” for now… more about that story another time…)

Yep, I love this world of Irish dance and what it has to offer my daughter and our family!

O, What an Experience!

2007-02-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to some recent snowy/icy weather, I have spent less time in my car shuffling kids hither and yon, and more time at my computer accomplishing job-related tasks, so I’m now treating myself to some time for a long-overdue blog entry…

The 2006 Southern Region Oireachtas, which was held December 2-3, was our family’s first introduction to a “major”, or a championship level competition. (Um, yes, I did help to write an article entitled “Attending Your First Southern Region Oireachtas” even though I had not yet attended one. So now you know that all of the helpful information in that article was thanks to the contributions of experienced dancers or parents on the “Unofficial SRO Website” team, not so much from yours truly...)

Even though this year’s SRO was merely an hour from our home, we splurged and booked a hotel room for the weekend. It was SO worth it! The respite of a quiet space amidst the excitement of the event definitely helped to soothe nervous energy. (Mine, anyway.) DC traffic is extremely unpredictable, so not having to travel each day offered a welcome peace of mind.

We checked into the hotel on Friday evening, explored the competition area, and then settled into our room. Katie’s nerves were so high strung that I was concerned the entire weekend would be a disaster. Can't you tell???

No, no, it wasn’t her mother who was nervous at all! In fact, even younger sister, Ellie, could feel the effect of the pressure:

So after the necessary “Please try to calm yourselves down, young ladies” speech, we joined some friends for dinner. Given the fact that someone else has already shared part of that evening’s experience elsewhere, which included my MegaMargarita indulgence (here or here), I’ll just skip on to Saturday…

One of the nice things about an Oireachtas is that the approximate times are posted for each competition. Katie was scheduled to compete in the U10 4-Hand Competition at 2:00 Saturday afternoon. So after some breakfast, we had time to explore and watch a few friends’ competitions before meeting the team for a morning practice.

After lunch, Bridget, Briana, Madeline and Katie prepared for the big event. They danced beautifully! Photography during the actual competitions is not permitted, so the photos that I have to share are before-, after-, or behind-the-scenes-photos...

During the “down time” after the competition, we hit the swimming pool to unwind. No sooner had we finished swimming and arrived back at the room when Madeline and Briana pounded on the door to let Katie know that the team had placed! This meant that all four girls needed to redress as if competing and attend the award ceremony that evening. Bridget was still in her room, so I let the three girls use my cell phone to call and tell Bridget the good news…

The award ceremony was like nothing I’ve ever attended before! The dividers for the various ballrooms were removed, and hundreds of people crowded into the large hall. First, various “bigwigs” were honored, and gratuitous speeches were made. Then the announcements of placements in various competitions began…

Placements for the U10 4-Hand competition were announced from “lowest” up through first. The giddiness of the 8- and 9-year-olds on our Teelin team was hysterical to watch as each team was called! And when Teelin placed fourth, it was their TCRG who cheered the loudest and bounded onto the stage to hug each of the girls!

It was quite the day! Saturday night we literally fell into bed.

Sunday was “solo dance” day. Katie competed in the U8 Girls Competition which began at 9am.

Over the past year, Katie had met two other girls named Katie at various feiseanna – one Katie from Virginia and one Katie from North Carolina. All three Katies competed at the same level throughout the year, and were now competing at their first Oireachtas. We took to calling them “The Three Katies”, or sometimes “Katie, Katie, and the emergency back-up Katie”.

The fun that these three girls enjoyed together at this Oireachtas was precious beyond measure! High level competitions can be very stressful. But when three 8-year-old friends get together, competitive pressure takes a back seat to the spirit of adventure!

There were, of course, a few bumps along the road. Virginia Katie’s Mom and I were commiserating the morning’s stressors. Coincidentally, both of our Katies had suddenly decided early Sunday morning that their hard shoes “didn’t fit right, they just DIDN’T feel comfortable.” After the calm and patient reassurance of, “They fit just fine yesterday, dear, I’m sure your feet didn’t grow that much over night” had failed to soothe a frazzled 8-year-old, we each resorted to what somehow seemed the only option at the moment…

“Put those #@$& shoes on your feet and get your butt into that competition room right NOW! No, ‘But, Mommy,’ this is the Oireachtas and you WILL dance today! Yes, in THOSE shoes!”

Thankfully, it seemed to work - crisis averted! Once in the competition room, the girls wanted to be with each other more than with their parents, anyway…

After the first round of hard shoe dances, there was a break and the stage was available for practice. Practice for these girls soon gave way to the importance of childhood…

...like measuring to see who was taller…

…or “checking under the hood” to see each other’s bloomers…

The second round of the competition was the soft shoe round, and then there was a break before the recalls would be announced. That would be one of the most tense times of the weekend… did she recall? Does she get the chance to perform her set dance?

Katie had danced her first two rounds very well, and thankfully felt very good about her performance. After the second round, each dancer was given a very nice certificate and a souvenir key chain. The overprotective parent in me wanted to shelter not only Katie but every dancer from the possible heartbreak of the next step in the game. But it is, indeed, part of the game. So we smiled, hugged, expressed our genuine pride, and did everything possible to emphasize the benefits of this first major experience…

…and sure, we did still hope that she’d get a recall…

When it was time, the entire room was asked to remain silent until all of the recalled competitor numbers had been announced, and then cheering (or commiserating) would be permitted. Numbers were read in order, so each dancer was aware that if they did not hear their number called in sequence it meant that they were done competing for the day. Two of the three Katies were able to sit next to each other while the recall numbers were announced…

Yes, even I had the opportunity to “silently” express how it felt to hear not only my own Katie’s number, but each of the other Katie’s numbers, as well!!!

These were some very excited girls, who were thrilled to be able to continue the amazing ride of this Oireachtas experience together!!!

At this point, I must share our perspective on a few of the “hot topics” of Irish dance…

Irish dance solo dresses are a work of art. The average price range of a solo dress is comparable to the average price range of a wedding gown. So when my friend’s Mom, who has made many wedding gowns, offered to make Katie’s Irish dance for little more than the cost of fabric, we gratefully accepted! She used the same basic dress design as the school dress, chose bright bold color fabrics, and created a simple Celtic-looking embroidered appliqué. It is a perfect first dress for Katie! We’re extremely grateful to Judy, and are currently in the process of trying to convince her that it might be worth it to attempt the Irish dance dressmaking adventure again sometime…

Two other hot topics in Irish dance are wigs and make up. Curls are simply “part of the look” for Irish dance competitions these days. Katie has stick-straight hair, so we succumbed to wig-wearing fairly early in the game. There is a specific bun wig style that Katie's TCRG prefers, and Katie wears that wig with her school dress. However, the curls from that wig catch on the sequins of Katie’s solo dress cape, so we switched to a cute little bun wig for this dress. (I hope to keep her “little” for as long as possible!!!)

Even in this U8 Girls group, I was amazed at the number of dancers who wore extremely bold makeup on their young faces. Katie commented on it several times throughout the day, and started asking if we could get some “fancy glitter make-up" to try. Not being much of a make-up person myself, I really wanted nothing to do with putting anything of the sort on my young blonde’s sensitive skin. So instead, I said that if she recalled, I would pull out the lipstick from my purse and let her wear it for her final round.

Not two minutes after the recall numbers were announced, Katie said, “Mom, pull out the lipstick! I’m dancing fancy for this round!” And so, my neutral-shade lipstick was worn with pride…

Thankfully, the third round also went off without a hitch, and then it was time to relax, visit with friends, and enjoy the rest of the competition scenario! All dancers who competed in the third round would be awarded a placement of some sort, so after dinner Katie dressed in competition garb once again to head to the ceremony.

This being the final night of the SRO, the Figures Choreography and Dance Drama competitions were held in the large hall before the ceremony began. They were a lot of fun to watch! And then it was time to get as close to the stage as possible and wait for the U8 Girls competition to be announced…

Nope, couldn’t get any closer than that!!!

…which is exactly what this Oireachtas experience was all about. These high level competitions are a world unto themselves. Our goal for the weekend was to absorb as much as possible, stay sane amidst the pressure, learn for the future, and have fun along the way. Was it stressful at times? Yes. Was it fun? Very! Therefore, was it worth it? Definitely, yes!

You know, as with everything in life, it’s not what you win, but how you play the game. We couldn’t possibly be any prouder of Katie with the way she handled this weekend. So Katie’s placement in the group of 36 dancers in the U8 competition probably shouldn’t even be part of this story. But since you have patiently read this extremely lengthy blog entry, I’ll share with you that Katie placed 12th… and her TCRG invited her to travel to Ottawa, Canada in July 2007 for the North American Irish Dance Championships. Let the fun continue!!!

A MAID Moment

2007-02-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Katie’s ninth birthday. Early this morning we sat ceremoniously upon the kitchen floor so that Katie could open some presents which had arrived by mail from out-of-state relatives.

One very special gift from Grandpa was an American Girl doll Irish dance dress. Katie gently opened the lid of the American Girl clothing box, parted the delicate tissue paper and proceeded to remove each item with reverence.

“Look how beautiful her dress is! And her headpiece! Oh, and look, there’s one for me, too!” Slight pause to try on the headpiece…

“Her dress even comes with a hangar! And, oh, look at these ghillies! And the little poodle socks, how cute! And what’s this?”

Katie had picked up the small white silica gel pack that companies place inside shoe boxes or such to keep the items fresh. I was about to answer Katie’s question when 4-yr-old Ellie suddenly said,

“Sock glue!”

Late For Everything These Days

2007-01-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

I’m mailing our Christmas cards today. My smart-mouthed sister asked, “For which year?” She does have a point. I debated waiting a bit longer and calling them Valentine’s Day cards or St. Patrick’s Day cards, or even Easter cards if the procrastination continued so severely. But this year’s cards are picture cards, so I suppose it would be nice to send them whilst the subjects in the photo still resemble themselves.

If you’re not on my Christmas card list, here’s a peek…
Meg, Scott, Katie (8), Ellie (4) and Bear (14)

January is the typical month for people to diligently address their New Year’s resolutions, right? Well, in an attempt to avoid guilt, I decided not to make any New Year’s resolutions. I am, however, doing some soul searching and taking stock of my priorities. It feels a bit like spring cleaning. (Wow, does that mean I’m actually early for something, since it’s still winter?!? Nah, probably not….)

IF I had made any New Year’s resolutions, one would have been to post something on this blog at least once a month. My original intention of creating this blog was to journal our family’s involvement in Irish dance through the years, and to share perspective with anyone else interested. That intention still stands. I’m just having trouble keeping up. Irish dance has managed to infiltrate every aspect of my life, which creates great fodder for writing. But unfortunately, finding time to write seems to consistently get squished out of the schedule… and Irish dance, itself, is most often to blame! Go figure.

So, dear readers, thanks for stopping by every so often even though new posts on this blog are rare. Next on my list of blog-worthy posts is the story of Katie’s first Oireachtas experience. It’s a rather large project, though, thanks to the gazillion-and-one photographs of her that Scott and ZandB managed to take at that regional championship competition event. But I will get to it eventually. I’m just… (yes, you guessed it)… late for everything these days.

Stress Antidote

2006-12-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

Christmas is two weeks from today. Yes, I’ll admit that Irish dance is not the only reason that this fact causes my otherwise calm demeanor to crumble into the horrors of a procrastinator’s panic attack. But our first ever Oireachtas experience last weekend DID throw me for a ringer.

So this morning I brought my 8-year-old to the bus stop and my 4-year-old to preschool, and headed to Target with the lofty goal of making serious headway on the shopping list. Flying through the toys, books, and children’s clothing sections, shopping cart tilting on two wheels as I rounded the corners, I was suddenly drawn to a very attractive display stand, covered with red and green circles. I looked closely, not quite sure that my eyes could trust the exciting gift before me….

Could this really be possible? Had I just discovered the magical antidote to my stress for the next two weeks, packaged appropriately in a gold bag??? Yes! M-n-M’s now come in dark chocolate!!!

Armed with encouragement of this new health food, I drove back to the preschool to pick up Ellie. Standing in the hallway with the other mothers, Ellie’s preschool teacher shared with me the morning’s activity of answering the question of the day. Posted on the board was the question, “Is your Christmas tree decorated yet?” and each child was asked to appropriately place their name tag in either the “yes” column or the “no” column. Ellie stood looking perplexed for quite some time, then announced that she doesn’t have a Christmas tree in her house yet because there are still pumpkins sitting on the front steps.

After dodging the pitying glances of the other mothers, I decided that those dark chocolate M-n-M’s needed a bit more help in order to reap the full benefit of the healthful antioxidants. Therefore, I plan to drink plenty of red wine while eating them…

Thanksgiving

2006-11-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

Reason #2 why people don’t read this blog: because so few people actually know that it exists.

Reason #1 why people don’t read this blog: because there are so rarely any new posts here.

For over a month I’ve had a half-written story which I do plan to post to this blog. It’s on the “To-Do List”. It’s just not “to-done” yet. I miss writing. I enjoy playing with thoughts and shaping them with words. Maybe during Thanksgiving vacation I’ll find some time to write. Maybe...

Time sneaks away so quickly. One of the assistant instructors at my daughter’s dance school gave birth to her fourth child on the 16th of October. Because she’s a friend (and likely because I seem to live in the parent lounge of the dance school, as I’m there almost every day), I’ve had the great pleasure of cuddling baby Liam while his Mom teaches. He is so small, so precious! Last night, while the warmth of this newborn was still fresh on my shoulder, I tucked my own children into bed. How did they grow so big so quickly?

This Thanksgiving vacation, I’m going to take the time to jump in the leaf piles with my girls instead of working on the Irish dance school’s website. I’m going to cuddle under a blanket and read some mind-numbing novel instead of stressing about the “To-Do List” growing longer. And I’m going to appreciate every ounce of the nervous excitement in Katie’s eyes as my eight-year-old prepares for her first Oireachtas experience! Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was a small newborn on my shoulder?

Real Life

2006-11-03T21:11:00.000-05:00

So, it’s late Friday afternoon, on a beautiful Fall day. My children are playing happily, and I’ve snuck away to the computer for a peek at the Irish dance sites. Life is good!

But… what’s this I’ve seen??? Ashe of Diochra.com has posted a list on Dance Net of Irish dance related blogs… and THIS site made the list!

My first reaction: WAY COOL! What an honor! Thanks, Ashe!

My second reaction: YIKES!!! My “small project that nobody really knows about” has just been announced! Better get to work…

For anyone visiting this site for the first time (and to the small handful of friends who drop in from time to time), welcome! Thanks for stopping by! I don’t post here as often as I would like. Real life keeps interrupting.

What kind of posts will you find on this blog, you ask? A quick sample...

I’ve recently pondered what effects our family's Irish dance addiction has had on my youngest daughter, four-year-old Ellie. As is so often the case of a second child, Ellie is typically the “sibling in tow” to various Irish dance events.

The above picture was a quiet moment between competitions at the ROI Feis. I wish I had a picture to share of the treble reel competition, a few minutes later, when Ellie inched her way through a crowded room in order to sit on the floor by the edge of the stage, legs crossed, slapping her knees in time with the music! Somehow this child manages to jump into the thick of things, even if she's not yet on stage!

The picture below was taken at the Notre Dame Pep Rally performance last Friday. Ellie wanted a prime viewing space, and refused to move from it, even though it happened to be at the back of the stage…

It’s not possible to force passion. It comes from within. As a parent, it’s beautiful to watch passion develop in a child! Life is full of opportunity, and sometimes it's good to get your feet wet, even if you're not quite ready to jump in.

In real life, Ellie may be the sibling in tow at various Irish dance events. Will a passion for Irish dance develop within her? I don’t know. But for now, she rests comfortably surrounded by it…

Yes, life is indeed good!

(Photos by ZandB, except pep rally photo by CW)

Beyond the Step

2006-10-11T13:06:00.000-04:00

Timing. Rhythm.
Cross. Turnout. Toes.
Arms.
Lift.
Technique. Impressive.

A graceful smile. An expression of pure pleasure.
Each movement remains its own
yet blends into the next with ease
like an inhale moving to an exhale.
Distinctly separate, seamlessly joined.
Music is seen, felt, not heard.
Dance. Inspirational.

A Time to Laugh

2006-09-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

Recently my husband had the opportunity to introduce our friend, ZandB, to a previously unfamiliar adult beverage. Reading the label as ZandB enjoyed this beverage had me in stitches - it so accurately describes him!!!

http://www.theakstons.co.uk/LA/OldPeculier.htm

In fact, even the advertisements on that website are appropriate:

“…with a character all its own”
“…has a large and enthusiastic following… all around the world”
“… ‘The Legend’… with a long history”

(I so enjoy time together with our dance friends... We're a diverse group with a common interest, and it sure is fun to laugh together!)

Thanks for supporting this dancer’s family…

2006-09-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

If you've read the post just before this one, then you already know of the recent sad news from Maryland. On Thursday, September 14, a dancer from the Teelin School of Irish Dance and her father both died in an ocean swimming incident. The Teelin website has a memorial page:

http://www.teelin.com/amy.htm

But the reason I am posting this message today is not to share the news, it is instead to say THANK YOU! The Irish dance community is truly an amazing community! If you choose to visit Amy’s memorial page, be sure to scroll all the way down and read the messages from families all over the world. The outpourings of condolences, prayers, and offers for support have been overwhelming, and are so gratefully appreciated! Please read the letter from the Martins. This is a family of strong faith and deep love which WILL carry them through this tragedy, especially with the support of caring individuals like you!

MAIDS, DAIDS, and dancers come together in good times and bad. Both the laughter and the tears shared together are equally precious. Teelin School of Irish Dance is certainly feeling that right now, and thanks to message boards like this one, it is also being felt literally across the world.

Amy Martin was a talented young dancer who performed with the Teelin Irish Dance Company. She didn’t compete in feiseanna, not because she lacked interest, simply because she was the second oldest child in a family of six girls, all home schooled, and feising requires a different level of family commitment than the performances do. Nevertheless, at the Baltimore Feis two days after Amy and her Dad’s deaths, the feis committee offered a moment of silence to pay respect not only to the lives lost, but also to Amy’s friends and teachers who were present at the feis that day. That is a prime example of the great good within the Irish dance community, and personally, I am forever grateful to the Broesler School of Irish Dance for that act of kindness!

So, thanks, friends! I’m proud to be a part of this Irish dance community! May we share more laughter than tears, but be there for each other through both…

A Time to Grieve

2006-09-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

The week of July 31-August 4, 2006, was camp week for the members of two troupes of the Teelin Irish Dance Company. One of those days, amateur photographer extraordinaire, ZandB, generously took a day off work to come to the studio and photograph each dancer so that troupe portraits could be hung in the studio lobby.

That morning, the dancers arrived with their red school dresses, wigs and tiaras. ZandB arrived with his "toys": camera, lenses, tripod, fabric backdrop, and two new studio lights. The first dancer to be photographed was 15-year-old Amy. With extreme patience, Amy sat, stood, sat again, turned this way, that way... while the master photographer found the lighting and angle that he sought. Meanwhile, Amy's Dad, Doug Martin, quietly moved around the studio with his own camera, snapping pictures of his daughter.

There are certain people who have a gentle grace evident to anyone they meet. Amy and her Dad shared that grace with us. Their quiet smiles and simple goodness flowed freely, and the love that they shared for each other was overwhelming to witness, especially that morning. Amy didn't fidget, roll her eyes, or even comment on how long her portrait session was taking since she was first. That wasn't her way. Doug didn't interfere, or even seek to offer any advice. He smiled appreciatively, and took pictures of his own without intruding. For Doug and Amy, this morning was simply a fun opportunity to capture a picture of a dancer. And the smiles that they shared when their eyes connected with each other were almost giddy. They were so very genuine. Never was a father's love for his daughter more evident than Doug's. Never was a daughter's love her father more evident than Amy's.

Never, ever, did I think that I would be writing this, or posting this portrait for this purpose...

Amy and her father both died on Thursday, September 14, 2006, after an ocean swimming accident. Please keep Jeanne Martin (mother and wife) and Amy's five sisters in your prayers, along with all Martin family and friends.

Amy Martin

April 13, 1991 - September 14, 2006

http://www.teelin.com/amy.htm

For everything, there is a time.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:4

Jeanne Martin home schools her daughters. Amy was the second oldest of six girls. For anyone who may be interested, donations for educational scholarships for the five surviving daughters may be made payable to "The Doug and Amy Martin Memorial Education Fund" and mailed to:

Education Fund

c/o Mr. Dale Murphy, Trustee

P.O. Box 222

Gambrills, MD 21054

Is It About Winning?

2006-09-06T22:28:00.000-04:00

As of this summer, my family has officially lost “rookie” status in the feis world. Our first feis was the Nation’s Capital Feis, July 24, 2005, so we’ve recently rounded the one year mark. (Given the severity of my “addiction”, though, we probably actually passed the symptoms of rookie status a bit sooner than most.)

Anniversaries are generally a good time to reminisce, so I’m taking this opportunity to contemplate our feising experience thus far. By all standards, Katie has had an extremely successful first year of competing. But what, truly, is our motivation to feis? Is it about winning?

In the spring of 2005, when her teacher first suggested that I consider entering Katie in a feis, I was very resistant. Like her mother, my daughter has a strong pacifist streak in her, and tended to shy away from highly competitive environments. For example, when we played Candy Land together, Katie wouldn’t let the game end until all of the players had reached the top of the game board. It wasn’t about who was first, it was the fun of playing until all of the players arrived at the Candy Castle for a big party. Was this benevolent young soul ready to face the reality of winning versus losing in solo dance competitions?

Yet, armed with an optimistic attitude, we embarked upon our first feis adventures. Our goal was (and remains) to decide whether or not the feis experience was worth it before checking the score boards. I still hoped that she would win at least a few prizes, though. (Maybe I do have more competitive instincts than I prefer to recognize???) My wise friend, Molly, once told me that learning how to lose gracefully helps to build character, and that Irish dance will offer many, many opportunities for character development.

A funny thing happened, though. Katie won far more frequently than I expected. I had prepared myself to support her through the life lesson of perseverant optimism amidst the reality of only an occasional win. (I’m still prepared for it, by the way – I realize that championship level competition is a whole different ballgame.) But that hasn’t really happened yet. Instead, she has enjoyed success upon success and has rapidly climbed to Prizewinner level. Which, again, begs the question, how much of her motivation in this activity is the sweet taste of success?

First, one must ask, what is the “sweet taste of success” anyway? Unlike the game of Candy Land, success in Irish Dance doesn’t need to wait until the end, at the top of the game board. Our family has made lifelong friends in our Irish dance experiences, visited new places, confronted new challenges, and grown together because of it all. These are the reasons that I’m glad that my family is a part of the feis world. And we plan to stick around for as long as our fun lasts!

Yes, it’s about winning. But it’s not necessarily about winning medals and trophies. Just remember to keep playing until all of the players arrive at the big party.

Some of the Reasons Why I'm Addicted...

2006-08-08T11:18:00.000-04:00

Precious Memories from the Nation's Capital Feis

2006-07-29T14:49:00.000-04:00

If you’ll forgive this Proud Parent, I’d like to share some of my precious memories from a feis last weekend. Every feis experience has its challenges. The manner in which we meet those challenges is a large portion of the “life lessons” available to be learned through Irish Dance. And not all of those lessons are for the dancers!

My daughter had her first “false start” experience on stage this Sunday. (I know, I know, it happens to everyone at some point, for various reasons.) One count into the music, Katie stopped dancing and burst into tears. The judge (to whom I am eternally grateful!!!) came over to calm her and encouraged her to try again. Thankfully, Katie took a deep breath to muster her courage, tried again, and danced a great hornpipe! The crowd surrounding the stage gave her a huge round of applause … which caused me to burst into tears of pride (and relief)!

[Note to self – stuff pockets with Kleenex when attending a feis.]

A few hours later, Katie had her second ever false start experience, this time on a different stage, simply because she lost her concentration and started the wrong step. However, she did not “lose it” on the stage! She stopped dancing, walked back to her place in line, kept her composure, and waited for the judge’s instruction to dance again. After leaving the stage, she buried her face in my hug and had a good hard cry. Then she pulled herself together, sat at the edge of the ballroom … and started making shadow puppets on the wall. (After all, learning how to handle false starts is a very mature lesson at the tender age of eight!)

As a parent, this one feis has caused me to age at least ten years! But it has also reaffirmed my love of this activity. Simply reading about the two false start experiences, you may assume that we consider this feis “not one of our better days”. Not true! It was a great lesson in evaluating priorities. Sure, those two dances were certainly not Katie’s best memories of competition experiences. But they did not overshadow the day!

For every experience, there is an opportunity to look at the bright side.

For every bar of music, there is an opportunity to demonstrate a true love of dance (which is fun to do no matter what the scoreboards read later).

For every parent watching, there is an opportunity to marvel at the innocence of youth, and to burst with pride at the courage and the talent of these dancers.

For every situation that seems a bit overwhelming, there is an opportunity to take a break, find a quiet corner and read a book, or make shadow puppets on the wall.

For every hassle of negotiating an overcrowded stage area, there is an opportunity for shared experiences with dear friends, new and old. (ahem… sorry, ZandB, I meant “not so new”)

And, most gratefully, for every smile shared, there is someone else who will reciprocate. The laughs that we shared (with each other and with our friends) are the reasons that Katie and I will fondly remember the 2006 Nation’s Capital Feis. Hey, who could NOT have fun spending a day with the likes of ZandB and my newest feis friend, DanceMom1204 from Kentucky?!?!

How to enjoy an outdoor feis on a rainy day...

2006-07-29T14:48:00.000-04:00

1. Get in the car at 6am and drive for two hours while hoping against hope that you’ll drive out of the bad weather.

2. Keep your sense of humor, and surround yourself with those who laughingly say, “Tell me again why we’re here today in this weather!”

3. Improvise. And marvel at the smart people who actually brought tents.

4. Keep in mind that kids grow, so those shoes weren’t going to fit too much longer anyway.

5. Enjoy listening to the difference in sound of a soggy hardshoe in the middle of the stage as compared to the same hardshoe in the puddles at the edges of the stage.

6. When finished dancing, visit the Celtic Fling exhibits for a walk across the Misty Bridge. What’s a bit of mist after a downpour of raindrops so big that they bounced, causing it to rain up as much as down?!

7. And when the rain stops after the competitions are finished (Murphy’s Law … what would an Irish event be without Murphy in attendance?!), do something that you would not have the opportunity to do at any other feis in the world – enjoy a ride on Wrinkles, the elephant!

8. On the drive home, stop for a delicious dinner (in our case, at An Poitin Stil in Timonium, MD) and toast a successful family outing! Then laugh as the skies open once again, this time with lots of thunder and lightning, just as the plan to attend the Celtic Fling Feis again next year was being discussed …!!!!

Pondering Passionate Parenting

2006-07-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

(written 2/24/06, originally posted at www.voy.com/60473/)

As a neophyte in the world of Irish dance, I recently reflected on the path that my young daughter and I have traveled thus far. It began in a fairly common way, although maybe a bit younger than most. A borrowed copy of Riverdance from the library on a snowy day led to a purchase of it for an Easter basket, which led to begging for lessons. At the tender age of five, lessons began, and it was clear from the start that this was her first true passion. Recognizing that, the protective parent in me felt the need to learn more about this activity.

Exactly where is unclear, but somewhere in my research of talking to other parents, learning about feiseanna, and learning what a VoyForum is, my interests crossed a subtle line from protecting my daughter in the pursuit of her passion to discovering my own passion for Irish dance. I, too, became passionate about the energy of the music, the rhythm of the dance, the camaraderie of the events! And I found avenues to explore my own interests.

A mere eight months ago, we embarked upon my daughter’s first feis. There, I experienced the inexplicable magic of my gap-toothed, U7 dancer who, long before visiting the score room, smiled up at me and said, “That was so much fun, Mom! When can I do it again?” If I had not yet recognized my new addiction to Irish dance, that moment clarified it.

How much of this is my passion and how much of it is hers? Currently, there isn’t the need to draw a line dividing the two. But, there is indeed an important line that I hope never to cross. As parents, we want nothing more than to gift our children with the supportive parenting necessary to truly pursue the possibilities of their dreams. The dream of most young dancers entering the world of competitive Irish dance is, of course, to rise to the top as a champion. And a not-so-subtle line lies between where that dream is genuinely the child’s dream shared by her supportive parents, and where it becomes a parent’s dream supported by a loving child who doesn’t want to disappoint. Like a trip wire, that line lurks in the shadows of a temptation to coach just a moment too long, when instead a simple hug and smile are all that are needed.

Cautious eyes find this line and confidently avoid it. And lovingly the journey becomes that of passions shared. One way that my daughter feeds her passion is by performing and perfecting her dances in competition. One way that I feed my own passion is by writing about Irish dance. I perch at my PC, pausing to ponder passionate parenting, while poised at the precipice of my daughter placing into Prizewinner, the precursor to Prelim. Where will this lead? Will she one day dance at a champion level? Truly, the answer is not important! We savor each smile shared along the way ... purposefully practicing patient persistence.

There are, of course, positive and negative sides to every activity. Many of the positive aspects of Irish dance are shared on the message boards. Occasionally, a few too many of the negative aspects are shared. So I offer a small twist on a familiar prayer …

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things about competitive Irish Dance that I cannot change, the courage to change for the better the things that I can, and the wisdom to visit Zebadiah and Beauregard’s Front Porch often enough to recognize the difference.

Attending Your First Feis

2006-07-29T14:42:00.000-04:00

Have you ever struggled to describe a feis to someone who has never been? Is it true that a picture is worth a thousand words?

With the help of two very talented photographers, I recently created a slide show entitled “Attending Your First Feis”. Its purpose is to help prepare families from our dance school for the world of competitive Irish dance. Perhaps a few others will find it useful or enjoyable…

Click here to view “Attending Your First Feis”

Meg, a MAID … and the webmistress for the Teelin School of Irish Dance