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This year I was in prelim again. I was pretty new--the first feis included here was only my second feis in prelim. This was a fun year, but since I had just moved into prelims, I didn't place very often. I've just included the highlights of the year.

Feis Rince Conejo Valley
Glendale, CA--March 5, 2000

This marked the beginning of a new feis year, and also my third anniversary of my first "real" feis. I didn't place except for figures, but I had a good time. The feis went on for a long, lo-o-o-ong time. At 8:30, I danced in the first solo competitions of the day, in prelim reel and hornpipe. Then, I waited around until about 1:00 to dance my figures. I waited around for about three more hours until they began my championship, then for about another hour for the treble reel special. The special was SO COOL! All the preliminary entrants danced in it, so about 65 or 70 people were on the stage at the same time. Everyone from the very youngest preliminaries to the oldest did a treble reel step, one at a time, which made for a very long competition. I felt bad for the accordionist, who had to play for about a half an hour without any stops. Then, at the end, everyone danced a step together. It was deafening! I was dancing right near the accordionist, and I couldn't even hear him. It was one of the most fun competitions I've ever danced in.

Feis at the Fair
Arcadia, CA--June 18, 2000

This is always such a cool feis! Well, except this year. It was pretty hot. But I still had fun. My moment of glory was during the treble reel special, which was pretty huge--about 55 or 60 people. They had a recall, and I got one! Hooray for Theresa! Then, I placed thirteenth and got a little trophy! Double hooray! (Okay, this probably didn't seem like a big deal, but it's been a long time since I placed in solos, and there was some tough competition.) I was really happy.
FYI: Since I'm not placing very often so far, I'll probably only update this page when something exciting happens. So don't be alarmed if it jumps around a lot.

North American Championships 2000
San Francisco, CA

This was my first Nationals (or NACs for the politically correct), so of course I wasn't expecting anything. I was actually less tense than for the Oireachtas, because I honestly wasn't expecting a recall, so there was no pressure at all. I was also on an eight-hand team. We'd been working really hard and had gotten to be a pretty close team.

Anyway, when we reached the hotel, there were a billion Irish dancers and parents. I'm not even exaggerating. Okay, maybe a tad, but it was the ultimate feis. My mom and I checked into the hotel and hung around, then went to dinner with my team and teachers. I went to bed kind of early because I was dancing first thing in the morning.

The next morning, we woke up, fixed my hair, had some breakfast (ha, like I could eat!) and headed downstairs to stake out some chairs and warm up. So I danced. I really didn't feel that nervous, since I knew I wouldn't get a recall. I danced well for me, and I was happy. I didn't get a recall, but I really wasn't expecting one at all. Then I practiced with my ceili team for the next day.

We met about noon and warmed up, made up, did our hair, and got ready together. We danced the High Cauled Cap, and we felt like we danced it really, really well. I didn't get to stick around for awards, since our plane left early, but unfortunately we didn't place. Oh well, I had a lot of fun!

Western U.S. Regional Oireachtas 2000
Irvine, CA

This was a pretty cool Oireachtas. It was my third, and this time I was doing an eight-hand and solos, instead of just one or the other like before. Saturday was ceili. We had two teams in my age group, so we all warmed up and got ready together and cheered each other on. We felt like we had danced pretty well. At awards, which is always packed, they called a bunch of places and hadn't called us yet. I was getting nervous, but then they called the other team from my school for fifth. I was really happy, since it was a really big competition. Then they called my team for fourth! I was thrilled! We all took huge group pictures and admired our medals together. Even better, I had helped coach a few younger teams and they both did well too--fifth and third! It was a great year.

Solos came the next day. I was so nervous that I hardly slept the night before. The next morning, after getting ready and warming up, I was a wreck. I was really frustrated after my hard shoe round, because I once again let my nerves get the better of me. It wasn't as bad as the year before, but I still did not dance nearly as well as I could have. After a brief self-pep-talk, I managed to pull it together and turned in a nice soft shoe, but it wasn't enough to get a recall. I was disappointed, but mostly just frustrated that I had let my nerves take over AGAIN.

McElligott Christmas Feis
Phoenix, AZ, Dec. 2000

This was a cool feis. Only in Arizona could you have an outdoor feis two weeks before Christmas. They had space heaters, and it wasn't that cold, but I really appreciated my velvet dress. I had a miserable cold at the time, so I decided to do my old set instead of a new one that I hadn't quite gotten the hang of. It turned out to be a good decision, because I got fourth in the championship! I was thrilled! It almost made up for my splitting headache, which was not helped any by a plane flight and a day of accordion music. I had a great time, though--this is always such a fun feis.