Blog Challenge: Happy Halloween, Irish Dancers!

One of my favorite dance blogs, The Dance Buzz, issued yet another fun challenge this month: share an idea for a fall dance class!

Now, I love fall just as much as the next girl, but here in Florida, fall isn't all that special [Correction: fall isn't that special besides Florida Football! GO GATORS!]. The leaves don't change color or fall off the trees. The weather is just now beginning to get a bit chilly, by Florida standards of course.  Nothing really makes fall stand out from summer here in the sunshine state...except for Halloween!

My roomie carved this adorable University of Florida jack-o-lantern! #freehand

I'll be the first to admit, I'm slightly super obsessed with Halloween. First of all, the Irish practically invented Halloween, not to brag [read this article to see what I'm talking about]. Secondly, what's not to love about a holiday that includes costumes, candy, parties, candy, trick-or-treating, and did I mention, candy?! [Hi, my name is Moira, and I'm addicted to candy...] Anyway, combining one of my favorite holidays and Irish dance is even more exciting than a mountain of candy!

Lucky for me, Halloween falls on a Wendsday this year, and on Wednesdays, I teach a super fun class called Ceili Club :) For Halloween, the dancers are encouraged wear a dance costume of their choice to class, instead of their usual dress code [plain white top, black shorts or skirt, and poodle socks]... how fun is that?! I've seen some cute pictures of other Irish dance costume classes for Halloween [like Scoil Rince Saoirse] & I'm thrilled for ours :) Oh, and I'll be channeling my inner Lord of the Dance star for class...teaching in a costume inspired by the show! [photo in costume to follow]

This LOTD costume to be exact...on the ladies. I will NOT be wearing a gold satin shirt  :)

On top of costumes at Ceili Club, I'm planning to teach a Halloween-esque ceili. I'm thinking we'll dance the Bonfire Dance. Although the Bonfire Dance was traditionally danced on St. John's Eve, I think it's perfectly suited for a ceili class that falls on Halloween. Centuries ago, the ancient Celts celebrated Samhain, or the end of summer, at the time when we now celebrate Halloween. Since they believed on this day the spirits of the dead could return to the mortal world, those crafty ancient Celts lit bonfires and wore disguises [read: costumes!] to ward off malevolent spirits. I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate Halloween than to dance the bonfire dance in costume... just in case there are any evil spirits trying to get into the dance studio?! SpoOooOOoooky :) 

Want to learn more about the history of Samhain in Ireland, and how that has influenced our modern celebration of Halloween? Read this great article from Irish Central: Top Ten Irish Traditions for Halloween. 

Happy Halloween, Irish dancers! What are you doing to celebrate? Does your dance school do anything fun & spooky for the holiday?

Keep Dancing,
Moira

PS: Here's my treat for all of you... My all-time favorite seasonal video, "Halloween" by Jerry Seinfeld! Enjoy & get candy :)

Blog Challenge: What are You Reading?

August's Blog Challenge from The Dance Buzz asks the question, "What are you reading?" Well, with fall dance just a week away, I've been prepping for my upcoming classes! I'm so so so excited to teach Ceili Club this year, so obviously there's only one book I've been reading lately... Ar Rince Foirne! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ar Rince Foirne, this book compiles 30 popular ceili dances and is the basis for the ceili portions of the TCRG examination. If you're interested, Ar Rince Foirne is available online, here!

This summer, our Ceili Club danced a handful of ceili dances over 6 weeks...and had a blast! My favorite ceili dances from this summer's class were the Bonfire Dance & the Gates of Derry. I love those dances because I have wonderful memories associated with both of them.

The Bonfire Dance is one of the first ceilis I remember learning. In the bingo hall of St. Martha's Church, I skipped along [not really knowing what was going on], listening as Sheila Butler called the dance from her well-worn copy of Ar Rince Fiorne. My little 12-year-old self loved "The Rose." I'm not sure why, but standing with my hand on my left hip with my right toe pointed, waiting for my "gent" to come back to swing around with me seemed like the most fun ceili move ever! If you'd like to see what the Bonfire Dance is all about, check out this video from a St. Patrick's Day celebration in Vienna, Austria!  This summer, my dancers made a fake bonfire [consisting of a pile of sparkly red tutus that live at the dance studio] and performed the Bonfire Dance around it...yet another cherished Bonfire Dance memory to add to the file.

Many of the wonderful Butler dancers that helped me through the Bonfire Dance, and Sheila!
I'm 4th from the left, rocking a sweet ponytail :) Gotta love outdoor performances in Florida. 

The Gates of Derry was my favorite eight-hand, danced several times at the Southern Region Oirechtas. My team was super fun, and super serious about winning [a great combination for an oireachtas team, right?]. Somehow, dancing an entire ceili doing overs wasn't so bad when danced with friends!  I'm not sure which was more fun, dancing with some of my favorite Drake dancers, or standing on the podium with them for 3 years running?!

Our 2002 [winning!] Gates of Derry team & the adorable "baby eight-hand" team :)
I'm 4th from the left in this picture too... weird?

If you haven't had the pleasure of dancing the Gates of Derry... well, you're missing out! Here's a lovely video from Olive Hurley's Ceili Dancing Step by Step, Volume 2.

I'm looking forward to more wonderful ceili memories this fall, with the help of Ar Rince Foirne! What are your favorite ceili dances? Do you have any meaningful ceili memories?

Keep Dancing,

Moira

Blog Challenge: Performance Pictures

May's monthly blog challenge from The Dance Buzz asked for performance pictures, in light of the current "recital season" for dance studios.

I'm happy to have been a part of a dance recital for the first time in many, many years! The Williston School of Dance [WSD] held their 34th Annual Recital, "On Broadway." I'm so thankful to have served as WSD's Irish dancing intern [& occasional substitute teacher] this spring! From the beginning Irish dancers [as young as 1st grade], up to the advanced Irish dance class [middle & high schoolers...plus me, the resident old lady], the WSD Irish dancers graced the stage with entertaining, Broadway-themed performances. Choreographed by WSD's Artistic Director [& my fearless leader], Mrs. Sarah, all six Irish routines were a smashing success!

I would also like to note, that although this video is hilariously adorable, I'm really glad no ballet brawls occurred at the WSD recital! [My favorite part is the dance teachers swooping in to break up the tutu-wearing fight club!]

Can't help but laugh, right? Me either. Now, back to blog-challenge business.

Aside from the WSD recital, the Irish dancers have barely stopped performing all spring! They have performed in St. Patrick's Day Shows, Gainesville's "Spotlight on Youth" for talented local high school students, served as entertainment between competitors at "Gainesville's Really Got Talent" [which a WSD Irish dancer won last year!], and provided entertainment between dances at another prominent dance studio's recital. These kids are truly professionals! I should also mention that the Williston School of Dance is not just for Irish dancers. The ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop dancers of WSD were also beyond spectacular in the recital! If I included photos of all the classes and all the spring performances, this post would be miles and miles long!

Here are some of my favorite Irish dance photos from "On Broadway." [Special thanks to Lisa Dampier for taking this photos! Her sweet, little Libby is in the Introductory Irish class.]

"Finnian's Rainbow" - Introductory Irish

How sweet are these ruffled costumes?! And those turned out little feet
... and the roly poly!? #cuteoverload

"The Pirate Queen" - Irish I

More adorableness, and look at those lifts!
Can you spot the set of 4 brothers in this class? Let's hear it for the boys!

"Dancing at Lughnasa" - Advanced Irish

Performing treble jigs and treble reels in their solo costumes
... just because they don't compete, doesn't mean they don't earn their solo costumes :)

"Lord of the Dance" - Irish II

These girls are simply fabulous! Their improvement over the past few months has amazed me.
Can't wait to see them continue to grow as dancers next year!

"The Titanic" - Irish III & up

A medley of traditional sets, hornpipes, treble jigs, & treble reels: Choreographing The Blackbird &
St. Patrick's Day in a unique and interesting way? Mission accomplished, by Mrs. Sarah ;)

 "Riverdance" - Irish III & up

The final pose of the grand "Riverdance" finale! 

Aside from the overall amazingness that was "On Broadway," the show ended with a special awards ceremony. I thought this was really sweet, and so meaningful to the dancers. Ballet dancers received ribbons for each year dancing on pointe. Trophies were awarded out to dancers who finally achieve the seemingly impossible goal of getting their splits! Dancers with perfect attendance received a trophy as well. Certificates were presented to dancers who always attended class dressed appropriately & with the proper shoes [yes, we keep track of the dress code]. Multiple classes means multiple chances for awards! Some dancers got more trophies than I can count with one hand :)

Where's Moira? Hint: I'm handing out awards! 

Keep Dancing & Performing,

Moira

Blog Challenge: Dance Imagery

Preface: Life got in the way of updating my blog for a little while. My apologies, but I'm glad to be back in the blogospehere! I've missed you all terribly :)

The Dance Buzz's April blog challenge (yes, I know it's May) centered around "dance imagery." What exactly does that mean, you ask? Dance imagery refers to metaphors dancers and teachers use to better describe movements and techniques.  


What exactly does that mean to Irish dancers? Pretty much nothing. For many years, I've been acutely aware that the language of Irish dance isn't particularly pretty. We don't have the romantic, elegant sound of ballet. French is the language of love, after all, and also the language of ballet. Even though our terminology is in Irish (Oireachtas Rince Na Cruinne, Feis, An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha, Ár Rincí Fóirne, etc.), the only Irish word I've frequently heard used in class is "Ceili."


After teaching class for 3 hours tonight, I don't think I uttered any words of "dance imagery." I don't really use metaphors. I, like most Irish dance teachers I've learned from, am very straight forward. Even with the little ones, my wording is quite plain and unimaginative. Here's the short list of my most used phrases whilst teaching...


"Point your toes!"
"Turn your feet OUT!"
"Turn out the back foot!"
"Crossed position"
"Lift!!!!!!"
"Don't sickle your foot"
"Keep your arms down"
"LISTEN TO THE MUSIC"
"Count in your head"
"UP on your toes"
... and my #1 (the dancers will attest to my overuse of this phrase): "KICK YOUR BUTT!"


None of those create the least bit of imagery.


On occasion, I've told dancers to pretend they had a yardstick taped to their back (as a reminder to keep their backs straight). When explaining how to do a proper bow, Mrs. Sarah (our fearless leader at the dance school), told the kiddos to imagine they were a drawbridge, coming up and down perfectly straight. That's actually the best example of "imagery" I've heard in an Irish dance class in a long time :)


If I had to choose one piece of universal "dance imagery" for Irish dancers, "Over-the-bridge" is the best I can do.   As I got older, "UP-2-3" became my mental phrase of choice for leaps, but I still say over-the-bridge constantly. It's so unique to Irish dance. However, that phrase never made much sense to me. Looking back to my first experience with overs, I know I was thinking, "Over the bridge? Over what bridge? Why am I hopping over a bridge? I'm not a giant! What does this mean?!" Even our Irish dance imagery is baffling. I've heard teachers say, "Over-the-fence," which makes slightly more sense. A white picket fence is a much more reasonable height to leap over than a bridge. Seriously...


An honorable mention goes to any Irish dance phrase that equates a heavy landing to becoming a large, African land mammal. "You sound like a heard of elephants!" "Are you an rhino?!" "Don't land like an hippo!" You get the idea.  

Hippopotamus two-hand, anyone?

What are your favorite Irish dance metaphors? 


Keep dancing... and not landing your over-the-bridges like elephants,
Moira

Throwback: Celebrating Dancing Firsts

As the new year began, The Dance Buzz issued a challenge to dance bloggers: post a picture or video of one of your dancing "firsts" and share your story. I love dance, I'm all about blogging, and I happen to have a stack of old dance photos in my desk, so participating in this challenge was an big ol' YES for me.

My first Irish dance performance ever. That's me in the middle! 

This lovely photo is of my very first Irish dancing performance ever: June 6th, 1998 at the Arts Center in Venice, Florida. My Irish dancing best friend, Rayna [on the left], and I were so excited to finally perform the steps we'd been working so diligently to perfect. We were thrilled, but hated wearing our white blouses and black pleated skirts [or "Denny's waitress outfits" as we called them] before we got our first Butler School dresses. From the looks of it, we were dancing a beginner slip jig in this picture. Kudos to whoever took this picture! [I'm guessing Rayna's wonderful Mom...I love you Mama Gubersky!]

I've learned a lot since this performance. Mainly...
-   Smile! Dancing is fun, remember? Why were we all so serious?
-   Wear taller socks. We didn't have poodle socks yet, whoops.
-   And last, certainly but not least...Don't look down at your feet. They'll dance even if you're not staring at them!

Despite the rookie mistakes captured in this photo, I'm seriously kicking my butt and I'm learning to get up on my toes! [wait a second, that's the name of my blog...]  And look at that tiny little waist! Maybe that black pleated skirt wasn't all bad.

As a 12 year old beginner, I started Irish dance pretty late in the game according to dancer standards. When many pre-teen Irish dancers were getting ready for the Oireachtas or even Worlds, I was learning light jigs...and LOVING it! I was hooked on Irish dance from the get-go, and my love for dancing continued to grow since this photo was taken 14 years ago. Take a way the shiny new wigs, rhinestone buckles, and  thousand dollar dresses, and isn't that what Irish dancing is all about? I wholeheartedly think so.

What are your favorite dancing firsts?

-Moira

Thanks to The Dance Buzz for this fun challenge!