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Feis Rince
Conejo Valley
Feb. 27-28, 1999
I liked this feis! The first
day wasn't great though. I did only my reel, light jig, single
jig, and double jig in Beg. 2. I was kind of disappointed to
find that I had only placed in my reel (2nd). At least I made
novice in my reel. I returned home, tired and ever-so-slightly
bitter, but determined not to let my disappointment affect the
next day.
I really like the very beginning of second days at feiseanna.
They're so much saner than the first day. Anyway, this day started
off well. I strapped on my hard shoes for my novice hornpipe
and traditional set. I was one of only two to perform the fast
hornpipe, so that was a little disconcerting. Then I danced the
Blackbird--alone! I like dancing alone, because then the judge
watches only you, but if you mess up while dancing alone, there's
no chance of covering it up. Anyway, two of my teachers came
to watch me dance this one, which was very nice since I was the
only one from my school in the room and there were about seven
all dancing downstairs! I thought I had done pretty well, until
one of them came up to me after to ask if I had died at the end.
Thanks for the morale boost! I ended up getting first in that
anyway. Wow! Prizewinner! I was so thrilled. I got second in
my prizewinner slip jig, too. I continued my ten-month streak
by getting nothing in the slip jig special. I got a few medals
in figures, too. All in all, a VERY good feis!
Feile Na Casca (Wild West Feis)
April 24-25, 1999
Yet ANOTHER good feis! The first
day, I danced my light jig, single jig, and double jig in Beg.
2 (those darn jigs!). I was relatively optimistic about the two
soft shoes. I was convinced I hadn't gotten anything in my double
jig, though, because I wasn't prepared for such fast music, and
also because I had a horrendous blister on my heel from borrowed
shoes (long story). I didn't get anything in my light jig, but
placed second in my single jig and my double jig! I was really
surprised. My teacher will move me up to novice in those three
dances, because it would be silly to show up at a feis for just
one dance when I'd be going the second day anyway. I strolled
around, bought the 25th Anniversary Worlds video--very awesome--and
then moseyed on home.
The next day started out peaceful and calm, as with most second-day
mornings. Except for a heart-stopping dash back to the car to
search for my number! After that was resolved, I danced my novice
reel and hornpipe. Nothing particularly notable happened, except
for that nasty blister feeling like a badger chewing on my heel.
I was happy to see that I got fourth in my reel and second in
my hornpipe. The prizewinner slip jig and traditional set came
next for me. The slip jig passed without much worth noting, but
the Blackbird was incredibly painful. Just as I started the dance.
I felt the blister rip. The rest of the dance hurt so badly!
As I mentioned, I was dancing in borrowed shoes (not the ones
that gave me a blister), so I slipped twice--not badly enough
to fall, but just enough to shake my concentration. I finished
the dance, though, and hobbled off. I was ready to cry when I
came off stage. The judge smiled at me when I was back in line,
though, so not all hope was lost. I changed into my school dress
and danced the slip jig special. I ate lunch, then came back
to check the awards. I nearly fainted dead away when I saw that
I had gotten first in my set! I couldn't believe it! As an odd
coincidence, a friend of mine who was dancing the Blackbird as
a prizewinner at the exact same time as me, but on another stage,
also won first. I also got third in my slip jig. Plus, I broke
my five-feis losing streak with a second in the slip jig special.
Figures went pretty well too. My teams tied for third in the
2-hand, got second in the 3H (3-hand), 1st in the 4H despite
a couple mistakes, 1st out of two in the 6H, and 2nd out of two
in the 8H. We night have placed better in the 8H if we had told
the judge we were dancing the High Caul Cap instead of the eight-hand
reel. She called us over to her table afterwards and explained
the problem. I felt pretty sheepish! The feis people were nice
enough to give us medals for the 8H anyway. Thanks, Celtic Gold
Academy!
May 15, 1999
Today, I got my new solo dress.
I'm so excited! I love it. Please keep in mind that most solo
dresses sound horrible when being described, but mine is very
nice. Or at least, I think so!
It's dark blue velvet with a silver lining, so I'm a cloud (every
cloud has a silver lining, get it? ha ha ha). It has dark pink,
blue, and silver appliques edged in silver embroidery. The inverted
pleat is the same dark pink as the appliques, as are the edge
of the mandarin collar and the edges of the cuffs. The embroidery
is blue, bright green, yellow, dark pink, and silver. It also
has 132 crystals (I counted!). As soon as I can, I promise to
scan a picture on.
Feis at the
Fair
June 20, 1999
This was a pretty good feis for
me. It was HOT and tiring, though. I showed up at the feis at
about 9:00 A.M. I did my figures first, then I changed out of
my dress to wait for a few hours. We did pretty well for figures.
We got a 2nd in our 2H (out of fourteen--big feis!) and 1st in
our 3H. My partners and I were pretty excited about that. We
also got 3rd in our 4H and 2nd in our 6H. So, as I said, I changed
out of my dress and waited. Then I waited some more. In fact,
I waited through all of the Preliminary and Open solos, then
through the Beginner 1 and 2 solos for a few different age groups.
Finally, I put on my new solo dress and headed backstage to check
in.
I really liked the judge for my first few novice dances. I wish
I knew her name. She was smiling at all of us, and really seemed
to enjoy the dancing. I wasn't really paying attention in line,
so I stepped after the pair before me had finished instead of
eight bars before then. After light jig, I switched to the stage
right next to me for my prizewinner slip jig. Then I switched
back for single jig and such. I messed up on my hard jig! I tripped
a little and got a bit off time, so I had to make something up
to fit the music. I was able to do it again on the left foot,
though, so it was all right. Novice hornpipe and prizewinner
set passed fairly uneventfully, then I danced the slip jig special.
So, the moment you've all been waiting for: how did I do? Well,
I got third in the special, and **first** in my reel, runner-up
in the light jig and hornpipe, and first again in my traditional
set.
A good feis. Better than the last one, actually. I feel bad for
the people who weren't able to sit under the canopy provided--they
must have been roasting! The feis was part of a large fair, so
I was able to wander around during the hours off. I had a lot
of fun.
California
Irish Feis & Festival
July 25, 1999
Another good feis. This one was
actually kind of odd, because I didn't get many medals in solos,
but hey! Quality is more important than quantity, right? This
feis had one major, major benefit: it had the most beautiful
venue ever! The venue was basically a really big, really nice
backyard of the Brothers of St. Patrick. It had all these beautiful
trees and grass. It wasn't too hot for an outdoors July feis,
either.
As usual, I was in a panic as we walked in to the venue because
I thought I would miss my dances, but also as usual, the feis
was a bit behind, so I was just fine. In fact, I was one of the
first Kelly Schoolers there. I killed time walking around looking
at vendors' booths. Then I went back to my seat and my mom fixed
my hair up. I didn't like the fact that I had to dash between
stages so many times, because the novice and prizewinner categories
were on at the same time. I fell pretty hard during my hornpipe.
It was funny, because I wasn't hurt, but everyone was all concerned
for me. I didn't get anything in my hornpipe. Then I fell AGAIN
in my set! I didn't fall as hard this time, though. I didn't
get anything in that, either. In fact, the only things I got
in solos were a 2nd in my prizewinner slip jig, a 1st in my novice
double jig, and a third in the slip jig special. I was still
pretty happy, though. We also got a 3rd in the 2H, 2nd in the
3H and 4H, and 1st in the 8H (we were the only team). On the
whole, a good feis.
Comortas an
Chosta Oir
August 14-15, 1999
This wasn't a bad feis. It wasn't
really great, but it wasn't too bad. I had to dance both days,
because figures were on Saturday. I didn't like that. In fact,
I've decided that if it's set up the same way next year, I'm
going to skip figures. We didn't do too badly in figures though:
4th in the 2H and 3rd in the 3H. I retreated to the hotel room
for the night after that.
The next morning started off chilly and cloudy. I walked over
to the site of the feis and hung around for a while. Just when
the group that danced before me was about to wrap up, all my
dances had to be moved and rescheduled because of a judge shortage.
Apparently one judge had to leave early for some reason. So I
went to my new stage and waited some more. Finally, the group
just ahead of me stopped dancing, and I was ready to go, stretched,
dressed, and everything. Lunch break was announced. Auuugh! A
one-hour break was taken. At the end of the break, a twenty-minute
break was announced. Then, I got to dance.
Most of my dances went off without a hitch. I made a ever-so-slight
mistake in my single jig when I did two different steps in the
lead-around. Hmmm. Didn't get anything in that dance! Also, since
we were dancing right by a harbor, there was a stiff breeze in
the afternoon. This made my shawl blow off during my novice hard
jig! Now, I know you're just supposed to keep dancing, but the
shawl knocked me off balance, and I messed up. So I just bowed
and walked back to the line. Oh, well! I'd already made prizewinner
in that dance at the last feis, so I'll be moved up at the next
feis anyway. I didn't dance prizewinner this feis because the
entries had already gone in by the time I won.
In the end, I got seconds in my prizewinner reel, slip jig, and
traditional set (that good old Blackbird!) and a fourth in my
novice hornpipe. Not phenomenal, but nothing to scoff at, either.
Theresa's learning experience for this feis is: Do NOT get stressed
out over winning in one dance! I had really psyched myself out
about winning in my hornpipe, since it's my last major dance
in novice. Trust me, it didn't help. My friend told me that I
looked about scared to death when I walked onstage for my hornpipe.
I'm guessing that didn't help my standings! Just don't pin your
hopes and anxiety on one dance.
Hidden Valley
Feis
San Diego, Sept. 6, 1999
I LIKE San Diego! This feis in
particular has always been one of my favorites. I danced on a
Monday, which is always kind of odd. I showed up at the hotel
at about 9:00 or 9:30 and started to dance at about 10:30. First,
I almost missed my slip jig special, but I was able to hop on
the stage last minute and dance anyway. I hadn't warmed up yet,
so I felt like I hadn't done very well. Next I danced figures.
I performed the 2H, 3H, 4H and 8H. Just before the 3H, my partners
and I had a heart-stopping debate as to which step we should
do, a newer one or an old one. The rest passed fairly uneventfully.
After figures, I found out that I had gotten a third in the slip
jig special! I was happy. The first award I receive at a feis
is always a relief, because then I know I won't go home totally
empty-handed.
The organization of this feis was inconvenient for me personally,
because I had to run from stage C to stage A or vice versa between
EVERY solo dance! That's because my novice light jig, single
jig, and hornpipe were on stage A, and prizewinner reel, slip
jig, double jig, and traditional set were on stage C. Urrghh!
I know that it's hard to run a feis, which this school was doing
very efficiently, but the room was quite crowded and I had to
run back and forth in a very, very short amount of time. Oh,
well!
My reel and light jig went fairly smoothly, but during my slip
jig, I almost got kicked in the face by the girl I was dancing
with. She has these incredibly high kicks, and I happened to
be in the way of one of them. At the very end of the dance, though,
we broke even when I accidentally kicked her hard right in the
back of the leg. (I'm still sorry, Liz!) My single jig was all
right (I HATE that dance!) and my double jig went off fairly
well, although I didn't feel like the judge was watching me much.
Then I was off to do my hornpipe and set, which were pretty much
uneventful.
I changed out of my solo dress and went to check my scores. My
figures, and soft shoe dances had been posted. We got 3rd in
the 2H, nothing in the 3H (we should have done the older step!),
3rd in the 4H, and 2nd in the 8H. Not bad, eh? Then, I found
out that I had gotten FIRST in my prizewinner reel! I was so
thrilled! I also placed fourth in novice light jig and prizewinner
slip jig, and second in my favorite (ha, ha), the single jig.
I went and took a lunch break, planning to check my hard shoe
dances after lunch.
When I got back, I saw that I had gotten another first in the
prizewinner double jig! I couldn't believe it! Moving on, I came
first again in the novice hornpipe! That really meant a lot to
me, because it was my last major dance in novice. It's pretty
funny, because if you look back to this feis last year, you'll
see that I moved up to novice then. So it took me a year to move
this dance up. I was so happy, because I had really been stressed
about winning in it at the last feis. I didn't, but I did win
now, when I wasn't stressed out. The moral of the story is not
to let all your concern lie in one dance. I also got a second
in prizewinner set.
I probably will be dancing at the Oireachtas in November. If
any of you are going to the Western Region's Oireachtas, or if
you just want to wish me luck (not that I'm planning or hoping
to place), drop me a line!
Pride of Erin
Feis
Oct. 11, 1999
Okay, I know that I was a bit
late posting this one (almost a month!) but I take longer at
posting feiseanna that weren't so great. Hint, hint.
I got to the feis, waited around a long time, and then danced.
Then I waited a long time again. It was crowded, hot, and noisy
in the room. I actually ended dancing at 8:45 at night! I was
so exhausted! I didn't leave until about 9:30, what with waiting
for awards and such. I think I got third in the reel, fourth
in light jig, fourth in slip jig, third in single jig, third
in double jig, third in hornpipe, and third in the slip jig special.
Not bad, but I had kind of hoped to finish off the year with
a bang, especially since I might start in preliminary next year.
I was a bit disappointed with my double jig, since I felt like
I danced it really well and my mom said it looked really good.
I was amazed that I got anything at all in my hornpipe, since
I was just about dead tired when I danced it.
So then my mom and I drove home. We didn't get home until midnight,
and I was so, so tired! My mom says that I said some very odd
things while I was drifting in and out of sleep on the way home.
Hmmmm....
Western U.S.
Oireachtas, 1999
Seattle, Washington, Nov. 21
Well, there's not really much
to say here. I came, I danced, I left. I did not get a recall,
so I was a little disappointed about that, but it was only my
first year, so I wasn't too downcast. I saw a lot of really,
really good dancers, which was really cool. I also saw some blinding
solo dresses. Do they get brighter and brighter, or is it just
me?
Probably the most disappointing thing about the whole experience
was the fact that I knew I didn't dance very well. If I had done
my best, then I think I would have been happier, even if I still
didn't get a recall. I just didn't dance well. Bummer, huh? Oh
well. Next year, the Oireachtas are in San Diego, so I won't
have to fly. I'd better start practicing!
McElligott
Christmas Feis
Phoenix, AZ--Dec. 12, 1999
This was a really fun feis. Just
the whole place had this great friendly environment, which was
pretty refreshing after the somewhat cutthroat air of the Oireachtas.
This was my first time in preliminary championships, so I was
pretty excited. I ended up getting fifth in my hornpipe, which
was pretty nice, and fifth in the treble reel special, which
was really, really great, and fifth in the championship, which
was just incredible!
I hadn't been expecting anything at all in the special or the
championship, which explains why I was so thrilled. The special
was combined preliminary and open, so I was very, very happy
that I placed. I was just thrilled to be called up on stage to
receive a trophy for my first time in preliminary! I'll admit,
it was a bit intense to be up onstage all alone with three judges
for my set, but I pulled through. I felt really bad for a friend
of mine, though--he was against me in the championship, and I
thought he was dancing really well...until his shoe came off
at the end of his set! It was his first time in preliminary,
too. Oh well! At least he doesn't have to worry anymore, because
he's had just about the worst thing possible happen, short of
breaking a leg.
On the whole, I just had a really great time!