Everyone Loves a Parade!

With Oireachtas season [yes, I totally consider this a season] coming to a close, Irish dancers worldwide have been glued to YouTube watching all the latest winners' Parades of Champions... including me! Congrats to all the champions & all the Oireachtas dancers who've danced their best over these last few weeks! You all have so much to be proud of. [For more of my Oireachtas deep thoughts, click here.] And just in case you weren't one of those dancers in the Parade of Champs at your O this year and are feeling a bit down, remember...

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.
Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."
- G. K. Chesterton

I'll probably post my favorite Parade of Champions videos soon, but until then, lets focus on another type of parade...

The dance school where I teach participated in our town's annual Christmas parade this past weekend. The whole town came out to watch floats, marching bands, and of course, our dancers! The parade was a great time, with loads of Christmas lights, music, singing, and candy passed out to the kids...even Santa made an appearance!

We wore our school T-shirts [bright yellow this year!] with white long sleeved T's underneath [so the parade audience could see our arms in the darkness], black dance pants, and sneakers. Sparkly dance earrings and ponytails completed our school's parade look.

Parade by OnMyToesBlog featuring Nike athletic shoes

Unlike the Irish dance schools I danced for growing up [Shout-out to the Drake School! Great job at the Southern Regional Oireachtas!], my current dance school is not just for Irish dancers. We offer ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, & IRISH dance classes. The parade is a great opportunity for all of our dancers to have fun performing together. We danced to a song called, "The Rhythm of Rejoicing" which was the perfect tune for for jazz, ballet, and Irish dancers to shine! Listen to it... you'll hear the part that sounds like a jig [we danced a single jig to this portion of the song = more single-jigging than I've done since middle school!], and you can probably tell which part the ballerinas waltzed to!

What does your dance school wear during a parade? Are you dancing in any Christmas or holiday parades this winter? 

Keep dancing,

Moira 

Old navy t shirt
oldnavy.gap.com

Victoria's Secret activewear pants
victoriassecret.com

Nike athletic shoes
finishline.com

Dance Outfit of the Day: Hot Pink + Navy

I've been on vacation for the last two weeks-ish, and today it's back to the real world...including dance! This outfit is almost identical to the one I'll be sporting at class tonight.

Top: Hot pink [October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, after all] & flowy [since I've been in Italy eating far too much delicious pasta]

Leggings: Capri length so my students can actually see my feet, and navy [I'm loving this hot pink + navy combo]

Shoes: Trainers, lights, & heavies [duh!]

Hairband: Required to keep my massive quantities of unruly hair off my face! I usually wear my hair in a bun, but my locks have a mind of their own...


What do you wear to dance? How do you keep your hair back? Does your dance school have a dress code?

Keep dancing,

Moira 

Dance Outfit of the Day by onmytoesblog featuring under armour

Old navy
oldnavy.gap.com

Women's Active Tie-Waist Bubble Tanks
oldnavy.gap.com

Under armour
dickssportinggoods.com

Nike Kids Free Run 3 (Youth)
zappos.com

Coco Rocha: Interview Russia Editorial

I'm completely in love with Coco Rocha's dance-inspired editorial for September's issue of Interview Russia.  Via her tumblr, Coco explains she, "got to play a deranged ballerina" in her "favorite editorial of the season!" 

The movement captured in this series of shots is stunning. Coco looks exquisite & graceful in Alexander McQueen [and not even a bit deranged, if you as me].  Her black pointe shoes may be meant to look edgy, but are reminiscent of soft shoes in my eyes.  

This shot brings me back to pilates sessions at Camp Rince Ceol :)

...& this photo evokes thoughts of adorable Irish dance beginners who tie their soft shoe laces up their legs before they are promptly corrected, and of ruffle skirts on solo costumes. 

All the photos from this editorial can be viewed on Coco's tumblr or facebook. What do you think of this editorial? What are your favorite photos?

Keep Dancing,
Moira