The 2006 Southern Region Oireachtas
The big competition is coming up. In yesterday's class, one girl practiced her solo dances. Most of M's class is NOT in the Oireachtas. M is for figures only, not solo. She is supposed to get her cape altered some and I don't know who to ask about that; her sleeves on her school dress are too short, too, but no request to get that altered. I'm glad the overall length still works:) M grew 5 inches last year, or perhaps even more, so her dress must have been too long, technically speaking, previously. It just has to fit until early December:) Well, longer because of performances, so at least March, but still. Fitting "perfectly" through thie Oireachtas.
They got a workout earlier this week, too. They practice weekly, and it's getting more serious now. M will be in a 4-hand, and an 8-hand ceili dance. A few of these dancers are also performing solo. A couple of M's friends from last year's performing group will be competing as solo dancers, including V!, plus at least one other dancer we know from other schools (whom M has danced with tho he's leagues above her level, qualifying for worlds a few times). M's dance school will have a good representation there, solo dancers and a few figures teams, too.
All of the figures teams were to sign up for a local feis in November, for "practice" and experience. Heck, they're looking pretty good, so maybe it'll be fun for them there, and maybe they'll do well there, too! (If it stops being fun, it's not worth it, albeit M committed to this so she'd have to follow through, we just wouldn't do another after, but gosh, she's loving it.) (Actually, M's half-sister, Si, might sign up for that local feis.) I've also signed M up, per her interest and the timing of weekends, etc., in another not completely local feis that's not too far away -- not as big of one so M has a nicer chance of doing well, plus her interest in competing has risen a lot.
The "O" is local this year, i.e., northern Virginia. A lot of talk of getting hotel rooms, and I'm going, huh? Why, not for me, we're 40-45 minutes away, I have a dog to walk, it takes us longer to drive to class than to northern Virginia. M wants to stay over, her friends are, she could feel better about having a place for her things, and etc. This morning, walking Daisy for a nice long (for a morning) walk, I realized that it'd be best for my mother and stepfather if we had a room. He especially will wish to see M, but just cannot stand (or sit) for those lengths of time required for a feis, never mind a full Oireachtas, I'm sure. My mom seemed rather excited about it, didn't try to tell me it'd cost too much, offered to stay over night with M if that'd work best, with my stepfather and I both staying in our separate homes to care for the crits. Ma has an extra room or two she's reserved, dancer's rate, at one of the hotels, so I think I'll tell her tonight that we will take it after all.
The excitement is building up:)
Part of me will be real glad to get that night of the week back -- it's a trek out there to the studio and back, and that's okay for 3 months to add this night to the week, being M's chosen sport and everything else, but it is a commitment. Then again, as I told another dance parent with two talented daughters, "Hey, maybe they'll qualify for National's!" "Oh, I hadn't thought of that!" I guess we'll find out.
If they feel good about how they did, and enjoyed the overall experience, they have beeing working hard for a goal, then I'll happy.
Ten bucks sais you get more nervous about this than she does. ;)
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