Run through

Let's dial back the panicking a little and have a run through of where I'm at. You never know, it might not be as bad as I think. I shall work through what I know and what I don't, in rough TCRG exam order. You'll notice that some things are in colour - I added that at the end of typing the post, so see the end for an explanation.

Ceili written

Absolutely no concerns. I know I can pass this, and that I can pass it well. I'm keeping up with my past papers (scoring above 90% on the majority), I've danced/taught most of them in class, I keep reading the book, I keep watching the videos. Here, I'm confident.

Music

Likewise, no concerns. I listen to the sets often - sometimes just identifying the tune in my head before looking down to check and then skipping to the next tune, sometimes listening to them in full, sometimes doing a full-on quiz where I have to write the bars and so on as well. I generally get 100%, although I do have to count Garden and Job. I don't think I'll have any trouble identifying the solo tunes (reel, slip jig, hop jig, jeavy jig, hornpipe, right?)

Own dancing

- Reel: I'm 100% decided on one of the steps I'll dance if asked. I have a selection of others, none of which I'm completely happy with, but there are lots to choose from.
- Hop jig and light jig: On the very unlikely offchance that I have to dance either of these, no problem. Got full dances at both standard and intermediate level to choose from.
- Slip jig: I'm 100% decided on my second step. First step, not sure yet but again I have lots to choose from. As with my reel steps, I just need to give them a dance through and see which ones feel best - I've been thinking about them all morning.

Heavies
- Heavy jig: Unsure. One step I can definitely use with a tweak (remove drum rolls). Two or more steps that I can use with a couple of tweaks, and an idea for a completely new step. It's doable, anyway - jig is my stronger heavy dance.
- Hornpipe: No clue. I have two steps, but the timing isn't what I'm used to - a little syncopated here and there, and frankly at this point I think it's a waste of time trying to figure it out. I think I'd be better served using them as a base and coming up with fixes. I think I have enough nice flourishes in my hornpipe sets to prove I can do the rhythm, let's go simpler for the solo steps.

Traditional sets
- St Patrick's Day - no problems, brush up.
- Blackbird - as above.
- Job of Journeywork - not tooooo bad, need to work out what foot I'm meant to be on and practise it more so that I'm not making a small mistake each time, but it'll get there.
- Garden of Daisies - I started learning this from a friend. No, let's be honest, she taught me all of it but I haven't thought about it since so I can only remember tiny bits of it. I literally need to relearn this.

Modern sets
- White Blankets - it needs a tweak because I accidentally repeated part of the set in the step of Blue Eyed, so it'll be easier to fix in this dance. I need to make sure I don't mess up that toe-cut-down sequence.
- Fiddler Round the Fairy Tree - it's ok, if I remember not to jump-treble into the left foot of the step, because that's not what it is. The set is quite strong, for me.
- Blue Eyed Rascal - need to get my feet quicker at the very end, and make sure I don't go off time after the walkover clicks. Not too bad.
- Rub the Bag - needs a few run throughs, but not bad. Passable.
- Planxty Drury - Confident on the step, need more run throughs on the set. I can do each part, I just haven't practised it much all put together.
- The Piper - really not sure about this one at all. I'm not sure the set works, it might need re-choreographing. Perhaps I was just having a bad day but one of the treble sequences that I seriously over-used in this dance was not happening at ALL. Faster feet.
- Miss Brown's Fancy - Step should be fine. Set needs to be danced as I've choreographed but not run through it yet, but it should fit and be ok.

That leaves one more set of each timing. Short is king so I'm thinking Rodney's Glory, just to throw a 2/4 in there really, and then I need to pick a jig. I was thinking Hurry the Jug - then I thought Hurling Boys as it's two bars shorter (I know...) and then I thought, why the heck not just call it a day and go for Sprig of Shillelagh?! I'll see. I might be able to borrow from a friends.

^ Seriously, how huge is that section?!?!

Solo teaching

- Reels: Beginner, primary, intermediate/prelim steps all ready to go. LOADS to choose from. I've got an open reel or two in my head for both girls and boys, but again I will need to dance them to make sure they fit.
- Hop and light jigs - fine, see own dancing above.
- Slip jigs: Beginner, primary, intermediate/prelim steps all ready to go. Open steps...it depends what they class as open steps. Some dances these days, even ones that win championships, are incredibly straightforward - just danced very nicely indeed. Need to give this one a bit more thought. I love slip jigs and I dance them well, I just haven't come up with one that I really like in ages.

- Heavy jigs: I've got beginner, or I've got prelim level girls steps. No in-betweenies, nothing really boy-style. I could chop down some of my jig sets to work as an open-ish level jig set, and I've learnt some quite complicated rhythm bits recently which I hope will be seen as difficult enough for open.
- Hornpipe: Kinda same as the above. Nothing that's really suitable for primary, nothing for a boy. Again, I could use set steps. More thought.

Ceili teaching

I'm fairly relaxed about this. I want to take in bracelets or something to differentiate between boys and girls, and I think I could keep 8 kids straight. For both teaching exams, I'm ok at lilting now. I even lilt to chart songs sometimes, without thinking?! I need to brush up on the ceili tunes, though. I recognise them all when played, but they're not going to be. I need to get better at just remembering them and being able to lilt them straight off. Where are we...
Humours of Bandon - just about.
Haste to the Wedding - I usually go straight to part b, but I'm getting there with part a.
Three Tunes - I'm GREAT with the repeated bits (the tunes that correspond with Rings, Stamp & Clap, and the Roly Poly). I'm not so hot on the first part of each tune.
St Patrick's Day - I think it would be quite bad if I wasn't confident on this one.
Trip to the Cottage - I think I've just sung it in my head...I'd need to listen and check though.
Lannigan's Ball - strangely, this is the one I'm most confident on.
Rakes of Mallow - although I'm quite confident on this one as well.
Sweets of May - I sometimes trip myself up on part a, but part b (the body tune) is fine. Especially Ringing the Bells!

Now, are we supposed to know the Quaker's Wife even though it only says it's the favourite tune for the Gates of Derry? I suppose it's one of those unwritten things.

I've just typed all this out, which is I'm sure horrible boring for anyone foolish enough to have read this from beginning to end...! I shall now go through and highlight areas for work. Red for serious work and amber for meh...a bit. If it's not in colour then it doesn't mean I'm going to ignore it, it's just not an immediate priority.

Whether I choose to add anything further to this post depends wholly on how colourful it ends up being...

I guess it wasn't THAT bad. It's definitely not going to pass itself, though.