Just the Five of Us

2011 US Regional Bun Grad U7 Champion

There are some moments that are just etched into your mind forever. Mine was seeing Emma's score and realizing that she had won before she did. I looked over at her and watched her face as her teacher started the announcement. Emma had her hands folded in her lap, and they were twisting and turning and she tried to look calm and happy.

When her teacher called her name, the look on her face was priceless. Her mouth dropped open, her head perked up, and she started to smile and clap and looked at her friends before running--literally running--up to get her sash and be introduced. They make a big deal about the winners during Awards day, and Emma ate it up. She was more graceful than on Saturday when she almost fell TWICE as she ran up the podiums to the first place spot--it's not good for the nerves to see your child almost injure herself less than 24 hours before the compeition would be over. There was a collective gasp on the second fall, and a sigh of relief when she recovered herself, smiling and accepting her ribbon.

She was so excited, and we were so proud. I wish Doug could have been there to see it, but I am thankful for one of my friends for videotaping results. All the hard work, hours of practice at home and at school, and waiting paid off for her, and we are very excited for her.

Her dancing was beautiful. She made a couple mistakes on Saturday, but on Sunday, she gave it her all. "Mommy," she told me. "The judges kept staring at me when I was dancing. I wonder what that means?"

The best part was seeing how supportive her school was of her and how excited the other dancers were for her . . . and she for them. When one of the older girls in her class won her age group, I think Emma was almost more excited for her that she was for herself and have her a big high five as she came off the podium.

"I love dancing!" she told me at one point. "I want to dance forever . . . and then someday be a judge. I wonder if I can do that while being a zookeeper?"

I told her that she could.

Results:

• Bun Grad U7 Slip Jig: 1st
• Bun Grad U7 Light Jig: 1st
• Ullmhuchan U7 Reel: 1st (she was the only one in her age group, but it was good practice for her)
• Ullmhuchan U7 Slip: 2nd
• Ullmhuchan U7 Single: 1st (again, the only one)
• Bun Grad U7 Awards: 1st (and even though there were only six competitors, she placed out of her slip jig so she never has to dance it at the Bun Grad level again)
• 6-hand team, U9: 1st
• 4-hand team, U9: 2nd
• 8-hand team, U9: 1st (they were the only group though--and it was Emma's first time doing the dance!)

It was a great weekend. Emma was a trooper through a cold with a stuffy nose and yucky cough, and she can't wait until her next feis. She's hoping for lots of competitors so she can place out of her light jig and be done with all her Bun Grad dances.

Never one to be happy with where she is, Emma is now wondering when she'll get her hard shoes. We also have to get her a full wig to go with her school dress, and there are lots of performances to look forward to in March.

There are some moments that are just etched into your mind forever. Mine was seeing Emma's score and realizing that she had won before she did. I looked over at her and watched her face as her teacher started the announcement. Emma had her hands folded in her lap, and they were twisting and turning and she tried to look calm and happy.

When her teacher called her name, the look on her face was priceless. Her mouth dropped open, her head perked up, and she started to smile and clap and looked at her friends before running--literally running--up to get her sash and be introduced. They make a big deal about the winners during Awards day, and Emma ate it up.

She was so excited, and we were so proud.

There are some moments that are just etched into your mind forever. Mine was seeing Emma's score and realizing that she had won before she did. I looked over at her and watched her face as her teacher started the announcement. Emma had her hands folded in her lap, and they were twisting and turning and she tried to look calm and happy.

When her teacher called her name, the look on her face was priceless. Her mouth dropped open, her head perked up, and she started to smile and clap and looked at her friends before running--literally running--up to get her sash and be introduced. They make a big deal about the winners during Awards day, and Emma ate it up.

She was so excited, and we were so proud.

Comhghairdeas! Congratulations!

 

What a Difference a Year Makes

She has grown so much! And has teeth again :).

Three days until Regionals. Emma told us the other night that her "tummy feels weird and it moves around a lot before they say who the winner is" because she wants "to win first place so badly." We calmed her down a bit and told her not to worry about it--to do her best and have a good time.

She's counting down the days . . . I think moreso because she just wants to wear her dress again!

Dress Debut

Emma was so excited to wear her dress for the first time. We dropped it off for repairs on Thursday, and she asked me no less than 12 times a day when we would get it back. We took it home with us on Saturday after practice, and she immediatly put everything on and practiced all her dances again. She LOVES wearing the dress, but it does get hot and she can't stand the bloomers--they're a bit tight around the leg.

Jake had a basketball game before her report time, so I did her hair and off we went. We left the game early to pick up Kerri and Colleen, and we got to Coakley's just in time for drop-off.

Emma was so excited to carry her dress, and she put a lot of effort into planning what she was going to wear. She couldn't eat in her dress, so she needed something she could slip on and off that didn't need to go over her head. She settled on her Daisy pants and a black hoodie. She was not happy to have to wear the bloomers under her pants, but I was not about to try to wrangle her into them in the tiny bathrooms at Coakley's, so she dealt. It was the first time she wasn't able to be totally dressed before we left, and she felt very excited to be like the older dancers who carry their dresses in with them. Earlier this week, she asked me to put her hair in a bun for practice. "Why?" I asked her. "Don't you just want a ponytail?"

"The older girls have buns in their hair, Mom." she told me.

I did the bun and there was some hair sticking out because of her bangs. "That's okay," she told me. "Sometimes the older girls have hair sticking out too." Good to know.

I did help her with her feis bucket on the way in, but after they were dismissed, she came trudging over carrying it all like a trooper.

Emma had a blast. Friends, dancing, and chicken fingers--a great night for her. She looked so little in her dress . . . all the other dancers who wear the school dress are taller and older than her. She looked like a mini version of some of the older girls. Very cute. When we left to go, she asked, "What if when I walk around to collect money, the people don't think I'm as cute as the little Bun Grads in their skirts and belts with their little ballet slippers?" I assured her she looked just as cute, and she did indeed collect "lots and lots" of money--according to her.

It was such a great night. We all had dinner there, and then Doug took the boys home while Colleen and I stayed with the girls. We all had Shephard's Pie, which was amazing, and Owen had a cheeseburger--of course. At one point, the server came to the table to ask if we needed anything else, and Owen exclaimed, "Another cheeseburger!" Funny--but didn't happen. We had a brief scare when Owen fell off his pub seat and crashed to the floor. He got a nice lump on his head and was sluggish for a bit, but then he perked up and started--much to irritation of our already stretched nerves--bouncing around like usual. He did spy an eagle face on one of the bar mirrors, and I couldn't resist making low eagle sounds every time he looked at it. We had him thinking there was one in the place for a good couple mintues before I had to break down and tell him it was me. He actually thought it was funny. Jake spent most of his time eating or playing on the iPod. He did watch some of the dancing, but really just wanted food--and lots of it.

It was a good night.

 

Here We Go Again

It's hard to believe that's it has been one year since Emma's first started practicing for her first feis. Last year, she competed in two solo dances and two teams. She wore the skirt and cumberbund and had a brand new wig. This year, Regionals is her fourth feis. She'll be competing in five solos dances and at least two teams. She now wears a full school dress, and her wig is showing big signs of wear--eventually we'll need to replace it with a full wig. We're holding out as long as possible because we're not looking forward to that expenditure.

We are amazed at what dance has done for Emma. It has allowed her to develop confidence and adaptability, and it has shown us a competitive side that we were't quite sure she had. She takes her dance very seriously. She has fun and loves to dance, but she also has very specific goals, knows what she wants to accomplish, and is very driven to work hard to accomplish those goals. While we encourage her, we never push her, and we are often awed at her focus and determination.

She just loves dance. She loves Irish things, and she has a whole shelf full of Irish goodies in her room. When I asked her today if she wanted to do dance camp again in the summer, she said, "Why wouldn't I?" in this tone that implied I clearly didn't know what I was talking about. "It was only one of the best times OF MY LIFE!"

Extra practices have started, and Emma is taking it all in stride. Aside from her one hour weekly class, she spent nine extra hours at the studio this week. I expect most weeks will be the same until the feis. She happily helps pack her feis bucket with snacks (due to timing, she doesn't really eat dinner--she has a sandwich before she goes and then I pack heavy nutritious snacks and hope it all balances out), homework, coloring pages, and Katie's dance bag. Quite a few of the girls bring their American Girl dolls to play with during downtime, and Emma loves dressing Katie in her solo dress and bringing her to class. 

She's learning the Ullmhuchan Slip Jig and will be competing in it--and the Bun Grad Slip Jig. Emma doesn't really like the slip jigs, as they are more ballet like and she "likes the fast dances." We're trying to get her to practice her Bun Grads more, but she prefers her Ullmhuchan dances. She did tell me that while she wants to do well at her feis, she wants to stay Ullmhuchan for a while because she thinks the Mean Grad dances look too hard. I assured her that it will probably take her quite a while to place out of Ullmhuchan.

Emma's feis goals:

• place in all her dances
• dance--and win--the Bun Grad Awards
• place out of the slip and light jig (though she matter of factly told me that she probably won't place out of her slip because of the way she positions her feet when she hits her knee--she's working on that)
• do well on teams

Our feis goals:

• tie Emma's shoes tightly enough so they don't come untied
• affix her wig tightly enough so it doesn't fall off
• make sure she doesn't get anything on her dress
• come home with some money left in the bank account

And, just for posterity, here's a general budget for Regionals:

• fees for dances: 56.00
• extra classes: 70.00
• souveneir sweatshirt: 30.00
• new socks and laces: 9.00
• admission for day one: 20.00
• admission for day two: 10.00-40.00 (depends on whether the boys come or not)
• food at feis: 20.00
• raffles: 10.00
• food contribution for judges: 5.00
• medal engraving/ribbons: 1-2.00 for each medal

It's so cool this year to watch Emma prepare and set goals because she knows what she's doing and has three feisanna under her belt. We were looking at her photos from last year's Regionals, and she asked, "Mommy, why do I look like I'm not really smiling?" I explained that she was tired and didn't really know what she was doing since everything was so new to her.

"Not this year," she told me. "I know what I'm doing, now."

She sure does.

 

 

School Dress

Someone was invited to wear her school's dress last month :). She had a VERY good Christmas! Later that afternoon, she ran through the house yelling, "Next up--my solo dress!"

Maybe she could slow down a bit :).

Advent Activity #11

Rince Ri

 

Rince Ri

The short version:

--a very long day

--a judge stuck in Ireland due to ice and snow (see very long day)

--seven dances

--six medals

• Bun Grad Slip Jig--no place
• Bun Grad Light Jig--4th
• Ullmuchan Reel--4th
• Ullmuchan Single Jig--4th
• 2-Hand--1st
• 4-Hand--2nd
• 6-Hand--1st 

--a dancer who shows no sign of stress or worry--only confidence and a huge desire to shop at the vendor tables

--an awesome time away to focus only on our girl

--so proud of how happy she was for her friends who placed ahead of her

--watching her interact with the older dancers more--when they used to praise her, she'd be too shy to talk . . . now she talks back and offers congratulations on her own

--I saw many girls from other schools taping their laces. Dancers are automatically disqualified if their laces come undone, so I spend most of the time hoping her laces don't come untied. I thought it kind of an unfair advantage to have them taped but was proud of my tying abilities. Those laces looked the same at the end of the day as when I tied them in the morning.

--She was more excited to win 1st in her two hand than any other win she's ever had. She told us it was becaues "we just learned that dance in November." She and her partner were amazing and danced together beautifully.

--So please to see what a good sport she is, whether she places or not. She took her disappointment in herself in the Slip Jig well. Competition was tough--over twenty dancers--and she always has trouble with the Slip Jig. She's resolved to work on that one extra hard for Regionals.

--I didn't bring the Aqua Nat to cement her hair into her ponytail. I should have because by the end of the day, it was falling out.

--dancer moment: We parked in the garage under the building. We had a truck, so it was a tight fit. While Doug got the car out of the spot, I took Emma's hair down. She begged me to take it down when she changed, but dancers are not supposed to remove their hair until they leave. So we took it down in the freezing cold parking garage, and she was so relieved to relax her head.

Doug and I were definitely more nervous than she was. She showed no nerves at all. All we want for her is to have fun and try her best, and I hope knowing that adds to her confidence. She has a fierce drive to win, but so far has not let it affect how much fun she has.

Only two more months until we do it again at Regionals!

 

First Time Dancing Out

Emma danced out at Coakley's for the first time last night. She had some neck pain during the day, but she was so excited to go that we dosed her with some Tylenol, got her into her new costume, and dropped her off.(hence the crooked pose in the photo--and I did fix her hair).

She had a BLAST. Danced and walked around collecting money with the older girls, had dinner on the pub (chicken fingers and fries), and even had a cupcake at the end. The older girls were very helpful when she had to use the bathroom (she has to take the whole vest and cape off), and they found Doug and told him what a great little dancer she is. We could tell that she is more comfortable with the other dancers and is starting to bond with them more and more--good, as she currently spends about 8 hours a week with them and she'll be dancing with them for years.

I didn't get to see much of her dancing, but at the end, I got to see her two hand. She dances with Mary, and they are a great match. They did a fantastic job with it, and it was so cute to see her dancing it as it's a dance that she'll do for years but will look different as she gets taller and taller. Then she did her finale, a soft shoe reel. She nailed it though she was a little sloppy with her fingers. I taped it--we weren't told we couldn't, but we weren't told we could either, so it's just a short clip. It views best if you play it and then drag it back to the beginning to really see the footwork right at the start.

 

 

 

She Is One Happy and Proud Little Dancer

 

 

Bin Grad Reel: 4th place

Bun Grad Slip Jig: 4th place

Bun Grad Single Jig: 1st place

Bun Grad Light Jig: 2nd place

She was very happy with herself, and we are so proud of her hard work! More details to follow . . .