What's in Shelly's Dance Bag?

[Remember this summer's "What's in my Dance Bag?" series? It's back! I'm out of town in Italy this week, so in place of "Ceili of the Week," here's a fun look into another fantastic Irish dancer & blogger's dance bag...enjoy!]

Shelly Allen is an open championship Irish dancer who dances with the Shelley School of Irish Dance in Utah, USA. She is also an artist who specializes in graphic art, photography & web design. Visit Shelly's website: shellyallenart.com.

My name is Shelly Allen! I dance with the Shelley School of Irish Dance in Utah, USA. I've been dancing with the school for 9 years now. When I'm not dancing, I love to create graphic art, take photos of other Irish dancers, and update my Irish dance blog ( shellyallenart.com ).

My dance bag is basically a small carry-on travel bag. I bought it a couple years ago when I was traveling a lot to feiseanna. It's small enough to fit in any luggage compartment, yet big enough to fit everything I need (minus a solo dress) for a weekend feis trip. Since transferring shoes and other things from one bag to another all the time can increase the risk of losing things, I take the same bag to class during the week. I have never bought anything but Rutherford Super-Flexi hard shoes. I love that even when they aren't yet broken in, I can still toe walk in them. I always buy Hulluchan 2 ghillies. I actually prefer Hulluchan Pros, but they stopped making them a few years ago. I love that they are padded on the inside and they hug your feet better than cheaper brands. I also like to keep some practice sneakers in my bag for long classes. My feet will start to cramp up if I've been dancing in my tight ghillies for more than 2 hours, that's when these practice sneakers come in handy.

As I said, my bag can fit a lot of things at once. I've packed for a 2 day, 3 night trip to the Oireachtas a few times and easily fit everything I needed in this bag! Since I haven't gone to a feis for a few months now, until I pulled everything out to take photos, I'd forgotten a lot of this stuff was in there!

Besides my shoes, here's a list of everything else I found in my bag:

• Headphones ~ Great for long flights that offer free movies or satellite TV on the way to a feis.
• Flower Hair Clip ~ I wear this flower with my pink solo dress. I've started just keeping it in my bag so I don't every forget to bring it to shows.
• Bobby Pins & Pony-tail Holders ~ I use these pretty much every class, plus I need them for shows to help keep my wig on.
• Theraband ~ We use these in class to stretch our feet and ankles. I bought one off Tina so I could stretch my feet at home as well.
• Black Duct Tape ~ To keep my hard shoes from slipping at shows.
• Blister Bandages ~ I use these when breaking in new hard shoes. I still don't know how to prevent blisters!
• Safety Pins ~ I always keep a few of these in my bag to pin on my competition number at feiseanna.
• Extra Shoes Laces ~ You never know when you're gunna need one!
• Oireachtas Badge ~ I didn't even realize I still had this in my bag! I got it at the 2011 Oireachtas and forgot to take it out and put it with my trophies. :)
• Bun Wig and Tiara ~ Our dance company does a lot of shows this time of year, so I've just been keeping my bun wig and tiara in my bag so I never forget it. It's always embarrassing to be the one dancer who doesn't quite match everyone else.
• Sock Glue ~ We all know what this is for... :) However, this particular bottle is completely empty. I'm only keeping it in my bag to remind myself to buy a new bottle!
• Sweat Shirt ~ I always keep one of these in my bag. I don't know about you, but I sweat a lot in class. Sometimes it's nice to have an extra layer to hide all the perspiration. ;)

I've been using this bag for about 5 years now and I love it. We've seen a lot of great times together! The sides are a little beat up, but I won't be giving it up anytime soon. It's going to see a lot more feiseanna before I'm done with it.

Photos & blog post by Shelly Allen.
Visit Shelly's Irish dance blog: shellyallenart.com
Check out Shelly's Irish Dance graphic art on Facebook: Irish Dance

[Thanks so much to Shelly Allen for this wonderful peek into her beloved dance bag! I adore her wonderful photography, blog, and AMAZING graphic art!] 

Keep Dancing,
Moira 

What's in Feisonista's Dance Bag?

Next in the "What's in my Dance Bag" series is the ever-so-fashionable, Feisonista. 

Feisonista is a former open champion dancer with a passion for Irish dance and fashion. She danced with a CLRG school throughout high school with trips to the North American Nationals, All-Irelands and Worlds. She then danced in college at Villanova, majoring in Chemical Engineering on the side. She is now juggling real, post-grad life as an engineer with her fun life as a Feisonista. 

So what does the most fashionable feiser carry in her dance bag?

Here's my dance bag! It's half what's actually in my dance bag and half what I will have in a month when I'm teaching again! Can't wait! 

1: Forever 21 dance bag
2: Vera Bradley make up bag in Java Blue [retired pattern]
3: Make up brush bag from Sephora
4: Maybelline Flasies Mascara - amazing!
5: Nude eyeshadow pallet for after dance applications
6: Jergens moisturizer with tanner - just enough color after dance
7: NARS blush and bronzer combo
8: Too Faced bronzer - my favorite for a natural look
9: Victoria Secret Make Up Remover - best before dance to avoid break out
10: Sephora smokey eye pallet
11: Glitter for performance eyes!

12: Liquid eye liner

13: Red lip gloss and lipstick

14: Ribbons for dance class chic hair

15: Bobby pins, of course

16: Safety pins

17: Comb for after dance touch ups

18: Hair ties galore

19: Deodorant

20: One poodle sock...

21. Black tights

22: Celtic Choice soft shoes

23: One ballet slipper...

24: Shades because the sun never sets on an Irish dancer
25: Ursula Celano notebook

26: MS150 number

27: Kiss me I'm Irish button

I have Fays Celtic Choice soft shoes. I have wide, but short feet with high arches and they're the only ones that fit me! I used to have Fays hard shoes with the tan soles but I may or may not have lost them at college... I'm currently on the search for new ones!


My dance bag right now is from Forever 21 actually. I rotate out my dance bag every few month depending on what I'm feeling. I love using it as an accessory. This one is fun for summer with the hot pink accents! I use it as a beach bag on the weekends. 


Beyond shoes, the crucial things I have in my dance bag are: 

My back-up make up supply. Most of my dance classes end up on Thursday nights or during the day on Saturday, so I'm usually heading out with friends after. Some light touch ups transform my look from sweaty to night out easily! The best part? No blush needed - my full jig takes care of that... The deodorant is a crucial part of this as well!


My show make up. I tend to lose things so I have to keep my performance make up in my dance bag! Lately I've been rocking the smokey eye (love the Sephora kit), red lipstick and a winged eye. And of course, some glitter! 


Ribbons to spruce up my practice look. It makes countless drills seem a little more manageable...


Bobby pins, hair ties and safety pins. I think it goes without saying how much these are needed!


Sunglasses. I don't go anywhere without my shades, that includes dance class! Love my green pair for class. 


Some of the more random things in my dance bag: 

One ballet shoe. I've been taking ballet on the side and love it. It's a great way to really get in tune with how your body and muscles works and getting rocking turn out. Unfortunately I lost one slipper...


My number from the MS150. I  recently used this bag on a 170 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin for MS. I keep the number in my bag to remind me to keep pushing! Cycling is a great way to add extra stamina for dancers too, if anyone's interested!


Button. The remains from some St. Patrick's Day shows... 


Ursula Celano notebook. For taking notes on trends that I see and for developing choreography, I never leave the house for dance without this adorable notebook!

J'dore Feisonista? Follow her!

[Blog]          [Twitter]          [Tumblr]          [Pinterest]

Keep Dancing, and Stay Fasionable Feisers!

- Moira

What's in Christy's Dance Bag?

The next dancer contributing to the "What's in my Dance Bag?" Series is Christy, from Gone Feising.  

Christy Dorrity is a mother, dancer and writer. She and her children dance competitively. Christy is the author of The Book Blogger's Cookbooks and she blogs about adult Irish dancers at IrishCentral.com. 

The lovely Christy

Christy & her crew... love this!

Christy's Gone Feising blog is one of my favorite Irish dance blogs out there. She's currently writing about fitness, healthy eating, practicing daily, and her current Irish dance diet [which is wonderfully motivating whilst I try to get myself into shape! Mean Abs June anyone?]. Visit her blog to cheer Christy on as she continues her journey into a healthier life, or to get inspired to make some healthy choices in your Irish Dance life. 

So... What's in Christy's Dance Bag?

Here is a list of the things that are usually in my dance bag:

Hard shoes 

Light shoes

Dance sneakers, extra socks

Ballet flats (for my daughter who also dances as a tot)

Bands (to keep my hard shoe on), 

My iPad (for my little ones to watch if they come with me to dance) 

My iPod for practicing

Safety pins

Extra crystals (for my son's costume)

A snack

Some pain meds

A stretchy thera-band 

& a portable ice pack (not pictured)

Need more Christy?

Gone Feising [blog]

@GoneFeising [twitter]
Adult Irish Dance [blog on Irish Central]


Keep Dancing,
Moira

What's in Z&B's Dance Bag?

The next addition to the "What's in my Dance Bag?" series comes from all the way from down south, on Zebadiah and Beuregard's Front Porch.  Z&B bring "random natterings on the meaning of life, origins of the universe, idiosyncrasies of cats, and Irish Dance in the Southern Region" to all of us lucky Irish dancers on the internet.


Z&B's dance bag isn't your average kit and caboodle. Theirs is an "Emergency Feis-Aid Kit for Feis Moms." Sure, every feis mom [or dad] should have the basics on-hand, in case of bumps, bruises, twisted ankles, stomped-on-toes, and the occasional emergency amputation or apendectomy.

In addition to the usual band-aids and duct tape, Z&B recommend adding a few more important items to your feis-mergency bag of tricks. Yes, we certainly do things differently here in the Southern Region, but this packing list is useful in all regions of Irish dance [not just the deep, and sometimes crazy, South]. This packing list is the perfect starting point for MAIDs [that's Mothers Addicted to Irish Dance] or Feis Dads getting ready for a local feis or major competition. 

Emergency Chocolate [dark and liquid, just in case]

Corkscrew [preferably with a bottle opener]

Just your average Cell Phone [...or is it?]

Air Horn [to wake the dazed adjudicator about to judge your DD/DS]

Practical joke dog poo [totally necessary]

Fool-proof Disguise [just in case you're a recent transfer]

Heinz Spotted Dick [it's pudding, it's hilarious, it'll help you make friends!]

& above all else, a sense of humor!

For further explanation as to why you simply must have the above items in your Emergency Feis Aid Kit, visit Zebadiah and Beauregard's Front Porch! Y'all come back now, ya hear?   


Keep Dancing,
Moira

What's in S.J.'s Dance Bag?

Our next dance bag comes from one of my favorite Irish Dance bloggers... S.J. from RincePop! S.J. is a professional multimedia journalist by day, Irish dancer by night. 

Isn't she lovely?

She currently works at The Buffalo News as multimedia content coordinator for Buffalo.com and regularly blogs for IrishCentral.com. She also maintains RincePop.com. Her Irish dance-themed news articles, videos and blogs have appeared in Hornpipe Magazine, Feis America Magazine, The Irish Times, The Buffalo Irish Times, I Heart That Dance blog, MichaelFlatley.com and Diddlyi.com -- and RincePop.com and  IrishCentral.com, of course!

S.J. dances with the Clann Na Cara School of Irish Dance in Buffalo and is a newbie flamenco dancer. 

And without further ado, let's see what's in S.J's Dance bag...

I've tried so many time to clean out my bag, a hardy medium-sized L.L. Bean Tote, but I always end up stuffing it full of dance necessities and other goofy junk. 

Here's what I found in my dance bag today, in no particular order: hard shoes, ghillies, flamenco shoes (I just took up the Spanish dance form this year), shoe horn, headband, sock glue, baby powder, stray socks, deodorant, shoe polish, lotion, anti-bac, sewing kit, lip balm, pen, permanent marker, Ar Rince Foirne and Back to Back booklets (gotta have all the ceili steps on hand to know if the top gent turns clockwise), mini makeup kit from Sephora, digital camera (to record my teacher's steps when I know I won't remember them), hair pins, duct and electrical tape, iPod and little hamburger speaker (IT REALLY COMES IN HANDY),blinged shoe buckles, water bottle and two notebooks -- a Moleskine and an Ursula Celano, which I won from IrishFireside.com.

Now, to explain myself. The hamburger speaker seems extravagant, I know. But I've actually used it a few times at competitions when I need to go through steps and don't want earbuds dangling from my head. It's nice -- like having a tiny boombox that fits in a pocket. And as for the two notebooks, I'm a journalist by trade, so I'm always interviewing people or writing down potential story ideas. So one of the notebooks acts as a reporter's notebook, and the other is more of a dancer journal.


Love S.J. and this dance bag? [I do!] Here's more from S.J. on the web:
RincePop [blog]
RincePop [facebook]
@RincePop [twitter]
Irish Dance and Pop Culture [blog on Irish Central]
SJVelasquez.com [tumblr]


Keep Dancing,
Moira

What's in Sara's Dance Bag?

Continuing the "What's in my Dance Bag" series is the beatuful and talented Sara. An Open Champion dancer with the Maple School, Sara is truly multi-talented. She's a gymnast-turned-Irish-dancer, putting her bachelors degree in music education to good use as an elementary school music subsitute teacher... and she's also a library page. On top of all that, she also writes one of my favorite Irish dance blogs on the web, Rince Go Bragh. [I'm not ashamed to admit that her blog was an inspiration for me to start this lovely blog myself!] Did I mention that she's competed at Worlds and is currently preparing for the Southern Regional Oireachtas? This girl can do it all!

Sara in her gorgeous solo dress, which
happens to be a present from her sweet boyfriend! 

Now...onto the good stuff: What's in Sara's Dance Bag?

This is my dance bag.  It's navy blue and emblazoned with the name of my old gymnastics team.  There are four pockets: the huge center bit, one on each side, and a tiny front pocket.  What's unique about my badis that it's celebrating it's 12th birthday this year.  I suppose it can be considered a dinosaur as far as bags are concerned, but it does it's job, and does it well. Before it became my dance bag, it spent six years being toted to every gymnastics practice and competition I attended.  We've had a long history together.

The shoes I keep in my dance bag:

1) Comfortable practice ghillies.

2) Rutherford heavies I've been meaning to break in now for over a year...

3) Competition ghillies that fit snugly.

4) Well-worn and much loved heavies.

Other things:
1) Bag-ception.  Because one bag is not enough.

2) Conditioning for Dancers.  I found this book at Barnes and Noble when I first became dancing and picked it up hoping it had some great turnout exercises.  What I got was a full-body anatomy lesson that focused on the bones, joints, and muscles ballet dancers use.  It does have some good tips for stretching certain areas, as well as a handful of useful exercises.
3) Theraband.  For ankle strengthening exercises, and other resistance type activities.  This is another remnant from my gymnastics days.

Bag-ception:
1) Duct tape
2) Emergency shoe polish
3) Advil
4) Body lotion
5) Deodorant
6) Small Ace bandages just in case of a shin splint flare-up.
7) Empty athletic tape roll
8) Icy Hot
9) Neosporin
10) Electrical tape
11) Tiger Balm
12) Elmer's glue sticks to hold up my socks.
13) Hand sanitizer spray
14) Emergency tampon
15) Band-aids


Can't get enough Sara?
Rince Go Bragh [blog]
@RinceGoBragh [twitter]
Rince Forever [tumblr]
Pinterest


Keep Dancing,
Moira

What's in My Dance Bag?

I'm very excited to announce a new series for this lovely little blog of mine: "What's in my Dance Bag?" This series was inspired by one of my favorite non-dance blogs, The Small Things [a phenominal style + beauty + lifestyle blog written by the lovely, Kate]. Several of my favorite Irish dance bloggers are on-board for this fun series [you'll have to wait and see who!], and I can't wait to peek into their dance bags. 

Here's a look into my dance bag, which accompanies me to 3 days of dance class per week. 

[1] Pink Drawstring Bag from Fay's Irish Dancing Shoes: This is the smallest dance bag I've ever had, but it gets the job done... and forces me to regularly clean out my dance bag.

Dance Sneakers + Lights + Heavies

[2] Nike Zoom dance sneakers: I found these amazing dance sneakers at a Nike Factory Store years ago. I love them! They have flexible arches like all dance sneakers, but aren't bulky like some I've had in the past. Plus, they have cool dragons on the heels!

See the cool dragons?! Irish dance meets Asian awsomeness

[3] Hullachan Soft Shoes, also from Fay's Irish Dancing Shoes: These are the fanciest soft shoes I've ever bought, and I'm not even competing?! Tell me how much sense that makes. I've always worn the traditional, tan leather bottomed Antonio Pachelli gazelles. I love the look of black laces against the tan soles, when wrapped around the arches of a dancer's feet. [I think I watched my Riverdance VHS one too many times, because that has Jean Butler written all over it.] Regardless, I LOVE these black-bottomed shoes. They are the most comfortable soft shoes I've ever worn. Period.

[4] Black-soled Heavy Shoes: These are so old I'm not even sure if they're Rutherford's or Fay's. Sad? Maybe. But I love these shoes. I wore them at Worlds, and I'll probably never part with them :) The buckles go way back too. My first buckles were cute silver and bright green shamrocks. These square buckles were my second and only other pair. Perhaps I'll splurge and get rhinestone square buckles someday! I love buckles, when paired with turned out feet!

[5] Black Convertible Tights: As a Florida girl, I live in flip flops... so convertible tights are a must! These are extras... likely a back-up pair I threw in my bag for a performance.

[6] Black Legwarmers: I like to pretend to be a ballerina sometimes. I also have hot pink, light pink, and rainbow heart legwarmers... I really should take a ballet class.

[7] Dance Bag Extras:

So necessary.

Rimmel London Stay Glossy lip gloss in Unlimited Gold
Inhaler... must have accessory for all asthmatic Irish dancers!
Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss
Vera Bradley coin purse in Cupcakes Pink [retired pattern]

[8] Ankle Supports: No explanation needed.

So, that's what's in my dance bag... Stay tuned for looks into the dance bags of some of my [and your] favorite Irish dancing bloggers!

Keep Dancing,
Moira

Oh, and I can't forget my key chains. Because I'm so cool :)