the festival:)

MEANT to post this after Veteran's Day weekend.   M performed at a large Irish festival, with enjoyable enough musicians (not the top known / recognized musicians), and a fare amount of local vendors selling goods or providing information for their particular local (or international) Irish-related charity.   (Yes, tis the one Fred thought of attending.   Eh, another place in time, perhaps.)

My mother asked me the day after how it went -- knowing she wasn't feeling well enough to come see it.  

How did M do at the Feis? 

Oh, this was a festival, so a performance.    She had a lot of fun and did well:)   M seemed real happy and as if she was having a lot of fun with it.   Si did well, also.   The (name of city) Irish Festival was very well attended, crammed in at the (location).   Someone estimated a 700 people audience, but I suspect that was really the total crowd, as I can't imagine that many fit in that one (main) stage area.   I HOPE I got some good shots:)  

I heard Sh ask C if they could PLEASE stay a bit longer, did they really have to leave right away as she wanted to be able to watch the next show a bit (another local dance school stage got moved to same one as M's).   (That school, like many, focus on only the traditional Irish dances, and yet their intended audience never received an announcement in the other building, that this school's performance was being moved.  What a shame.  Level 5 excellent dancers so it was a nice display.) 

It wasn't a pleading, but that and the general interactions seem to me as if it really has been Sh pushing for this, or more so, pushing it for Si, that C really still dislikes the whole idea of it being IRISH dancing, but the girls didn't pick up on this that I know of.   I'm sure both would have enjoyed the festival, too, I know M would have, but hey.   Like you said the other day, it lets M get there, which is good.

M was in three dances, Techno which you've seen I think but some different choreography this year, can-can which may have been in (Big somewhat Professional Performance last year) but M was NOT in (had missed too many practices for the e/o weeknights that C refused to have her attend and refused to switch nights for).   Cute:)  They do a bit of a chorus line kick for part of Can-Can to Irish dancing.   And Runaway Groom, which has been MUCH improved upon since the youngest company out of the main studio did it last year.  K  plays the bride, and at the end she has to act disgusted and throws the fake-flower bouquet at the boy, too.

Si and another young girl, who performed together at another event M's troupe performed in, did a beginners reel.  It gives the older dancers a "shoe-change" moment, a chance to breathe.  Ma even had them come out and bow again.   I asked Sh later if Si liked this.   She laughed, "What do you think?!"   (Even if Sh appeared to be in haste to have M just go with her and me be gone, M and I were figuring out what dance items I was taking with me, and putting them away, and what ones she'd just stay wearing, such as wigs, tiara, and socks, at least.)

So, anyway, they had fun, I did chat with M some (brought her water, which we found out after was being given away free at the festival).   It was inside and she was sweating, as were others.   I had worn a embroidered sleeveless top under the green polartec and ended up wearing just the top, so I know in those dresses they got hot.   Before the performance, I got to wave to her and blow a kiss, and we ASL'd some small greetings I forget what now.   She'd smile when she danced and happened to look my way.  

I did find a nice book store/vendor there but also found their online store.   CelticReader I think it is, I have it saved.   http://www.celticreader.com  Some interesting stuff there, and I've bought from them previously.   This festival seems to use many of the same vendors annually but I haven't been to this one in 2 years I suppose it is, M wore one of Ma's performance dresses that year, and Eileen Ivers played with them, too.   I can see why Ma enjoys Eileen Ivers, in part as Eileen and Ma both look towards world music and other musical styles, and incorporating them into traditional Irish music, just having fun with it.

 

Tags: Irish stepdancing, Irish festival