Weekend was fairly productive.
1 - gently run my traditional sets - done! Kicked myself in the shin two bars into St Patrick's Day and set off a nice little bruise, but it was an ok session apart from that. St Pat's itself was fine, not my favourite trad set. I feel like I sink too much in the four trebles. In the Blackbird I tangled my feet in the step (tried to go 'and brush and brush treble and back 23' when of course there's no 'back') but started again and it was fine. Garden I really struggled with especially in the step, but I got myself back on it. I probably haven't danced it since my exam so it's always going to be rusty. Jockey was ok considering it's still quite new to me and I've practised it a grand total of about four time. Three Seas similar - need to work out which foot I'm on in the boxes. Job I actually did correctly all the way through at the first time of asking for the first time in my ENTIRE life. And King, although I only did the step, was ok. More on this....
2 - review King, because it's not sticking in my brain - in progress. I've done a video clip on my phone so that I don't have to always put the dvd on to review, but it's still a source of confusion in places. Must try to actually dance it now.
3 - attempt some hornpipe choreography - well, yes. I've got 8 bars that look really nice in my head and would be good for both dancing and teaching, but my feet won't move fast enough because in my infinite genius I put in a move I can't do. Yet.
4 - work on the new sequence I've learnt recently - forgot about this one.
5 - identify areas for study, ceili-wise - yes, done. Basically I thought through every single dance and wrote a list of things I wasn't sure about - like "which was does the ring go in dance x" or "which side do the gents cross in movement y". I then used the book to answer all my own questions which was quite a useful exercise.
As there's less free time during the working week, I am going to give myself another five tasks but this time I've got five days rather than two. Here we go for w/c 29th April:
1 - go to dancing tonight and practice on a further occasion (definitely heavies, probably trads)
2 - continue to review King
3 - review the ceilis of the first dvd (easier than going in book order as you don't have to keep changing the disc)
4 - hornpipe choreography (I'm scrapping a couple of sets and starting again)
5 - work on the new jig sequence I learnt recently (carried over from the weekend)
Monday, 29 April 2013
Friday, 26 April 2013
Weekend plan
Last month of the weekend, absolutely brassic, can't go out or do anything - this can mean only one thing. TCRG weekend!
My plan...let's see how this goes.
1 - gently run my traditional sets
2 - review King, because it's not sticking in my brain
3 - attempt some hornpipe choreography
4 - work on the new sequence I've learnt recently
5 - identify areas for study, ceili-wise. I've already started a list of areas I'm not sure of, and music is always on the list too.
I've been told a five-point list is manageable so ideally on Monday I shall report back.
Ideally.
My plan...let's see how this goes.
1 - gently run my traditional sets
2 - review King, because it's not sticking in my brain
3 - attempt some hornpipe choreography
4 - work on the new sequence I've learnt recently
5 - identify areas for study, ceili-wise. I've already started a list of areas I'm not sure of, and music is always on the list too.
I've been told a five-point list is manageable so ideally on Monday I shall report back.
Ideally.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Fighting off Worlds cravings...
I'm not in Boston, and I dearly wish I was. My brainwave today was that I should have just gone to the Comhdhail worlds instead this year, just to see some dancing and also to watch it with a completely clean slate (not knowing any of the dancers), but it's too late for that now.
So while scouring the web for updates and pictures, I decided to see if I still "had it". I haven't touched the ceili book since Glasgow, or at least since I made a study guide for my friend in January, and while I don't need to do the written paper again I still need to know them all for the teaching. So I wrote them all out - just movement names, but for every dance in the book.
Not half bad. I basically got everything right apart from forgetting the existance of Sidestep and Heyes, and flipping the swings in An Rince Mor. I got the partners / ladies on left the wrong way round. Out of 30 dances, I'm taking that and running with it.
Determined to pass this thing next time.
And I can't wait til it's my dancers being photographed backstage. On stage. With medals. With trophies. With me by their side, the whole way.
So while scouring the web for updates and pictures, I decided to see if I still "had it". I haven't touched the ceili book since Glasgow, or at least since I made a study guide for my friend in January, and while I don't need to do the written paper again I still need to know them all for the teaching. So I wrote them all out - just movement names, but for every dance in the book.
Not half bad. I basically got everything right apart from forgetting the existance of Sidestep and Heyes, and flipping the swings in An Rince Mor. I got the partners / ladies on left the wrong way round. Out of 30 dances, I'm taking that and running with it.
Determined to pass this thing next time.
And I can't wait til it's my dancers being photographed backstage. On stage. With medals. With trophies. With me by their side, the whole way.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Three Sea Captains met the King of the Fairies...
...and had a wee dance together.
I am 99% of the way there in terms of completing the traditional set dances!
I've actually lost count of the amount of times I've wound and rewound the DVD - I recorded a video of it onto my phone for easier rewinding and easy, 24/7 access to the steps. I've written and rewritten and colour coded and watched and watched, and I'm close. Three Seas I know, and I can almost dance. King I'm fairly sure I know, but haven't properly danced.
So I guess with that, my original aim is complete. I wanted to learn all of the Coimisiun ceilis and traditional sets because I felt I wasn't a complete dancer/fan/enthusiast/obsessive of the dance form without this knowledge. And now I have it. I know all the traditional dances that one could possibly rock up at a feis and dance. I'm quite pleased with that.
Three Seas
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Out and kick out and kick out and brush heel and down
Back rock 23 back rock 23
Tip and down heel and down and back tip and change
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Treble-treble and back treble-treble and back
Treble 1 treble 2 treble 1234
Tip out tip and back tip and change tip and down
Tip out tip and back tip and change tip and down
Tip and down hop back tip and cut to your heel
Tip and down, tip box 23 treble and a heel,
Back and down back and down brush and box234
Tip and down, heel treble and a back tip and change
Not quite as polished as Olive's lot but you get the general idea I hope.
King
Brush down kick heel-and-a-heel-and-a-heel-and-a-down
Kick treble and treble and treble and treble and
Up cut down and up cut onto your heel and treble and back
Brush down brush down kick cut down
Treble and a back 12 and point and back 12
Brush down kick treble and tre-ble and a kick and down
And brush and brush treble and 123
Brush treble and treble and twist 23
Hop 23 and over and onto your heel brush and treble and back
And brush kick treble-and-treble and kick and 123 down kick box 234
Down treble and back and treble and toe, stamp, treble and treble and
Tre-ble and a heel kick down brush cut down box 23 and 123
Treble and treble and down treble and back
And brush kick heel 234 and change, stamp, brush 2, 3, 4, and back treble and back brush treble up tre-ble and a back
This music seems extra fast to me so well done to them for keeping up! Watch the lady in the white top if, like me, you struggled with the bit after "hop 23 and over and onto your heel brush treble and back".
"And that's it! Let's look at the dancers..."
I am 99% of the way there in terms of completing the traditional set dances!
I've actually lost count of the amount of times I've wound and rewound the DVD - I recorded a video of it onto my phone for easier rewinding and easy, 24/7 access to the steps. I've written and rewritten and colour coded and watched and watched, and I'm close. Three Seas I know, and I can almost dance. King I'm fairly sure I know, but haven't properly danced.
So I guess with that, my original aim is complete. I wanted to learn all of the Coimisiun ceilis and traditional sets because I felt I wasn't a complete dancer/fan/enthusiast/obsessive of the dance form without this knowledge. And now I have it. I know all the traditional dances that one could possibly rock up at a feis and dance. I'm quite pleased with that.
Three Seas
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Out and kick out and kick out and brush heel and down
Back rock 23 back rock 23
Tip and down heel and down and back tip and change
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Tip and down treble-treble and a back tip and change
Treble-treble and back treble-treble and back
Treble 1 treble 2 treble 1234
Tip out tip and back tip and change tip and down
Tip out tip and back tip and change tip and down
Tip and down hop back tip and cut to your heel
Tip and down, tip box 23 treble and a heel,
Back and down back and down brush and box234
Tip and down, heel treble and a back tip and change
Not quite as polished as Olive's lot but you get the general idea I hope.
King
Brush down kick heel-and-a-heel-and-a-heel-and-a-down
Kick treble and treble and treble and treble and
Up cut down and up cut onto your heel and treble and back
Brush down brush down kick cut down
Treble and a back 12 and point and back 12
Brush down kick treble and tre-ble and a kick and down
And brush and brush treble and 123
Brush treble and treble and twist 23
Hop 23 and over and onto your heel brush and treble and back
And brush kick treble-and-treble and kick and 123 down kick box 234
Down treble and back and treble and toe, stamp, treble and treble and
Tre-ble and a heel kick down brush cut down box 23 and 123
Treble and treble and down treble and back
And brush kick heel 234 and change, stamp, brush 2, 3, 4, and back treble and back brush treble up tre-ble and a back
This music seems extra fast to me so well done to them for keeping up! Watch the lady in the white top if, like me, you struggled with the bit after "hop 23 and over and onto your heel brush treble and back".
"And that's it! Let's look at the dancers..."
Sunday, 17 March 2013
St Patrick's Day Eve
I had a funny old day today. I felt like I should do something TCRG related given the date, so I decided on trying to learn the King of the Fairies set. I got old faithful, the blue dancing notebook, out of my bag where it's lain untouched but still carried around daily, for months on end.
The book is neatly laid out into 4 sections. First - light dances. Second - heavy dances (ran out of paper in this section due to the weighting of the exam). Third - notes, to-do lists, various thoughts. Fourth - somewhere to write music quizzes.
For some reason the first thing I did was wonder if I could still name all the set tunes. Popped on the iPod, shuffle...named them all. 100%.
Second thing I did was flip to section three where, on the way home from my first failed attempt at the TCRG exam, I wrote my notes. I didn't want to forget anything so I wrote down everything that happened, how I felt, what went wrong, less of what went right, and predictions for my results. I must add that on the way home I was a couple of hours past my teaching exam which was the worst exam I've ever experienced. I predicted they'd give me 30% on solo teaching, that's how awful I felt about it. In the end I did plenty enough to not fail outright, I was close to passing, but reading it back was scary. I could remember my own terror, how I just couldn't process what they were telling me, how I wanted to walk out and cry. Or cry and walk out, whichever came first. It's so horrible. Happy St Patrick's Day to me.
I decided to close that book, open a fresh page and start to learn King of the Fairies. I actually watched back some of the other dances to see if she taught it so very fast as how she does in KoF. It's SO hard. I'm furiously trying to write, trying to work out which foot, then we cut to the dancers and they do it differently - I'm SO glad this is the last one to learn (finished Three Seas, by the way).
So I haven't had a particularly upbeat St Patrick's Day. I feel like I need to go and paint my nails green or something.
Oh, I'll get there. I'm just exhausted and angry at myself all over again for not practising lilting enough and not being confident enough and just being a complete deer. If you learn one thing from this blog, learn. to. lilt.
The book is neatly laid out into 4 sections. First - light dances. Second - heavy dances (ran out of paper in this section due to the weighting of the exam). Third - notes, to-do lists, various thoughts. Fourth - somewhere to write music quizzes.
For some reason the first thing I did was wonder if I could still name all the set tunes. Popped on the iPod, shuffle...named them all. 100%.
Second thing I did was flip to section three where, on the way home from my first failed attempt at the TCRG exam, I wrote my notes. I didn't want to forget anything so I wrote down everything that happened, how I felt, what went wrong, less of what went right, and predictions for my results. I must add that on the way home I was a couple of hours past my teaching exam which was the worst exam I've ever experienced. I predicted they'd give me 30% on solo teaching, that's how awful I felt about it. In the end I did plenty enough to not fail outright, I was close to passing, but reading it back was scary. I could remember my own terror, how I just couldn't process what they were telling me, how I wanted to walk out and cry. Or cry and walk out, whichever came first. It's so horrible. Happy St Patrick's Day to me.
I decided to close that book, open a fresh page and start to learn King of the Fairies. I actually watched back some of the other dances to see if she taught it so very fast as how she does in KoF. It's SO hard. I'm furiously trying to write, trying to work out which foot, then we cut to the dancers and they do it differently - I'm SO glad this is the last one to learn (finished Three Seas, by the way).
So I haven't had a particularly upbeat St Patrick's Day. I feel like I need to go and paint my nails green or something.
Oh, I'll get there. I'm just exhausted and angry at myself all over again for not practising lilting enough and not being confident enough and just being a complete deer. If you learn one thing from this blog, learn. to. lilt.
Monday, 11 March 2013
The most important things
Anyone who's ever attended a feis with a newbie will no doubt have been asked "what are the judges looking for?" What's the difference between first and second place? How could the same dancer have come first in the reel and tenth in the hornpipe? They're tough questions to answer as we don't have a standardised marking system and therefore can't speak for the individual judge on the day. Everyone's got their own hot buttons that will turn them off a dancer, and elements they have to see in order to award high marks. Now I know I'm not a teacher let alone an adjudicator, but these are the most important elements to me - roughly in order:
1. Foot placement
This is only the most important element to me if we work on the assumption that timing is a given. You simply must be on time with the music, otherwise you're not actually dancing.
Foot placement covers not only adequate turnout and crossing of the feet/legs, but also thinking about the positioning of the foot. Is it pointed all the way through the foot whenever it's off the floor, or is it flat or even flexed? Are the toes scrunched rather than properly pointed? Is the instep in the correct position, but the point not extended all the way to the tips of the toes? And then when the foot is on the floor, is it on a high tiptoe (not en pointe) at all times or does the heel drop closer and closer to the floor? Can the dancer sustain this height all the way through or does tiredness make the heels drop? Whenever a move calls for the foot to not be pointed, is it exaggerated enough to have the desired impact? (e.g. a pointe hold with the front foot flexed, a drum roll, a heel walk or spin...) Finally, are the feet positioned strongly and confidently? Does the dancer sickle, or lose control of a point before attaining the position, lending the impression of floppy ankles? Can they achieve turnout with both feet all the time, without the back or supporting foot straightening or turning in? Is their positioning unaffected by stamina - can they maintain good, strong positioning throughout?
2. Deportment
For me this covers absolutely every element of the body from the hips up. Hips and shoulders must always be level - not only right to left, but front to back. No leaning forward into a jump or kick, no sticking the bum out on turns or treble/footwork sequences, no dropping the leading shoulder into a turn or leading with your shoulder into a leap or kick. Lower arms controlled, but without tension. Neat fists, no waggling fingers. Head straight forward - no chins on chests, no tilting, no mouths wide open or saying/miming steps, no eyes down. Our deportment is absolutely unique in the dance world which is why it's so high up my list - it's characteristically Irish and therefore needs to be worked on and perfected very early on. It's my own opinion that the reason we don't use our arms is to show how in control of our bodies we are, to be able to move our feet at 50mph without so much of a quiver in our shoulders. Tense arms make the whole performance seem more laboured - excellent carriage makes everything look easy.
3. Extension
Not just height on kicks, clicks and leaps, but height with control and style as well. Straight knees, maintaining turnout and carriage, perfect lines from hip to knee to ankle to toe. Kicks that take an equal amount of time to come down as to go up - retracting the leg with control proves leg and core strength, rather than letting gravity do its work. Kicks that don't look "throw-y" - that are deliberate about their placement, rather than swinging it up and hoping for the best. And looking at the back leg on kicks and clicks as well - that needs a straight knee too, and that needs to maintain placement too. I always look for the back leg on hops and single-leg work - is it just hanging there or is it contributing to a neat, controlled look?
4. Style and precision
Style will always be individual preference but I believe strongly that dances aren't just a technical exercise, they're a performance. Dancers will similar technical qualities can be easily separated in the marks if one is enjoyable to watch and the other is simply "nice". It's hard to quantify but I like to see individual choreography tailored to a dancers' strengths, with clever bits that you can't wait to see on the left foot - or make you curse the hornpipe half-step when you can't see it again! Elements of elegance, athleticism, control and freedom combine in each person's mind to create their own preferred style, and I can't really explain what my preferred is. Perhaps it's when a dancer is so elegant that you know they're leaping as high as the athletic types, without immediately pegging them as athletic. When they're so light on their feet yet so fast that it seems impossible they can jump so high or treble so loud.
Precision to me goes hand in hand with style. You can have one without the other (I've seen dancers with breathtaking tricks and beautiful choreography, but straight feet) but to excel, you need both. Precision is everything from points 1-3, but moreso. Everything performed in a textbook way. Every individual movement - a leap, a rock, a treble, a cross key - could be extracted from the performance and used as an example of "this is how it's supposed to look". Every movement could make a perfect action shot to be plastered over tumblr with an inspiration quote.
Opinions of dancing are of course fluid, and perhaps this list will change over time. Perhaps one day I'll think carriage should be more important than crossing or I'll change my definition of what style means. Perhaps I'll start to prefer a different style - subconciously, no doubt.
Trying to come up with a list of your most important Irish dancer qualities just reminds you that results are very, very rarely "wrong", just a matter of personal choice. My favourite dancer not winning doesn't always mean they had an off day or that they went wrong or something else was up. It just means someone else's opinion was different to mine, and that's good. That's why competitions employ panels rather than one single adjudicator, and why they're not paid just to tie everyone.
It's frustrating as you can do everything right and still not win, but that's what makes competition and that's why people are attracted to competing. In tennis you could perfect your serve but come up against the perfect returner. Sprinters could have the perfect start but be overtaken by the perfect finisher. It's why people carry on when they've won everything there is to win. It's why we dance in the first place.
What are your most important things in Irish dance?
1. Foot placement
This is only the most important element to me if we work on the assumption that timing is a given. You simply must be on time with the music, otherwise you're not actually dancing.
Foot placement covers not only adequate turnout and crossing of the feet/legs, but also thinking about the positioning of the foot. Is it pointed all the way through the foot whenever it's off the floor, or is it flat or even flexed? Are the toes scrunched rather than properly pointed? Is the instep in the correct position, but the point not extended all the way to the tips of the toes? And then when the foot is on the floor, is it on a high tiptoe (not en pointe) at all times or does the heel drop closer and closer to the floor? Can the dancer sustain this height all the way through or does tiredness make the heels drop? Whenever a move calls for the foot to not be pointed, is it exaggerated enough to have the desired impact? (e.g. a pointe hold with the front foot flexed, a drum roll, a heel walk or spin...) Finally, are the feet positioned strongly and confidently? Does the dancer sickle, or lose control of a point before attaining the position, lending the impression of floppy ankles? Can they achieve turnout with both feet all the time, without the back or supporting foot straightening or turning in? Is their positioning unaffected by stamina - can they maintain good, strong positioning throughout?
2. Deportment
For me this covers absolutely every element of the body from the hips up. Hips and shoulders must always be level - not only right to left, but front to back. No leaning forward into a jump or kick, no sticking the bum out on turns or treble/footwork sequences, no dropping the leading shoulder into a turn or leading with your shoulder into a leap or kick. Lower arms controlled, but without tension. Neat fists, no waggling fingers. Head straight forward - no chins on chests, no tilting, no mouths wide open or saying/miming steps, no eyes down. Our deportment is absolutely unique in the dance world which is why it's so high up my list - it's characteristically Irish and therefore needs to be worked on and perfected very early on. It's my own opinion that the reason we don't use our arms is to show how in control of our bodies we are, to be able to move our feet at 50mph without so much of a quiver in our shoulders. Tense arms make the whole performance seem more laboured - excellent carriage makes everything look easy.
3. Extension
Not just height on kicks, clicks and leaps, but height with control and style as well. Straight knees, maintaining turnout and carriage, perfect lines from hip to knee to ankle to toe. Kicks that take an equal amount of time to come down as to go up - retracting the leg with control proves leg and core strength, rather than letting gravity do its work. Kicks that don't look "throw-y" - that are deliberate about their placement, rather than swinging it up and hoping for the best. And looking at the back leg on kicks and clicks as well - that needs a straight knee too, and that needs to maintain placement too. I always look for the back leg on hops and single-leg work - is it just hanging there or is it contributing to a neat, controlled look?
4. Style and precision
Style will always be individual preference but I believe strongly that dances aren't just a technical exercise, they're a performance. Dancers will similar technical qualities can be easily separated in the marks if one is enjoyable to watch and the other is simply "nice". It's hard to quantify but I like to see individual choreography tailored to a dancers' strengths, with clever bits that you can't wait to see on the left foot - or make you curse the hornpipe half-step when you can't see it again! Elements of elegance, athleticism, control and freedom combine in each person's mind to create their own preferred style, and I can't really explain what my preferred is. Perhaps it's when a dancer is so elegant that you know they're leaping as high as the athletic types, without immediately pegging them as athletic. When they're so light on their feet yet so fast that it seems impossible they can jump so high or treble so loud.
Precision to me goes hand in hand with style. You can have one without the other (I've seen dancers with breathtaking tricks and beautiful choreography, but straight feet) but to excel, you need both. Precision is everything from points 1-3, but moreso. Everything performed in a textbook way. Every individual movement - a leap, a rock, a treble, a cross key - could be extracted from the performance and used as an example of "this is how it's supposed to look". Every movement could make a perfect action shot to be plastered over tumblr with an inspiration quote.
Opinions of dancing are of course fluid, and perhaps this list will change over time. Perhaps one day I'll think carriage should be more important than crossing or I'll change my definition of what style means. Perhaps I'll start to prefer a different style - subconciously, no doubt.
Trying to come up with a list of your most important Irish dancer qualities just reminds you that results are very, very rarely "wrong", just a matter of personal choice. My favourite dancer not winning doesn't always mean they had an off day or that they went wrong or something else was up. It just means someone else's opinion was different to mine, and that's good. That's why competitions employ panels rather than one single adjudicator, and why they're not paid just to tie everyone.
It's frustrating as you can do everything right and still not win, but that's what makes competition and that's why people are attracted to competing. In tennis you could perfect your serve but come up against the perfect returner. Sprinters could have the perfect start but be overtaken by the perfect finisher. It's why people carry on when they've won everything there is to win. It's why we dance in the first place.
What are your most important things in Irish dance?
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Grades
I can't wait til I've got dancers competing in the grades.
I know that's possibly a strange thing to aspire to, given that every teacher really wants champions and anyone who says they aren't aiming for a World Champion is maybe not being 100% honest. I definitely do want to teach champions. I want to take to the stage in impossible heels and pick them up when they run down the podium to me. I want to shake and cry with them when we can't add it up in our heads but then realise they've done it, they've won, and Dan the Man has announced them as World Champion. I want to commission elaborate cakes showing them standing with a sugar paste trophy for their Worlds party. Yes, obviously I want that.
But I want excited little five year olds with home-curled hair and tiny skirts and blouses, tiny little feet in outrageously small Hullachans, babies who don't really know what's going on past the fact that they get to show off their dancing and then they get a medal. Or ten, twelve, fourteen year olds trying time and time again for that first in the primary hornpipe so they can say they've got everything in intermediate.
First solo dresses, excitedly writing down results, the best feeling in the world when you win the primary light trophy with your hop jig.
Years ago I was at a feis early doors, waiting for my own prelim that afternoon. My old teacher and I went into the grades hall and saw the u6 beginners lining up for their first ever reel at their first ever feis. Totally un-self conscious, just dancing for joy. The lady at the back of the stage counting them in. A lead round that goes round in five ever decreasing circles and a first step that's ended up danced with their back to the judge. Running back to their places with huge smiles when the bell rings, then trying to dance again straight away. The Kit Kat as a bribe or a prize. The oh my god I got a medal happiness that only a first-ever 'highly commended' can bring. And my teacher turned to me and said, "this is what it's really about."
It IS what it's really about.
I know that's possibly a strange thing to aspire to, given that every teacher really wants champions and anyone who says they aren't aiming for a World Champion is maybe not being 100% honest. I definitely do want to teach champions. I want to take to the stage in impossible heels and pick them up when they run down the podium to me. I want to shake and cry with them when we can't add it up in our heads but then realise they've done it, they've won, and Dan the Man has announced them as World Champion. I want to commission elaborate cakes showing them standing with a sugar paste trophy for their Worlds party. Yes, obviously I want that.
But I want excited little five year olds with home-curled hair and tiny skirts and blouses, tiny little feet in outrageously small Hullachans, babies who don't really know what's going on past the fact that they get to show off their dancing and then they get a medal. Or ten, twelve, fourteen year olds trying time and time again for that first in the primary hornpipe so they can say they've got everything in intermediate.
First solo dresses, excitedly writing down results, the best feeling in the world when you win the primary light trophy with your hop jig.
Years ago I was at a feis early doors, waiting for my own prelim that afternoon. My old teacher and I went into the grades hall and saw the u6 beginners lining up for their first ever reel at their first ever feis. Totally un-self conscious, just dancing for joy. The lady at the back of the stage counting them in. A lead round that goes round in five ever decreasing circles and a first step that's ended up danced with their back to the judge. Running back to their places with huge smiles when the bell rings, then trying to dance again straight away. The Kit Kat as a bribe or a prize. The oh my god I got a medal happiness that only a first-ever 'highly commended' can bring. And my teacher turned to me and said, "this is what it's really about."
It IS what it's really about.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
"New" traditional sets
I'm well on my way with these.
Jockey to the Fair
Tip and down tip and cross tip and down tip and stamp-stamp, and stamp-stamp, and stamp-stamp,
and step hit your heel tip and step hit your heel
tip and box 234
treble-treble and a back tip and up hop back
Treble-treble and a 1234567
Treble-treble and a 1234567
Treble-treble and up cut tip down and tip down
Hop back treble 1 treble 2
and treble and a stamp
Brush, 2, 3, 4,
and step hit your heel tip and treble and back
Tip and box 234
Treble-treble and a back
King of the Fairies
Tip down kick* heel and a heel and a heel and a down
Kick treble and treble and treble and treble
And up cut down and up cut onto your heel treble and back
Tip 1 tip 2 kick cut down
Treble and a back 12, and point and back 12
Tip down kick treble and tre-ble and a kick and down
I've only got as far as the step on this, really. I know the first 2 bars of the set but not worth typing it until I know it all. "Kick" refers to kicking the heel of one shoe with the toes of the other - on this slowed-down video the dancer is doing toes at the back (as in tapping the toes off the floor), but the toes should be hitting the back of the other shoe. Coimisiun do actually specifically that toes shouldn't be done in place of heel-kicks.
Three Sea Captains
Tip down treble-treble and a tip over down
Change and kick out and kick out and tip and heel down
Back rock 23, back rock 23
Tip down and heel down
And back tip and cross
FAST! Again I've only got the step so far.
Plan for February - work on the sets of both and then dance the shit out of them.
Jockey to the Fair
Tip and down tip and cross tip and down tip and stamp-stamp, and stamp-stamp, and stamp-stamp,
and step hit your heel tip and step hit your heel
tip and box 234
treble-treble and a back tip and up hop back
Treble-treble and a 1234567
Treble-treble and a 1234567
Treble-treble and up cut tip down and tip down
Hop back treble 1 treble 2
and treble and a stamp
Brush, 2, 3, 4,
and step hit your heel tip and treble and back
Tip and box 234
Treble-treble and a back
King of the Fairies
Tip down kick* heel and a heel and a heel and a down
Kick treble and treble and treble and treble
And up cut down and up cut onto your heel treble and back
Tip 1 tip 2 kick cut down
Treble and a back 12, and point and back 12
Tip down kick treble and tre-ble and a kick and down
I've only got as far as the step on this, really. I know the first 2 bars of the set but not worth typing it until I know it all. "Kick" refers to kicking the heel of one shoe with the toes of the other - on this slowed-down video the dancer is doing toes at the back (as in tapping the toes off the floor), but the toes should be hitting the back of the other shoe. Coimisiun do actually specifically that toes shouldn't be done in place of heel-kicks.
Three Sea Captains
Tip down treble-treble and a tip over down
Change and kick out and kick out and tip and heel down
Back rock 23, back rock 23
Tip down and heel down
And back tip and cross
FAST! Again I've only got the step so far.
Plan for February - work on the sets of both and then dance the shit out of them.
Monday, 28 January 2013
Unsure.
I was gung-ho at first. I only missed by a couple of points, I know what I need to work on. So long as I don't mess up in a traditional set and if I spend some time tidying my sets, I'll pass the dancing. If I lilt and show more confidence teaching, I should be ok on that.
I've done virtually nothing, however. I don't have a retake date, it will be Oct/Nov/Dec time again, but I've done virtually nothing.
I can't. I feel sick. My usual go-to substitute for counting sheep used to be going through all my sets, or trad sets, or ceilis. I knew them all so well that it actually relaxed my brain. For a while, after I got my results, I'd shake myself out of settling into that routine. Now I find myself actively avoiding doing it. Every time I think through a solo dance I feel sick. I can't do it. I really don't think I can do it again, but do it right. I can't put myself through that again, physically or emotionally, and I'll only fail again, so it's a total waste of money that I just can't justify.
I don't know whether I'm going to.
I've done virtually nothing, however. I don't have a retake date, it will be Oct/Nov/Dec time again, but I've done virtually nothing.
I can't. I feel sick. My usual go-to substitute for counting sheep used to be going through all my sets, or trad sets, or ceilis. I knew them all so well that it actually relaxed my brain. For a while, after I got my results, I'd shake myself out of settling into that routine. Now I find myself actively avoiding doing it. Every time I think through a solo dance I feel sick. I can't do it. I really don't think I can do it again, but do it right. I can't put myself through that again, physically or emotionally, and I'll only fail again, so it's a total waste of money that I just can't justify.
I don't know whether I'm going to.
Monday, 7 January 2013
2013
...will be the year I pass.
I've done some work already. I now know Jockey to the Fair (it needs practising, but I know the steps) and the step of King of the Fairies. The latter took me an embarrassingly long time but I've changed my learning strategy from putting the Olive dvd on cold and trying to dance along, to watching and watching and watching and learning in theory before I start to try and dance it. That seems to be the less frustrating method :)
So that's 1.5 trad sets out of 3 done!
I've also started making a ceili study guide for my friend who I've talked into doing the TMRF. Just tips, unwritten rules, that kind of thing. Still a bit of a work in progress but I'll need to get that printed out today because...
It's the first class of 2013 tonight!!!
My feet will be on fire, I will be horribly unfit and out of breath, my holiday weight will be embarrassing. BUT, I can't bloody wait!
I've done some work already. I now know Jockey to the Fair (it needs practising, but I know the steps) and the step of King of the Fairies. The latter took me an embarrassingly long time but I've changed my learning strategy from putting the Olive dvd on cold and trying to dance along, to watching and watching and watching and learning in theory before I start to try and dance it. That seems to be the less frustrating method :)
So that's 1.5 trad sets out of 3 done!
I've also started making a ceili study guide for my friend who I've talked into doing the TMRF. Just tips, unwritten rules, that kind of thing. Still a bit of a work in progress but I'll need to get that printed out today because...
It's the first class of 2013 tonight!!!
My feet will be on fire, I will be horribly unfit and out of breath, my holiday weight will be embarrassing. BUT, I can't bloody wait!
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