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July, 1998
This month I don't have a feis. I just learned that I will be
moving into Open figures soon. That means that I will get a new
dress for figure dancing. I can't wait!
I have been practicing for the next feis on August 16. I'm pretty
nervous, because this will be my first time competing as a Novice.
Email me to wish me luck!
August 16,
1998
Well, this was a decent feis. I ended up getting a first in traditional
set, seconds in the reel, light jig, four-hand, and six-hand,
and fourths in the single jig and two-hand. One absolutely great
part of this feis was the fact that the venue was right on the
water! Nice, cool breezes prevailed all day long. However, this
was also bad. Everyone's curls were drooping! Another neat fact
of the Comortas an Chosta Oir feis was that the champions were
dancing indoors, so during some of my downtime, I was able to
watch some really, REALLY good dancers.
Thanks to all of you who wished me luck! I actually ended up
beating more than half of the other competitors for my slip jig.
I was pretty pleased with that, my first time in Novice and everything.
Well, I have another feis in just a few weeks, so keep the good
luck flowing!
September
7, 1998
Well, this was a REALLY
good feis! I got not one, not two, but FOUR first places! I'm
pretty darn stoked still. My first two firsts were in Beg. I
light jig and single jig. The feis committee had only posted
the reels when I first checked, so I was happy to see that I
tied for second. Then I saw my light jig and single jig! I was
glad, but not too excited. I also got a fourth in St. Patrick's
Day, which is sort of funny because I placed first in that last
time, but didn't have enough time to move up for this feis.
Next, I was on to my Beg. II dances. I totally and completely
messed up my hard jig. I did the first step all right, but then
I did two different second steps. The right foot was the one
I had meant to do, but the second, well, wasn't. I was still
kicking myself (haha, bad pun) over my hard jig during the hornpipe,
and I really don't remember anything else. I just assumed that
I hadn't even gotten anything in that. I didn't even want to
look at the results, but my mother went and looked anyway. She
said that I had gotten first! I was so happy! I still can't believe
it.
Then it was on to the figures. We didn't get anything in our
three-hand, dang it all, but we did come in first in four-hand
reel. I'm still not exactly sure how that happened, but if the
judge liked us, then I'm not going to argue.
On the whole, this was a very, very good feis. It was my best
yet. There were a few bad points about the feis itself. First
off, the feis was organized so that Novice and above danced today,
while beginners danced on Sunday. I only found this little fact
out on Friday, so we had to scurry around rearranging schedules
and hotel arrangements. Also, they only had two musicians, so
at least one stage was almost always idle. Finally, they didn't
give out trophies for first places. I know they don't give them
out for figures, but think how cool it would have been to come
home with three trophies! Oh well. My next feis isn't for quite
a while. It's on October 10-11, so I'll have a nice long break
in which to practice. Well, that's all for now.
September
25, 1998
This isn't a feis report,
technically, but it's still really, really exciting news! Today,
I went to my practice, same as always, and in the evening we
practiced figures with our teacher Claire. I danced in an eight-hand,
and since not all of the people who are in for the Oireachtas
come to practice regularly(grr), I am used to filling in for
absentees. I guess I should explain that it's sort of a running
Kelly School joke to ask who someone "is" when they
take a spot (i.e. if I take Jane Doe's spot, I am Jane Doe for
the day). So I asked Claire who I was, and she replied, "I
think you're yourself." I thought she was being sarcastic,
but then it dawned on me. I'm going to the Oireachtas!!!! I'm
so excited! This also means I have a real shot at being in my
school's choreography, which is a major big deal. I really need
to get that new school dress now. I am sublimely happy. I wouldn't
trade this feeling for a hundred calorie-free creme brulees.
Oct. 10, 1998
This was a really, really good feis for me. I still can't quite
believe it! True, the scheduling was the worst I have ever seen
in my entire feis history, but I'm not bothered by that anymore.
Why don't I end the suspense and give you the whole results first
and the details later? I just know that you're sitting on the
edge of your seat with excitement. :^) Here's the rundown:
Reel: 0 Light jig: 2nd Slip jig(novice): 1st!!!! Single jig:
4th Hard jig: 0 Hornpipe(novice): 3rd Traditional set: 1st 2-hand:
Honorable mention 3-hand: 0 4-hand: 1st
That's the short version; ready for more detail? I hope so, because
that's what you're about to get!
We got to the feis thinking that we were running late because
I was scheduled to dance in a half-hour, only to learn that I
had been rescheduled to 12:30, two and a half hours later. We
waited and waited and waited some more, then I danced about two
hours after I was scheduled to dance. I did figures, which went
all right except for the fact that one of the members of my three-hand
went through the other team. Oops! After figures, I waited still
more. One minor point of interest: during this waiting period,
I nearly fainted. I was so hot or tired that I got all dizzy
and I had to put my head between my knees. I've never understood
how or why that works, but it seemed pretty effective.
Next were solos! I had been steeling myself against disappointment,
since this would be my first time competing against all beg.
2's or above, but I did pretty well. The hard shoe dances were
confusing because they were letting even us lowly beginners choose
between slow and fast music, probably because novices were on
at the same time. The hard jig music was soooo much faster than
I'm used to! After beginner two, I zipped over to stage B for
my novice slip jig and hornpipe. I kicked the stage divider on
the slip jig, and I slightly messed up my step, but the judge
either didn't notice or didn't care. I had to dance by myself
for the hornpipe! I was missing beats right and left, too. After
my last two dances, I waited for the last time of that feis for
the results. I nearly fainted dead away (for the second time)
when I saw my number in the first place column! How on earth
could that be? I'm guessing dumb luck, plus the fact that I did
a beginner two step intead of the novice ones. A simple step
done well, as my teacher always says!
To sum up, this was the best feis I have ever had. I especially
liked the fact that we had a quintet of musicians for our figures--accordion,
banjo, guitar, fiddle, and piano. I must also mention the fact
that I have never seen a feis more behind schedule, but, hey,
if this feis liked me, then who am I to complain?
The Oireachtas!!!
This whole thing was kind of an anticlimax after the months of
practicing. FYI, I didn't get on to my school's choreography.
Anyway, I curled my hair the day before like always and tried
to sleep. The next morning, my mom and I got up, packed up my
brand new school dress, and headed out to Glendale.
When we arrived, my mom paid for entrance and we wandered around
aimlessly until we saw a Kelly School mom, who kindly pointed
us in the direction of the Kelly School hotel suite. Ooh! This
was starting to look fun! We tramped upstairs and set our stuff
down in the room. My mom took out my hair (and some curlers with
it) and I got dressed. Both of the U13 ceili teams fit in that
room, plus parents, siblings, and a really low chandelier. Claire
or Carol--I forget which--galvanized us into a practice session,
in which several people nearly bashed their heads on that low
chandelier. Then, the whole room emptied as we all left to go
compete.
Well, what can I say? I came, I danced my dance, I left. Nothing
particularly interesting happened during the dance. The other
team from my school got fifth, I think. At least I've been to
the Oireachtas, right? I had a good time.
Dec. 12-13,
1998
This feis was my first out-of-state one. I was kind of disappointed
in my performance, but maybe it was a necessary kick in the ego.
My mother, my little brother, my friend, her mother, and I all
flew out together. Man, if you think spike curlers are embarrassing
just driving to a feis, try going to an airport in them! We got
to Arizona a few hours later. The flight wasn't too bad, as flights
go.
We checked into our hotel (I love hotels!) and drifted off. The
next day dawned bright, clear, and COLD as anything! Brrrrr!
We could see steam rising from the pool! The venue was pretty
nice, and the whole atmosphere of the feis was very friendly.
We separated my curls for the first time at this feis, and I
liked the way they turned out. I did my beginner 2 dances on
Saturday--reel, light lig, single jig, and hard jig. I didn't
really do spectacularly, with a third in my reel (though I didn't
know about that until I got the points a month or two later),
a second in light jig, a third in the single jig, and nothing
in my hard jig. I was pretty bummed. We returned to the hotel,
ate some Marie Callendar's pie (chocolate satin, mmmm...), and
went back to sleep.
I didn't fare much better the second day, with a third in my
hornpipe, nothing in my set, and a fourth in my two-hand (out
of four) and second in three-hand (out of two). So, better luck
next time!