Yeek!  So the holidays and visiting friends has made my posts scattered this month.  I would love to return to a sense of normalcy, but December isn’t exactly the most stable month of the year either.  I’ll try though…not that it matters to anyone else, but I get annoyed when I’m spastic because that’s my natural tendency and I struggle with consistency in…well, life, so it’s something I try to work on for myself.  I’ve got a new bunch of new DVD’s on reserve at the library (I also caved and bought the Royal Ballet’s new production of Manon on DVD so that should be arriving any day now…Rojo save us!), but I’m actually in the mood for a music post today.

I’d like to highlight a duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela.  If you follow me on twitter, they are the only group I ever tweet for musicmondays, mostly because I’m pretty sure the majority of people wouldn’t be amused by a tweet like “Leonard Bernstein, Jeremiah Symphony! #musicmonday” or “Emil von Sauer, Piano Concerto no.1 KICKS ASS #musicmonday” and anything remotely recent I listen to people already know about.  But Rodrigo y Gabriela are somewhat obscure, but have a sound most people would enjoy, and as a result they’re gaining popularity in mainstream American media with appearances on late night talk shows and the like (like all good things, Europe appreciated them first).  I however, have been a fan for five or six years now, since the release of Re-Foc, the rerelease of their first album Foc.  I know what you’re thinking…and yes I have impeccable taste, but that’s beside the point.  The duo is lead by Rodrigo Sánchez on lead guitar and Gabriela Quintero on the rhythm guitar (with the occasional guest on another instrument).  They have sort of a flamenco-ish style with latin rhythms and are AMAZING.  I can’t tell you how obsessively I listen to their albums, and they do a fantastic job of having their own, original style, performing compositions they wrote themselves as well as covers.

It was funny looking for dances to their music because there wasn’t very much, but what did turn up was eclectic to say the least.  Who could have envisioned this music would be used for Irish stepdance, breakdance and…jazz/lyrical/modern?  (I hate to say “contemporary” because that was kind of coined by SYTYCD, so I’ll call it “jalyrimo.”)  It’s an odd assortment of styles, but I love to see that because I think it speaks volumes as to the universal appeal of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s music.  Weird, maybe…but it’s incredulously wonderful that so many people have been inspired by them in their own way, and translated that inspiration into their own language of dance.  It’s also great because it breaks this image that Irish dance has to be to Irish music, or that break dance has to be to hip hop, etc.  I don’t think jalyrimo should be one of the select dance forms that’s allowed to experiment with different musical genres.

Without further ado, we have a piece titled Chorine, choreographed by Nicholas Yenson for a BA exam at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (sounds prestigious to me!).  The piece is danced to Diem, which coincidentally is my favorite track from Re-Foc.  There’s a break in the middle of the song where it just gets in your face and the rhythm is so heavy it’s like you can feel your heart matching the beat.  It is literally impossible to walk while listening to this song on your ipod and not have this insatiable urge to move, and especially at that big feature moment (which is where Yenson performs his solo).  If you don’t have that urge…well, there’s probably something wrong with you.  I can’t really comment on the dance itself, because I don’t really know anything about Irish dance (I have seen Riverdance live though…that was a thrill!), but nonetheless I really enjoyed the performance, so bravo!

Next is another dance form I really can’t (and shouldn’t comment on) which is break dance, set to Diablo Rojo from Rodrigo y Gabriela’s self-titled album.  Double-coincidentally, Diablo Rojo happens to be my favorite track from the second album, with Juan Loco in a close second.  I like the driving, fast and furious music, although it should be known that they do great slower, sort of loungey music as well that’s great to relax to.  You definitely get your money’s worth with a purchase of any of their albums.  Breakdance to Diablo Rojo was actually a really big (and pleasant) surprise for me because it was really unexpected.  The piece (no title as far as I can tell) was performed by the break dance club of Leeds University, for an annual dance show they put on towards the end of the year.  From what I can gather, there are other student clubs including a Modern Dance Society that offer dance classes and then put on an annual show.  I don’t know whether Leeds has a dance department or not (it appears they do), but I’m very impressed that student run organizations put together an annual show and surely have lighting/tech rehearsals, costuming and the like.  Anyway, breakdance isn’t exactly my favorite genre (it’s not that I hate it, it’s just not my thing) but this piece actually gets my “pick of the day” seal of approval, for choosing unconventional music for breaking.  It was fun to watch!

Last is jalyrimo, one of them being a complete piece and the other being just some rough phrases, both set to Orion (a Metallica cover), also from the self-titled album.  Orion doesn’t have as much pace as Diem or Diablo Rojo, and is a little more steady and loose which aptly fits the jalyrimo style.  I’m not surprised two choreographers decided to pick the same song, and I’m sure they wouldn’t be either.  The staged performance, Subito, poco a poco, choreographed by Cara Scrementi appears to be at one of the Loyola Universities, so Rodrigo y Gabriela’s music is making its way into the American dance scene.  In Subito, the choreographer intended to include movements that looked like they were being controlled by external forces, which really came through about a 1:20 in, where there these hunched over leg kicks that flick out of nowhere.  Complete opposite from the whooshy, lifted grand battement of ballet.  I think the piece could have been a little more daring if the intent was to “take control of forced movement,” like there’s a part in the middle where the dancers are doing turning leaps into rolls on the ground in a circle, and it seemed a little too geometric to me.  I think the fact that the exact same phrase was repeated in the opposite direction is what made it so mathematical, and I found myself craving a little spontanaeity.  Nevertheless, excellent work.

Rodrigo y Gabriela’s latest album, 11:11 was just released this autumn so it would be unreasonable to expect a dance to any of the tracks already, but I hope we see more in the future.  The concept behind the album is really cool, as each track is specifically dedicated to a musical artist that inspired them.  My favorites include Hanuman (dedicated to Carlos Santana), Buster Voodoo (dedicated to Jimi Hendrix), Triveni (dedicated to Le Trio Joubran), Savitri (dedicated to John McLaughlin),  Hora Zero (dedicated to Astor Piazzolla) and Atman (dedicated to Dimebag Derrell).  I’ve got a lot of favorites on this album, and in my humble opinion it’s their best work yet, with amazing potential for great dances.  A lot of their songs in this album have some bite to them, so choreographers who want something with an edge to it, get on this!  The whole thing is so damn good, that I must insit on  HIGHLY recommending it.  If there were a term that was above “highly recommended” but just short of “mandatory” while still being suggestive with urgency, that’s the word I would use.

If utter exhaustion had a name, it would be Russell Patrick Brown 5:45 AM Sunday.  I woke up yesterday at 8:30 because I’m such a spaz and got ready for my day (I was scheduled to sleep until 10:30, but the barking dog next door that I’m going to kill someday altered those plans).  I then proceeded to squeeze in a quick half-hour all-around workout, buy a present, go to a rehearsal, buy costume stuff and eat, rehearse a great but occasionally unfocused group of Irish dancers and musicians again, return some costume items and then do the actual performance.

If that wasn’t exhausting enough I was treated to a 9 pm to 4 am shift cocktailing beverages to the tweeked homos at Therapy.  This programming was brought to me by my fellow lazy (I’m guilty of same) co-workers who would sooner fist a hippo than work my Saturday shift for me when I’m in need.  This was further made enjoyable by the MTA (Motherfucking Transit Assholes) as they decided at the last minute to cut off uptown local service on the subways.  Well!  I wish I could say it is all made better by my boyfriend sleeping at home whom I could have hot quick (no foreplay tiddlywinks with) sex with and then pass out in his arms.  But no, I cannot say that as I have been single for four year.

I’m thinking what else I can bitch about before I get all positive and sunshine and puppy dogs on ya.  OH!  Hmm.  There’s something…. I know it  OH!  I remember.  My unpleasant experience in the subway was graced by an incredibly hoit guy (who was talking to himself but I pretended not to notice) who I thought was interested in hot anonymous, casual sex but then seemed not to be.  Okay.  Enough of that shit.

It was a cool day in that I was excited to wake up, have rehearsals for this piece I put together, play the harp on the fucking stage (woohoo!) and finally perform with my cool friends in my bad ass outfit.  I really, really love the work I’ve done with Irish/modern dance, costumes music and storytelling.  I’m so fucking excited to be sharing it all with you.  The performance turned out really well thanks to the awesomeness of everyone involved and it has prepared me so damn well to create more.  I learned soooo much (not that the piece blows or anything) and I know how to tell a better story and rehearse it better etc.  Make it even cooler is finding out so many of you have been visiting and reading this blog.  Thank you so much.

At the end of this jaberwocky of a 21.5 hour day, I’m looking back going “I’m so incredibly strong, I have great friends and I’m so fucking glad I’m doing this now and not when I’m forty.”

When talking with my friend Heidi after rehearsal, she was like, “you know you’re in the New York Post right?”  And I’m like, “that’s an odd thing to joke about.”  Well, I was quite shocked to find out she Googled me and found out that I was reviewed by the New York Post as part of my performance at Earl Dax’s Dixon Place.  Woohoo!

Here the quote: “But what won me over is the fact that the evening started with an Irish dance by Russell Brown wearing a beautiful skirt. It was completely unexpected in that context, which really gave it a special kick, so to speak.”

Here’s the rest of the review by Elisabeth Vincentelli
http://www.nypost.com/p/hot_front_2GyzOkxYTVOOxhyha2UAoM

Damn!  That made my day.  Even if she said “skirt” instead of kilt.  It’s not the New York Times, but it’s not the Gotham Gazette either. When Heidi told me she said it in a way to be like “hey, I don’t want to blow up your ego.” And I was like “please go ahead, I have none!  That’s why I practically bit off the head of my date tonight when we started talking about theater.” Thanks Heidi!

My first official performance as a bard is this weekend.  I’m quite excited about it.  This performance qualifies as bardism because I will be playing the harp, dancing and sharing the very human and inspiring story of St. Patrick.  This all with the purpose of providing a unique artistic spiritual experience.  At the moment however I am a wreck.

This week I have barely been making it to the gym, my diet has gone down more than my grandmother’s tits and I’m staying up until 9 am.  I also am feeling the joyful feelings of inadequacy that come with not being able to pay my own bills.  Which gets me in a “negative” state where I want to walk up to anybody who lives on the upper east side and declare they are a greedy asshole who should invest and spend more money (since clearly I have no money) to get the economy moving.

This, I’m well aware, is all erroneous thinking, but it still is how I feel today.  So, I have to take a big forgiveness pill and tell myself over and over again “I forgive myself unconditionally, I forgive myself unconditionally, I forgive myself unconditionally” and “why is the smell of my roommate’s latest excursion to the toilet wafting all the way down the hall into my room?”

Do you ever just get so angry it feels like there’s never enough money?  Yes I know all about gratitude and I wholeheartedly agree that it works wonders.  However.  Don’t you still have times where you think, why the fuck don’t I have any money?!?!  Well, I have woken up to the fact that most people (including the very wealthy) are all thinking that right now.  We’re all walking around with big WTF’s stamped on our wallets.  I’m gonna write a song about that.  I probably already have.  Anyway, we need some catharsis and a re-direction towards prosperous thinking.

I was reminded though that I don’t have it that bad when, after hooking up with this guy I had an extraordinarily odd date with, I walk past his doorman and I hear him saying “Yeah, I make $6.90/hour.  It’s not bad, but I think I can do more.”  OMG.  I’m such a shit.  I make at least four times that an hour.  I also work a lot harder with my job than he does, however, I still make a lot more money than he does.  And on top of that as I’m walking on my way home I take a breath and actually notice how fucking amazing central park looks with the changing leaves, the rising sun and the soft spooge-like dew all over the ground.  Yes, it’s not all that bad and besides, my financial situation IS improving.  I’m paying off my debt.  That shit’s gonna be gone in two years.  Take a breath.  And any remaining frustration is funneled into a tube to my motivation fuel tank (hence the blogging at 7:30 in the morning).

For me, that’s one of the best ways to get on track. I use my frustration to get what I really want.  When I have to deal with some bullshit or another at work, a little voice inside me says “you are not doing this forever, don’t think about fixing them, think about fixing yourself and using that to achieve your dreams…”  Well, it doesn’t make you feel vindicated, but it, ultimately, the more you do it, honestly makes you happier.  And I’d rather be happy than right sometimes.  You know?  Yeah, that asshole may have ripped you off, but if you let him keep you down his damage has just spread much farther.  Don’t let the Nothing (from the Neverending Story) spread!!  Damage control and refocus.  I do it again and again.  Hrrm….

Well, this performance this weekend is a bit of Godsend, however I ain’t getting paid squat.  No one in this is and sometimes, for me, when I’m doing shit for free I say to myself, “the idea is to move ahead here Russell…. If you’re performing for free, you’re clearly not doing anything that’s worth much….”  I let it go and say forget it because it’s not all true, but I think you can sympathize with my feelings of career stagnation.

That said, this is my first outing as a bard!  I wrote this cool script about St. Patrick after reading “How the Irish Saved Civilization”.  He details how the scribes and monks of the Christian arrival in Ireland (led in the beginning by Patrick) brought literacy and learning to Ireland.  Not only was that obviously a good thing, they did so just as books and libraries were being destroyed in the Roman Empire as it fell to the Goths and Vandals.  The Irish in turn saved thousands of texts from being lost.  So, I put together this six minute performance mixing this compelling tale with Irish dance, music and harp fierceness.  I’m delighted.

We’re doing it at the Catholic church, which is very meaningful to me as my place to debut my new work.  However, I’ve had some very odd flashbacks to when I was raised Catholic, which fortunately is no longer an upsetting memory.  I understand where the Catholic church is coming from and I forgive them for getting lots of stuff wrong (especially the whole gays are gonna burn in hell thing).

In one particular instance though I had such a relief that I was no longer under those chains of fearful obedience.  Right after we finished rehearsing my friend Heidi was talking to this woman who was coming in to teach a dance class.  Heidi told me she was gonna head to a pub and have a drink and I was like “cool, have a good time, I’m not going to go because I don’t want to get wasted tonight.”  Then this woman turns to me and says “drunkenness is a sin.”  And I’m like “so is being a self-righteous bitch”.  For Christ’s sake.  I mean really.  A sin?  What the fuck is a sin, people?   Think about it. The only things I would consider sins in this world is the lack of respect people have for their Godness that is within them and in others (which usually stems from the former).  Drinking Bailey’s on the rocks in a sports bar at ten o’clock on a Thursday until you’re three sheets to the wind is not a sin.  It’s desperation.  j/k.

Anyway, I’m having fun with the crazy Jesus people and am always delighted to see that we have more in common than not.  And Saturday I transform on stage to fierce bard.  Woohoo!

7th in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

I’m expecting a good tax return this year, and my last child (the youngest of three) is graduating high school in June and moving in with friends. Just a few short months from now I’ll be an empty nester, so it’s finally time for me to turn my attention back to my beloved instrument collection.

I have a few instruments that I’m looking to upgrade, and I’m thinking about taking up something new in 2010.

But where to start? Which of my well-used instruments should I update next… my piano accordion, bodhran, or high whistle? All three have seen heavy use over the years and I’d like to upgrade – particularly the Bodhran. I’m currently playing a tuneable Claddagh Bodhran from Michael Vignoles, and I’d like to pass that instrument on to my daughter who also plays. I have my eye on either a beautiful custom deep-rim Metloef, or another drum from Albert Alfonso.

I’m currently playing Michael Burkes’ whistles, and I’m very happy with them… they’re exceptional instruments in every way. But I’m in the market for a vintage O’Riordan if I can ever find one – an O’Riordan D/C set is at the very top of my wish list, and has been for years now. The last one that I saw auctioned off on Ebay some months ago went for quite a tidy sum. The competition for O’Riordans is ferocious when they come up for sale. If I can’t find an O’Riordan, then I may eventually decide to try out a Copeland high D.

I own three accordions: a vintage 120 bass Paolo Soprani, a vintage 48 bass Hohner, and a bright red 12 bass Parrot. The little Parrot has surprisingly become my favorite accordion for our weekly sessions – it’s the perfect size for the type of music that I play, and it fits nicely into a gig bag that I strap onto my back and take to the dances and festivals over the summer. My Parrot is becoming a bit worn from use, however, so I’m going to see if I can find a good quality 12-bass European instrument to replace it.

I’m currently learning the fiddle, but I’m going to stick to a low end instrument for a while until my play improves. When it finally does, I won’t be buying a high end instrument – my mother was a violin player, and I’m going to have her instrument restored.

I’m also in the mood to pick up something new this year. I’ve tried both the flute and low whistle, and they’re just not my cup of tea… should I try the acoustic guitar, concertina or Irish buttonbox, perhaps?

The bagpipes are an instrument that you either love, or hate. I personally have a deep love for the pipes, it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to learn how to play them and I’ve been seriously considering the possibility of taking up the Uilleanns for a couple of years now. The endeavor would require the purchase of a good used set of pipes and a few beginner lessons from an expert, but it would be worth every penny to have good training on the Uilleanns and learn how to play them the right way.

Here’s a beautiful video of Davy Spillane playing the Uilleann pipes.

When you’re a musician the instruments that you select to practice your craft have to be chosen with great care, as they will surely become your closest and most intimate friends over the years. I’m not sure which instruments I’ll select, but I do intend to take my time and make quality choices. With my children grown and out on their own, it’s time for me to turn my full attention back to my dancing and music… two of my greatest joys in life. And when it comes to selecting my instrumental companions for that journey, only the best is going to do.

6th in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

5th in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

4th in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

I know many of you took piano lessons at some point in your life.  You went to one lesson a week or month, right?  What did you do on the other days where you were not at a lesson.

I didn’t practice either… see how well I play the piano?  I had enough natural pitch and rhythm and sight-reading to maybe convince my teacher I had thought about practicing during the week.  I’m sure I wasn’t her star pupil.  And after all the battles over practicing, my mom let me quit.  To this day I kind of blame her for it.  I wish I could play well.  But she was not about to waste the money on lessons, gas to drive there, and music to purchase without my holding up the end of the bargain.

Why is it that Dancers think that they can improve by just going to class?

Practice makes perfect, right?  It is SOOOO frustrating when we work together on a piece of your reel, we finally make some technical progress, and I’m excited for your breakthrough.  Then next week, you dance your reel, and ta-da! It was just like it was at the beginning of class last time.  You didn’t even think about what we had worked on, much less actually practiced it.  So we start over.  You think class is boring, I think you don’t listen to me.

The Solution?

Say it with me… Prac-tice.  Good!  Again.  Practice.  And louder.  PRACTICE!

And I don’t mean kick off your shoes, run through your reel and one step of your Hornpipe during the commercial break of ‘So you think you can dance’.  I also don’t mean turn on Lord of the Dance and learn the routines.  I also don’t mean work on the Slip Jig of your buddy who is already in Champs and has new steps that you like.

Practice is having a big enough space to work, free from the TV, facebook or your cell phone.  Practice is having your dance shoes on.  Practice is a 10 minute warmup, drills like we do in class, isolated practice of sticky spots and what your teacher worked with you on last class, Feis Runthroughs, Endurance Reps (the dance twice without a break), Video Taping and reviewing, One Dance in Depth, and 10 minutes of cooldown and stretching.

Just think…

Beginner+ 20 minutes of practice a day for 3 months= Advanced Beginner in all your dances at your next feis.

Advanced Beginner+ 30 Minutes of practice a day for 3 months= Novice in your stronger set of dances, high placements in all the rest.

Novice+ 45 minutes of practice a day for 6 months= Open Prizewinner, Baby.

Prizewinner+ 1 hour of practice a day for a year= Preliminary (at least by my “teacher discretion” qualifying method)

Preliminary+ 1.5 Hours of practice a day for a year= Open Championship

Open Championship+ 2 Hours of Practice a day (even on class days) for 2 years= Worlds Recall

Yes, that’s beginner to Worlds Recaller in 5 years.

Sound extreme?  What does it take to become an  olympic gymast?

A Concert Violinist?  Awesome Article: Concert violinist

Or, a bit closer to home, a Ballerina?

If you want to be a champion, you have to work like a champion.

Dancer, dismissed.

Mom, listen up.

I have heard some of you whine about how you don’t know why so and so is moving up while your daughter, who “loves to dance” but “isn’t as aggressive” is not.  You ask me about rewards for good behaviour, making your kid practice charts, scare tactics, etc.

Did you pay for your Daughter’s Irish Dance class or not?   Do you buy her new shoes, a new wig, drive her to class every week, take her to feiseanna?  A new dress if she practices for 45 minutes a day should not be the reward.  Getting to Irish Dance should be the reward.

This is not Math Homework.  This is something your child wants to do.  If they are “well-rounded”, often meaning they have too many activities on their plate to really gain mastery in any one of them, then expecting to become a champion is not a reasonable expectation.  If your child really wants to do this, it will need to be one of two or maybe three  primary focuses in their life.

Talk to me (your child’s teacher) about it.  I am a fan of the hard-nosed parent in this respect.   If they don’t think it’s worth their while to practice what I’ve worked with them on last week, I don’t want to see them in class today… it’s a waste of my time and theirs, and a waste of your money.  I’ll understand their absence if they are getting some tough love.

You should only have to give the support on your end if she is willing to put in the time on hers.

When everyone does their part:  Teacher gives steps and feedback, Parent gives money and suport, Dancer gives focus and effective practice- the results are incredible.

3rd in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

2nd in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

I won 1st place at Longs Peak Feis! Me, Chas and Jenni talk about the awesomeness of finally being in Open Championship. Also a quick review of my very first Feis in Open Championship (Boise Feis By the River), only a week later!

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1st in a new series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my Irish dance training for the 2009 Western Region Oireachtas.

Click here to read it

I know this is going to sound callous, but this will be good for you.

You didn’t know how much it hurt her to be ostracized, just because she was good.  Because she worked hard, was focused instead of chatting along the back wall.  Perhaps you thought that being a Championship dancer was reward enough to cover all the ostracization.   So you went ahead and made her feel like no one liked her.

Perhaps you were jealous.  Perhaps you didn’t understand.

But you do now.

You want it now.  I love to see the fire start burning in you.  You’re getting better… you’re on the cusp of championship.  You’re working hard, starting to sweat during class, although you wouldn’t have wanted to before.  You ask for extra help, just like she does.  And you actually take my advice, just like she does. You want it bad enough to let go of that teenage pride, and it’s paying off.

And the jealousy is now being directed toward you.    You never knew how it felt to have friends you had for years suddenly not want to talk to you, or at least chat like before.  Maybe you didn’t notice because you spend your time in class working  hard.   I know now that those same friends, the ones who started with you, are not understanding why suddenly you’re getting attention from me.  I’d give it to them too if they would take it sincerely.

Maybe talk to “the chosen one” again.  Maybe she would love for you to ask her about one of the moves in your reel.  Maybe she’d love someone to just acknowlege she’s there.   It’s true: Teenagers love attention, but they want good friends more.  So cut her some slack, if only because you’d like your own.

Being in a rather limited-publicity sport, it’s easy for even family members to not understand what I do, when I do it or How.  But especially Why.

“Why can’t you come camping?”

“Why are you so stressed?”

“Why do you deal with all of that crap?”

“Why did you keep dancing after having kids?”

I don’t understand it myself sometimes.    When I think about the  drama queens, Stage Moms, a less-than-perfect organization, and no money,  of course I even question myself.

If I was out to be a perfect business owner, this dream would have been in the trash years ago.  Same for being a brilliant choreographer, a star performer,  Saavy marketer (you get the idea).  If I wanted to be universally popular, respected and admired?  Won’t hold out for that one.

But there’s this feeling inside of me that I was meant to do this.

I do this because of the kids.  Amazing young men and women that come in just filled to the brim with this life energy.  To see their eyes light up when they do that new move right for the first time.  To hear them talking with their “Wednesday Night Best Friends”.  To get little notes from the Moms of these kids letting me know that I’ve changed their son or daughter’s lives for the better.   To be inspired every time they dance with “Wow, I helped them get there”.    To get the same thrill to see my first feis dancer with a medal in her palm as seeing my first “from scratch” student standing on the Podium. Goals that are made, planned, teamworked and met.  That I can be a part of it.

It means that I have a purpose here on this earth, to bring everyone to know their creator by discovering what they can do with the body he has given them.  So that’s why I do it- that’s what it means to me.

6th and final post in a series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my progress from Preliminary to Open Championship.

Click here to read it

ah…i thought if i bought a pair of shiny red shoes, and closed my eyes and made a wish, i might end up back in the montmatre…after all it’s 4.20am, the birds are waking up, my dog is snoring, and stranger things have happened, i’m sure…but not tonight.

have been organising the boorowa irishwool fest performance today, getting fiddler marcus holden, clare o’meara, garry steele and john spillane together in one place, with 40,000 sheep and 24,000 people in the audience has been a challenge but so far, it’s looking good.

tim manners is coming to dance – way to go tim, he’s going to be dancing his classic two solos, one of which he is now the guinness book of world records holder for fastest taps in a minute…like. wow! i’m going to try and count from back stage…it’s going to be like fred astaire but in fast motion!!!

I won first place last weekend at Longs Peak Feis! It was the most difficult Feis ever, I would have to say. We were outside in the rain and it was sooo freezing. On top of that, the only poodles I’d brought got entirely coated in mud! Luckily a nice girl from the Wick School loaned me a pair for the competition. Thanks again Katie!!

It was so unreal to win 1st place this time. I hadn’t done my best dancing. I missed a couple moves in my Jig, but when I watched everyone else dance their steps I realized no one was doing their best. We all had numb toes and stiff legs since there was no where to warm up and stretch out. We all were in the same circumstance so the end result was no different that what it would have been for an indoor competition, in my opinion.

So this means I’m competing in Open Championship for the first time tomorrow at Boise Feis by the River! Wish me luck!!

We’ll be doing a Feis-Cast for Longs Peak Feis in the next week or so. So look for that podcast soon!

What to look for when buying an Irish Dance dress! What’s hot and what’s not. Irish dance dress styles for 2009. We read aloud and discuss the top post from World Irish Dancer Blog!

If you’re looking to buy a new Irish dance dress. We have some great tips for you!

You’ll want to check out the post while you listen to view examples of what we’re discussing: What to look for when buying an Irish dance dress

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