Irish Dance
So lately I have had "Fiona's Lullaby" stuck in my head, it is a song from the movie The Secret of Roan Inish. Finally today I broke down and looked it up on You Tube just to hear the actual music again. The song took me back to my teens, and found me looking up the other songs that are on the soundtrack. I found myself listening to the reel and jig and of course the lovely slip jig that they use as the theme for Fiona. And as I always do I found the music urging me out of my chair and up to dance. Fae thought I was playing and tried to jump all over me. Bratty little dog. Most dogs I have danced around learned quickly that it is best to keep out of my way when I am dancing, but Fae has a strange tendency toward self harm when it comes to me exercising. When I am exercising on the elliptical she will actually come to stand just close enough so that the machine hits her as it moves. I have to push her away, but she will come back over and stand just so that the machine hits her again. It is aggravating. When I began dancing she would actually move into my kicks, AHHHH, when you are trying to miss and the dog places herself just so that you cannot miss...it makes you wonder.
But either way, I found that I am severely out of shape and desperately missing Irish dance. I really need to start doing it again, at the very least just practicing it as exercise. I need to find the dance steps though. I know I have them around here somewhere.
While looking around at all the nostalgia inducing things I looked up the place where I used to learn dance, the Irish Cultural Heritage Center (ICHC) in Milwaukee. And they are still up in business, not only that but they hold a Feis there every year now! A Feis, at the ICHC! Oh how nice that would have been while I was dancing. (A Feis (pronounced "Fesh" for those unfamiliar with the term, is a dancing competition for Irish Dancers, at a Feis you can earn medals and can earn the right to wear the ever coveted Solo Dress (a solo dress is a fancier dress that can be worn instead of your school dress, solo dresses have to be earned and mean that you have been judged worthy of one) many Feiseanna (the plural of Feis) are held all over the country every year, and depending on how good you are and how many Feiseanna you attend in a year depends on how fast you may earn your solo dress) Anyway, very exciting, the Milwaukee Feis also allows people to compete in singing which is something I may look into competing in at sometime in the future. I have wanted to learn to sing in Gaelic and that may be something I will try, you can compete in English and in Gaelic, and they give awards for the best English singer and the best Gaelic singer.
Also the ICHC is still holding Ceilis each month! They are held the first Friday and third Saturday of each month. For those who are also unfamiliar with the term Ceili, a Ceili is an Irish form dance, the best way to think of it is as an Irish square dance. You dance with other people and are instructed on how to dance the dance before it starts. Some dances happen between a group of four people some happen with a large group, the number of people in the groups that you dance with depends on each dance. The music is provided by a live band and the instruction is given by a person who is part of the competing Ceili Dance group. The night is a ton of fun! Very often if there are enough dancers from the Irish dance school there that night they will have a "step about" where the dancers will line up and take turns dancing solo on the floor. As an Irish dancer I loved going to ceilis, the professional ceili dancers always said you could tell the Irish dancers because of the way we did the steps, in ceili competition you do not lift your feet as much in fact you often shuffle your way through things. They said it also took less energy (most of the professional ceili dancers were older people in their 50s and older). Anyway, while I am still here and close enough to Milwaukee that the trip wouldn't be too bad would anyone care to join me for a ceili trip? Then again most of the people I know around here don't read my LJ, maybe I will just have to ask some of the people here.
Ah well, good times, good memories.
But either way, I found that I am severely out of shape and desperately missing Irish dance. I really need to start doing it again, at the very least just practicing it as exercise. I need to find the dance steps though. I know I have them around here somewhere.
While looking around at all the nostalgia inducing things I looked up the place where I used to learn dance, the Irish Cultural Heritage Center (ICHC) in Milwaukee. And they are still up in business, not only that but they hold a Feis there every year now! A Feis, at the ICHC! Oh how nice that would have been while I was dancing. (A Feis (pronounced "Fesh" for those unfamiliar with the term, is a dancing competition for Irish Dancers, at a Feis you can earn medals and can earn the right to wear the ever coveted Solo Dress (a solo dress is a fancier dress that can be worn instead of your school dress, solo dresses have to be earned and mean that you have been judged worthy of one) many Feiseanna (the plural of Feis) are held all over the country every year, and depending on how good you are and how many Feiseanna you attend in a year depends on how fast you may earn your solo dress) Anyway, very exciting, the Milwaukee Feis also allows people to compete in singing which is something I may look into competing in at sometime in the future. I have wanted to learn to sing in Gaelic and that may be something I will try, you can compete in English and in Gaelic, and they give awards for the best English singer and the best Gaelic singer.
Also the ICHC is still holding Ceilis each month! They are held the first Friday and third Saturday of each month. For those who are also unfamiliar with the term Ceili, a Ceili is an Irish form dance, the best way to think of it is as an Irish square dance. You dance with other people and are instructed on how to dance the dance before it starts. Some dances happen between a group of four people some happen with a large group, the number of people in the groups that you dance with depends on each dance. The music is provided by a live band and the instruction is given by a person who is part of the competing Ceili Dance group. The night is a ton of fun! Very often if there are enough dancers from the Irish dance school there that night they will have a "step about" where the dancers will line up and take turns dancing solo on the floor. As an Irish dancer I loved going to ceilis, the professional ceili dancers always said you could tell the Irish dancers because of the way we did the steps, in ceili competition you do not lift your feet as much in fact you often shuffle your way through things. They said it also took less energy (most of the professional ceili dancers were older people in their 50s and older). Anyway, while I am still here and close enough to Milwaukee that the trip wouldn't be too bad would anyone care to join me for a ceili trip? Then again most of the people I know around here don't read my LJ, maybe I will just have to ask some of the people here.
Ah well, good times, good memories.