Songs to get you pumped for the Sept. 17-18 Irish dancing competitions - VIDEOS

by PATRICIA MCNAMARA, Feis America Magazine contributor

Heading to the Michigan Feis this weekend or the Baltimore Feis in Maryland? Idaho’s Boise Feis By the River or the Oklahoma State Championships? Perhaps the Syracuse Feis or Nassau County AOH Feis in New York?

No matter your competitive destination this weekend, we want to share four new tunes inspired by the 80s to add to your own warm up playlist before lacing up and taking the stage. Best of luck to all competitors and be sure to come back and share your results with us!

“Pump Up The Jam” – Technotronic
The catchy beat will simply pump you up to get on the dance floor.


“Fame” – Irene Cara
Pop it on and start thinking about how everyone in the Irish dancing world should remember your name after you kill it on stage.


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READ MORE:
- A 9/11 tribute from the Caitrin Academy of Irish Dance - VIDEO
- Photos from the fourth annual Texas Coast Feis
- Songs to get you pumped for the Sept. 10-11 Irish dancing competitions - VIDEOS
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“We Got The Beat” – The Go-Go’s
Simply because you, too, can keep the beat…just with your hard shoes.


“The Final Countdown” – Europe
Think the “Rocky” theme song with an 80s spin. Play this right before you have to line up side stage.


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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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Songs to get you pumped for the Sept. 10-11 Irish dancing competitions

by PATRICIA MCNAMARA, Feis America Magazine contributor

Heading to the St. Louis Fall Feis in Missouri this weekend or the Rock River Valley Feis in Illinois? How about the June Butler Memorial Feis in Ontario, the Longs Peak Feis in Colorado or the Irish American Assn. NW Jersey Feis in New Jersey?

No matter your competitive destination this weekend, we want to share four tunes you should add to your own warm up playlist before lacing up and taking the stage. Best of luck to all competitors and be sure to come back and share your results with us!

“Helena Beat” – Foster The People
Pop this on and take a stroll around the venue before going into the hustle and bustle of the day.

“Dog Days Are Over” – Florence + The Machine
Stretch to this song while celebrating the fact that feiseanna in the sticky summer heat are done.

“Louder” – Charice
This song will give you the gusto to “dance through the pain” and pound out your hornpipe or jig for the entire room to hear.

“Dance, Dance” – Fall Out Boy
It’s fast...and, um, the chorus tells ya to dance. So go out there and show ’em what you’ve been practicing.

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READ MORE:
- New songs to get you pumped for this weekend’s Irish dancing competitions
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Boost your confidence before fall Irish dance competitions

by ERIN CONCANNON, Feis America Magazine contributor

Confidence is a quality that, to many dancers, might be hard to perfect…and easy to lose.

Just think of how discouraging it can be when one adjudicator’s opinion can make or break your feiseanna track record. But it’s how you mentally prepare yourself for all situations—competitive or not—in the dancing world that will help you survive. And what better way to start than with the fresh fall feiseanna headed your way. Read these tips for a little boost.

Practice is what makes you perfect. If you practice your dance routines outside of class for at least 30 minutes a day, you will know the steps backwards and forwards, causing you to become less nervous on the big day of competition! Look at it this way: On the day of a big test, you study your heart out the nights before, going over the information so many times that by the end of the night you could recite the information backwards and forwards. The same rule applies to dance! If you keep going over your steps so much that you go to bed at night thinking about them, you’re prepped to put your best, um, foot forward.

Tell yourself you are always right. Seeing is believing. If you can see yourself in the mirror doing all your steps right, then you know you can do it. So keep telling yourself before you go up on stage to dance that you can do this! This is your fate in the dancing world. If you say you deserve to be the best dancer you can be, it will help to come true. The constant flow of positive thinking will help your mind reject any negative energy.

Keep friendly conversation. Talking to your competitors right before you go out on stage shows that you are not only friendly, but that you are fearless and can keep your cool while under pressure. Karma is a big thing to believe in while living in this crazy dancing world. If you don’t do nice things to others and put in good thoughts, then only awful and upsetting things will occur while you’re trying to go for gold.

What are some thoughts that help you stay confident through competition? Let us know in the comments below.

READ MORE:
- Irish dancing through illness or injury
- Motivation to practice Irish dance during the school year
- Keeping friendships in Irish dance through competition

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New songs to get you pumped for this weekend’s Irish dancing competitions

by PATRICIA MCNAMARA, Feis America Magazine contributor

Heading to the Clearwater Beach Feis in Florida this weekend or the Oakville Feis in Ontario? What about the Kansas City Feis in Missouri or the Texas Coast Feis? Or maybe you’re packing up for the Constitution State Feis in Connecticut or the Hidden Valley Feis in California.

No matter your competitive destination this Labor Day weekend, we want to share four tunes you should add to your own warm up playlist before lacing up and taking the stage. Best of luck to all competitors and be sure to come back and share your results with us!

"Pump It" – The Black Eyed Peas
It sets the perfect pace to practice your high kicks. And, well, it will get ya pumped to own the stage.

"I Wanna Go" – Britney Spears
Want to go out on stage and show the adjudicators how fierce of a dancer you are? This song will help you do that.

"Shake It Up" – Selena Gomez
Shake off your jitters with this catchy jam.

"Outta Control" – j786
Close your eyes, envision you getting through your steps, and get ready to be in total control of the stage.

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North American Irish Dancing Championships – A flash mob in Tennessee

Jennie G. from Clarkson with McClanahan’s Colleen M., Darcy G. and Clare S. before the flash mob


Dancers sneak towards the flash mob at Nashville’s Riverfront Park


Dancing up a storm at Riverfront Park!


Ending the flash mob with a big finish


If you’ve witnessed a flash mob firsthand, you know how exciting it can be. Who wouldn’t find a group of people suddenly assembling in a public place, performing an unusual routine before quickly dispersing back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life entertaining?

On July 4, a crowd of North American Irish Dancing Championship participants invaded Riverfront Park in Nashville, Tennessee, shocking eager onlookers with a treble reel. No dazzling costumes or wigs needed for this gig. Just regular red, white and blue attire. Perfectly patriotic!

Thanks to Feis America LLC friend Julie McCurry for sharing her terrific photos!

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Cincinnati Feis Photos 2011

Christine & Sydney celebrate Sydney’s 2nd in the under 11 Preliminary Championships



Colleen M. & Theresa C. from the under 16 Open and Preliminary Championships



McClanahan and Erickson dancers at the end of an enjoyable Cincinnati Feis



Two tired feising friends take a breather at the Cincinnati Feis


The 28th annual Cincinnati Feis was held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center this past Sunday, June 26. Like years past, it was a well-run afternoon filled with great competition, happy dancers and, as expected, some tired feis-goers.

Thanks to Feis America LLC friend Julie McCurry for sharing her terrific photos!

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Four easy ways dancers and parents can show they’re good sports at competition

BY: MAY B. ANYDANCER, Feis America Magazine contributor

In the heated spirit of the upcoming North American Irish Dance Championships, here are a few friendly reminders for dancers and parents on being a good sport through the thick and thin.

Snap back from slip-ups. A detached cape. A bump on stage. Things pop up. It’s how you bounce back from a snafu that shows you’re a star sport.
Dancer dos: We’re not just taught to dance with grace and poise, but to apply it to every facet of our lives. Let the aggression out on stage, but don’t take the little—and uncontrollable—things out on others. Anyone in the audience, as well as the adjudicators, can easily sense animosity. So no matter how upset you might be, graciously wish your fellow competitors well and fight back the tears. They never look good on anyone.
Parent pointers: No matter what happens on stage, it’s important to instill a sense of perseverance, not shame. Something as simple as saying, “I’m proud of you,” will keep a dancer’s mind focused on the big picture and all the hard work they’ve done leading up to a competition…not the few minutes that just happened.

Seize results. Everyone can agree, awards ceremonies are the scariest part to any competition. But face it, once the dancing is done, it’s out of your hands.

Dancer dos: For any dancer faced with the recall rounds, why not make a quick exit from the ballroom to compose yourself before the big announcement. You didn’t get the results you wanted? Keep that idea of luck at the front of your mind. Just think of those who weren’t able to partake in such a prestigious event. A champion is a champion, no matter the placement.

Parent pointers: Parents, much like a dancer’s TCRG, have a responsibility to teach their dancers. Instead of reiterating what they could have done better that day (they probably already know), stay supportive no matter the outcome. Teach them the importance that shaking hands or posing for a picture with the winner is far better than storming off.

Lead by example. Dancing helps people grow as athletes. But having good sportsmanship is what defines every individual as a true champ.

Dancer dos: Remember, eyes are on you at all times. And that includes the little ones who want to be a champ like you one day. Your game face isn’t just for when you’re on stage, but whenever you’re representing your school. Just think of the champions you looked up to when you first started and how they acted.

Parent pointers: Remind your child to be pleasant and let them know that every dancer has their day. It’s easy to feed off the body language and attitude of others, so remaining calm will help your dancer do the same.

Keep working. Dancing is an ongoing journey of uncertainty. You might win a competition one weekend and not place the next. Keeping a tirelessly mindset of always wanting to improve will keep you going.

Dancer dos: There’s always room for tweaking—in your dancing and your outlook. You didn’t dance as well as you wanted? Channel your frustration into working an extra hour next week perfecting your steps. You’re on a winning streak? Take that natural high of success to push yourself that much further on trying to stay on top.

Parent pointers: Keep thinking of ways to keep your child interested and inspired. Let them show you new steps or moves and get excited for them. Remember, half of the excitement of a win for many dancers is making their parents proud.

Photo Credit: Alexa Crisa

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