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Falls and Injuries

You're in the middle of a dance. Suddenly, you slip and fall. What happens then?

Quickly assess yourself for injuries. If you possibly can keep dancing, listen to the music. If you're not too far behind and you know where you are in the music, by all means keep dancing. If you slip but keep dancing, the judge won't deduct any points. If you are unable to continue dancing, walk to the back of the stage and walk off with the rest of the dancers. If you still have dances to perform, do not push yourself to perform with an injury. If you explain the situation to your teacher, she will be very understanding. For minor injuries sustained while not dancing, such as blisters, be prepared! Bring band-aids. There is a special kind of band-aid that has a cooling gel instead of the cotton. It's probably not a bad idea to bring these if you are blister-prone.

Missing a Dance

Maybe you were running a little late, or you were off watching some other event. You dash back to the stage, but it's too late. What then?

Talk to the check-in person. He or she may be able to arrange for you to dance by yourself after the others, or she may just put you up on stage with the rest. Under no circumstances should you just hop onstage of your own accord.
If you missed your dance totally and completely, oh, well! Pay more attention next time.

Forgetting Shoes, Socks, etc.

This is one of the most easily solved traumas. At all feiseanna, there will be at the very least one vendor selling shoes, socks, and other dancing necessities. However, this can easily be avoided by packing the night before.
If you forget something more important, like your costume, extend your hand out in front of yourself, palm up and open, and smack yourself in the forehead. Then, see if there's anything your teacher can do. If you want to avoid the embarassment and forehead pain, well, then DON'T FORGET YOUR COSTUME! If you have a solo dress and forget that, then at least you can wear your school dress. If you forget your school dress, though, then you have let down all of your figure dance team members. Just pack carefully the night before.

Overheating

For some unknown reason, the time of year unofficially yet widely known as "feis season" falls right in the hottest time of the year--late summer to early autumn. These feiseanna are naturally held outdoors for spectators to enjoy the beautiful weather. I'm sure that all dancers will agree that the weather doesn't seem quite so beautiful when we have to dance in long-sleeved, heavy dresses. Well, the North American Feis Committee hasn't banned outdoor feiseanna between May and October, so what's a dancer to do?

Like just about all of the most common feis problems, this problem is usually preventable. Bring lots of water! At one August feis, I easily consumed almost two liters and was nicely cool throughout the day. Another tip I have picked up is to bring an umbrella. These easily portable items provide a cool shade, which is hard to come by at most feiseanna. Water and shade; that should do it, as long as you have plenty of both.
If you should feel dizzy, nauseous, or faint at any time, sit down and take that dress off, for heaven's sake! This is why I recommend always bringing a change of clothes. Many people, myself among them, wear tank tops under their dresses, allowing for brief cool-offs throughout the day. This also makes it easier and more discreet when you have to change in public. If you suffer from the above symptoms, drink even more water, and hold a cool compress to your head. I highly recommend brushing up on the facts about heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These should be basic safety knowledge.

A Bad Case of the Butterflies

You're about to go onstage, and suddenly your stomach starts doing back flips, your heart beats so loudly you're sure the judge can hear it, and you forget how to breathe. You've got stage fright! It can be triggered by fear of making a mistake, by fear of failure, by fear of your teacher sitting right in front of the stage, or by any number of things. The question is: How do you beat it?

Believe it or not, this problem can be avoided ahead of time in some cases. The week before the feis, if anxiety starts to set in, turn it into excitement by saying, "Oh, I can't wait! I'm so excited!" If you tell yourself that you're thrilled and that you'll do great, soon enough it will be true.

If you get an attack suddenly on the day of the feis, take deep breaths, smile, and laugh at yourself for getting so worked up over one feis. There's always another feis, after all. Of course, if you're about to retire and this is your last dance at the Worlds, then perhaps nervousness is appropriate. In any other case, just remember that it's supposed to be fun. Don't worry about nerves messing you up, either; sometimes adrenaline can give you an extra edge over the other dancers.

Oops!

You really blew it this time. Don't you know the difference between slip jig and light jig music? Don't you know your step well enough? Why did you mess up?

First off, let's hope that no one is ever mean enough to really say that to you! If you do mess up, just try to smile and laugh it off. If you can catch up and keep dancing, go ahead! If not, then bow, walk back to line, and try to look like you're amused rather than annoyed by your mistake.

Incoming!! Take Cover!

Oooh! I have a true story about this one. I was dancing the slip jig once with a girl who has really, really high kicks. I turned around and suddenly her foot was right in my face! I came thisclose to getting a swift kick in the face. Actually, less to my own credit, I ended up accidentally kicking her later on in the same dance. Oops! Who says Irish dancing isn't a contact sport?

So, what happens if you get kicked? Obviously, if your nose is streaming blood, then stop dancing. Duh. Aren't you glad I'm here to tell you these things? If you can keep going, then go ahead, and do try to avoid shooting dirty looks at your attacker. Chances are that he or she will rush up to you right after you come off stage and apologize profusely. Of course, if he or she doesn't even glance your way, then go ahead and glare.

Even worse, what if you kick or bump someone? I've done that quite a few times (all by accident, of course!). Grovel. It's your responsibility to your school to appear gracious and to engage in good sportsmanship. If you forget, then you and your school could gain a bad reputation before the awards are posted. Try to avoid contact with other dancers, just in general. Remember, if the other person can't see you, even if they do the bumping, the judge can blame you for not getting out of the way, and take off points.