Photos from the fourth annual Texas Coast Feis

Champs 16&Over (L-R): Jamie Callahan, Megan Murat, Ashleigh Hopkins, Taylor Stephens, Hannah Cass


Champs Special Treble Reel 13&Over (L-R): Cheyenne Stokes, Rebecca Herd, Megan Murat, Bailey Quigley, Sawyer Hicks, Shane McGoldrick, Hannah Cass


Champs Special Trebble Jig or Hornpipe Under 14 (L-R): Heather Noonan, Rebecca Herd, Bridget Kennedy, Sarah Troy, Paige Lanam, Lauren Begnaud


Champs Special Trebble Jig or Hornpipe (L-R): Lisa Noonan, Meredith Slimp, Colin Troy



The fourth annual Texas Coast Feis? Not your average one! Breaking with tradition, the feis was held on a Sunday this year (Sept. 4) at the Omni Bayfront Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, giving Labor Day weekenders the chance to leisurely make that drive to the coast. Inishfree School families took advantage of the extra day by arriving Saturday afternoon and enjoying a school-wide shrimp boil!

Skipping and whirling into the ballroom Sunday morning, more than 175 competitors checked out the beach theme that lent a more relaxed feel to the usually sophisticated ballroom. The musician, Brian Glynn of New Jersey, certainly seemed comfortable in bermuda shorts and flip flops perched with a bird’s eye view on an actual lifeguard stand next to the stages.

Hosted by the Corpus Christi Irish Arts Association in collaboration with the Glor na Daire Academy of Irish Dance, the feis had a plentiful supply of fabulous trophies for champs and specials, along with surfboard medals for the lower grades!

So next Labor Day, mark your calendars for the Texas Coast Feis. It’s got just the right competition sizes, a hotel with a view of the ocean, the opportunity to dance barefoot in the sand with friends, as well as the chance to feast on delicious seafood with your family. What a way to bid farewell to summer and, more importantly, a hello to the fall feis season.

Photo Credit: Shelby Miller

Special thanks to Feis America contributor Caitlin Buck for compiling this post!

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Irish dancing in Texas – Inishfree School’s first recital

by CAITLIN BUCK, Feis America Magazine contributor

Excitement was tangible inside the historic Josephine Theater in San Antonio, Texas last month. The Inishfree School of Irish Dance, under direction of World champion Neill Reagan and former Lord of the Dance lead Patrick McCarthy, was about to open the curtains on their first recital!

A total of 19 acts, the show, dubbed "Celtic Rhythm", was a showcase of Inishfree dancers ages 4 to adult and Irish musicians Jim and Maggie Fox. The funds from the recital helped send Inishfree dancers to the 2011 North American Irish Dancing Championships and provided an opportunity to invite some very special guests from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Eight-year-old Inishfree dancer Meredith Slimp is an inspiration as she danced herself into Prelims and onto the National’s stage this year, not letting her diabetes stand in the way. As she danced in the “Cotton-Eyed Joe” number, her love of dance absolutely glowed in her bright smile.

Inishfree hopes this is the first of many recitals to come as the school extends across the south into Austin, Texas and Mexico.

Photo Credit: Caitlin Buck

Melissa McCarthy defeats Paige Turilli for 2011 NAIDC girls under 15 title

Melissa McCarthy from Harney Academy (MA)2011 North American Irish Dancing Champion

Girls under 15B

Melissa McCarthy of the Harney Academy from Massachusetts clinched the Girls under 15B North American Irish Dancing Championship after coming in second behind 2010 and 2011 World Champion Ann Paige Turilli from Inishfree New York. McCarthy also placed second behind Turilli at the All-Ireland Championships.

Top Five in the Girls under 15B event:

2 – Ann Paige Turilli from Inishfree (NY)
3 – Mackenzie Mahler from Blakey (Western Canada)
4 – Kelsey Parry from Pender-Keady (CT)
5 – Breanna Ahern from Gilleoghan (CT)

Top Five in the Girls under 15A event:

1 – Aisling Reinhardt from Elaine Kavanagh (Ireland)
2 – Heather Monaghan from Mulvihill-Lynch (NY)
3 – Meaghan Kenfield from Trinity (IL/WI)
4 – Collette Harling from Cashel Dennehy (WI)
5 – Kellyn Berrigan from Pender-Keady (CT)


Feis America has been expressly prohibited from publishing real-time results or live commentary, but will post information once results are publicly available. For full results and updates in real-time, visit www.nanationals.net/2011.

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Photo courtesy of www.dance.net from 2011 Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne