April 1999 – December 1999
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
April
20 April, 1999
Got a Tape today, “Irish Dancing Made Easy” It was recommended on a couple of the web pages I visited so I thought I’d give it a shot. It really was helpful. Just the ability to rewind and watch the movements over and over was a big help. Class goes by too quickly and I often don’t get to see how the steps are really supposed to look.
29 April, 1999
Still practicing and still looking at the tape. I haven’t even seen the whole thing yet, I’ve only gotten through the Light Jig and the Reel. Even after practicing all this time, I don’t find I have any more stamina than I did in the beginning, and I still get shin splints.
I’m also finding that, in addition to balance and strength, a good memory is important. I’ve had to write the sequence of steps down so I can remember them, and even now I don’t have them 100% committed to memory. Nothing breaks up the continuity of a jig like having to stop in the middle and walk over to study a sheet of paper.
30 April, 1999
I’ve taken to using the garage for practice. It’s not so bad in there now that I’ve cleaned it out. I still run up against the walls sometimes, but it’s certainly better than the kitchen–at least until it gets filled up with the bikes and summer lawn gear.
May
4 May, 1999
We’re learning a new dance now. A Slip Jig. We were asked if we had any questions and I said, “Yeah, isn’t this dance only for girls?” I guess times are changing. I was told it was now acceptable for men to do the Slip Jig, just as it is now okay for women to do the Horn Pipe. That’s cool, as long as I don’t have to wear a skirt.
It is good learning something new. I’ve finally gotten the other sequences down. My technique needs some smoothing out, but I’m looking, if not more and more like a dancer, at least less and less like a cow trying to get its hoof out of the muck.
17 May, 1999
I finally bought some shoes. It took me a while to find them because they don’t sell anything quite like them where I usually shop. They look a tad (how should I say this) effeminate, but I guess they blend in pretty well with everyone else’s.
We’re still working on the Slip Jig. It’s pretty a neat dance so I like to practice it, and that helps. I’m getting to the point where I don’t feel like dropping from heart failure after about 15 minutes, so maybe there is hope of improvement after all.
June
2 June 1999
We missed a practice last week due to the holiday. That’s too bad, I need all the help I can get. We have a recital coming up in about two weeks and I am not at all certain I am ready for it. Even with the special practices we have scheduled, we have only four sessions prior to our having to go up on stage and do this in front of people. I, for one, am not in a hurry to make a fool of myself. I am practicing my solo dances at home fairly consistently, but the only times I get to work on the Ceili dances are during class. I need a lot of work in both areas.
14 June 1999
We were told about two weeks ago that we (the adult class) would only be doing the four-hand Ceili dance at the recital, so we’ve been concentrating on that. I find I can do most of it right all of the time and all of it right some of the time, but I am not yet at the point where I am confident of always doing all of it right.
In addition to that, at the end of class today, we were asked if we would like to do some other dances. I volunteered after some of the others did, with the understanding we were going to do it as a group, in a big line. So, we lined up, and were told we would be stepping out of line, one at a time, to do the dance–solo. We talked them in to letting us go in two’s and three’s, at least.
We have just one more practice–tomorrow night–to get the four-hand Ceili (and whatever else we decide to do) right, then it’s for all the marbles. Everything I read about Irish Dance tells me I should be smiling while I do it, but I am still so intent on concentrating that I can’t but help have that ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look on my face. I really have to do something about that.
17 June 1999
My knees hurt. Today was the only day I could practice, so I did the reel steps we’re going to be doing over, and over, and over. I think I have them down okay, but I won’t really know until Saturday. I also practiced the backing up step I was leaving out of the Ceili. I didn’t find out I was doing it wrong until last Tuesday at our final rehearsal. Nice time to find out. huh? My partner showed me how to do the step and we drilled a bit there at the hall. I’ve been practicing that off and on ever since.
Tomorrow is a full day: meetings, company picnic, herf (cigar dinner). I will be getting home quite late and in no shape to practice. Come to think of it, I probably won’t be in such great shape Saturday morning, either. Good thing we’re not scheduled to go on until 3:00 or so.
19 June 1999
The recital has come and gone. To make a long story short, I’m glad I signed on and didn’t back out. It was exciting and rewarding and generally great fun. I enjoyed seeing all the other dancers perform and the two dances my class did went off (almost) without a hitch. I expect photos will appear on the Boland school’s Web Pages soon. You can check them out.
July
9 July 1999
The Feis (The 12th Annual Governor Thomas Dongan Feis) is just 8 days away and I am nowhere near ready for it. At my teacher’s suggestion, I signed up for 4 dances–a jig, a reel, a slip jig and a figure dance. I have been practicing as well as I can at home, but it’s not the same as having a large floor. We’ve been meeting for practice sessions twice a week but all that has shown me is that I need more practice. Every time I watch the Senior Group dance, I realize just how bad I am.
On top of that, I never heard a word about the figure dance, so I just forgot about it and assumed I wouldn’t compete in that category. Then, at our last practice session, they got the idea that my partner and I should do a 2-hand reel. So, one of the senior dancers, the teacher and my partner actually made one up on the spot. It’s very nice, but it is totally new to me. I only got to walk through it a few times before I had to go. We’ve got just two more practice sessions left before we have to compete. I’ve been practicing on my own, but I really need to work with my partner to get the rough edges off. (Do you sense a note of panic here?)
15 July 1999
We’ve had our last practice session before the Feis. I’ve got tomorrow to brush up on my steps and then it’s show time!! It would be nice to do well, but as long as I don’t embarrass the school, I’ll be happy. My partner and I have worked and worked on our two-hand and it came together pretty well considering it was just made up last week. We seem to be able to do it 100% correctly about one-third of the time. So we have a fairly good chance of not screwing it up. HOWEVER, at the very last practice session, our teacher got the idea that we should also do a four-hand, so we resurrected the reel we did at the recital. The four of us ran through it a few times before practice ended and it was kinda rough around the edges. Our teacher seems confident, though. I think her plan is to enlist as many of us in as many dances as possible to up the chances of someone winning some prizes.
Personally, I’m in five events–jig, reel, slip jig (I was told I would probably be the only guy doing this), two-hand reel and four-hand reel. As our last practice came to a close we traded tips and advice with each other. I have to work on several rough moves and transitions before Saturday morning. I also need to work on keeping my hands in place, keeping my shoulders straight, smiling and not saying “Oh, Shit” every time I misstep. I’m told the judges aren’t going to like that last one, and although smiling isn’t a requirement, my ‘gut-shot heifer’ look isn’t about to win me any points. Another problem, one none of us can do anything about, is that it is supposed to be 97 degrees and humid on Saturday.
But overall, I guess it’s too late to worry.
I am planning on having a good time. I’m going to take a bunch of pictures and just try to enjoy the event and finally see what a Feis is all about.
18 July 1999
The Feis has come and gone. I’m pretty sure the Boland School did well; I know I did, much better than I thought I could. I just hope I didn’t do better than I deserved. I came away from 5 events with three bronze and one silver–I’m still not sure how I should feel about that.
Confession time: I went to this Feis having firmly decided it would be the last Irish Dance activity I would participate in. My idea was to have a good time, get lots of commemorative photos, see everyone for the last time, do as well as I could in all my competitions and leave, closing that chapter of my life. But as the day wore on I found I was enjoying myself more than I thought I would. The competitions were fun to watch, I ran into some old friends, met new people, got to talk with some of my classmates and found the whole experience to be too uplifting to want to push aside. At one point, I was hinting to one of my classmates that I might not continue by telling her I felt I had gotten as good as I was ever going to get. She told me she didn’t feel that was true about her own dancing and couldn’t imagine it being true of mine, either. After a while, I found myself agreeing with her.
The day was beastly hot–high into the 90’s with dreadful humidity. Everyone seemed to put up with it well, but I have to admit it was a long, long day. The adult competitions weren’t supposed to start until after noon, but I arrived early so I could relax, take photos and soak in the flavor of the Feis. Our dances kept getting pushed further and further back, however, and the only good thing I can say about that is it kept me from being too nervous. The event was always so far away it wasn’t worth thinking about and, by the time it got there, I was just so hot and tired of waiting I simply wanted to get it over with.
By the time we danced, I had changed my mind about bailing out and am now toying with the idea of going to another Feis later this summer. The idea of winning anything in my competitions still had not crossed my mind, however. I slipped up in my Slip Jig, miss-stepped in my Reel and started my Solo Jig four measures behind the woman I was on stage with. The fact that I won anything makes me wonder about their grading methods. In the Slip Jig, where I came in a solid second (meaning there was only 1 First Place and 1 Second Place–no ties) I still believe I got the award simply because I was the only guy dancing in that category. Still, it was satisfying to actually win something. I can’t recall the last time that has happened to me.
In the group dances, I slipped in the four hand Reel which put me off-stride for two full measures. We took a bronze in that category. For our two hand, which my partner and I worked and worked and worked on and which came together remarkably well and which we performed without noticeable flaws we got . . . nothing. Again, making me wonder just how arbitrary these awards are–at least for the adults.
On the other hand, I did talk with some of the other adult dancers who said they had been to other Feiseanna and had come away with nothing, so I guess it is possible to attend and not get a ‘Tuesday’ award (if you need an explanation, e-mail me).
And so, four medals sit on my desk in front of me, and I look on them with a strange mixture of pride and bewilderment, and the certainty that this new road I am walking has not yet come to an end.
30 July 1999
We had dance practice the other night; the first time since the Feis. Other than one or two half-hearted sessions at home, I had not danced in a week and a half and it was surprising to see how rusty I had become. I didn’t do a whole lot at practice, but it did motivate me to get back on the ball.
Watching the Juniors and Seniors dance is, at once, inspiring and frustrating. I am rarely less than awed watching them, the way they seem to float around the floor, the precision of their movements, their speed, grace and agility. It’s great to watch them, but it’s not as if it gives me anything to shoot for. What they are doing is so far beyond what I am capable of. Determination and drive can carry you a long way, but there does come a time when you just have to admit there are some things you simply can’t do: No matter how much I practice, I am never going to be a line-backer for the Buffalo Bills, I am never going to be a center for the NY Knicks, and I am never going to dance like that.
Which begs the question, how good can I be? I guess that’s what keeps me going. At the Feis, I watched other adults doing some interesting steps that, given time and practice, I might be able to master.
I still find it difficult to pick up new steps, however. At practice, we were shown a Horn Pipe and I just couldn’t get it. I still need to have the steps firmly in my head before I can transfer them to my feet, while other adult dancers seem to be able to just pick right up on them. It’s frustrating, but it makes me practice more.
August
6 August 1999
Hey, did’ja catch the dancing feet* on the Recital page? Pretty clever, huh? I can’t take credit for it, however. The idea came from Chris and Jennifer’s webmaster (whom I have yet to meet). He got the idea for an animated Irish dancing .GIF using real feet. All I did was snap the photos and mail them to him. But then, since I’ve never been one to pass up a good idea, no matter who’s it is, I figured I’d tinker around with it, too. Aren’t computers wonderful? God forbid I should do something useful like save a rainforest or volunteer at a ‘no kill’ animal shelter. Or practice.
Actually, I have been practicing A LOT lately, but I still need to practice more. At our last session, I was given a few more pointers on ways to improve my style, so I’m working on that. They’re simple things–hold your feet this way, point your toe that way–but not so easy to get right. I’m also determined to get my kicks a bit higher. I’m shooting for 90 degrees–I don’t think you can expect much more out of someone my age.
The East Durham Feis is coming up. Just three practice sessions to go and, as usual, I still don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. The Feis syllabus doesn’t say if adults are supposed to do two steps or just one. I E-Mailed both Feis organizers but still have not received an answer so I’m practicing two just in case. We’re thinking about doing our two-hand again–which may or may not happen–but I signed up for it anyway. I also signed up for the ‘Singing Competition.’ I have no idea what that involves and have not yet been able to find out. It ought to be interesting, though. I’m trying to see how many different ways I can make a complete idiot out of myself.
*(Feet credits: Doing the Toe Walk–Ainsley Bartholomew, Twiddling–Deirdre Cummings)
19 August 1999
Boy, do I ache! I’ve been practicing consistently and keep hoping that, once my bones and muscles get used to the idea, they’ll stop complaining. Now I’m thinking it might be a good idea to get some ibuprofen before the Feis. I put off practicing today and my knee is still throbbing. After the Feis I’ll take a rest. We’ll just be doing once-a-week classes then and I can, one again, concentrate on simply learning new stuff and not be so manic about polishing up what I already know.
My biggest handicap now seems to be my age, or the lack of flexibility that comes with it. I still can not get a kick higher than 70-80 degrees, and my points don’t go off to the side like they should–my feet keep reverting to a ‘straight line’ position all on their own. They don’t seem to like to hold that ‘pigeon toed’ stance. I just hope the judges take age into account when they tally our score.
27 August 1999
I’ve had my last practice session; next comes the Feis. I suppose I ought to start getting ready for it, maybe find out where it is, stuff like that.
I tell you, it’s a lot easier to improve when you really suck. Back when I couldn’t even recall a single, whole step, all I had to do was memorize one and I improved by 100%. Now, I have to concentrate on the little things–feet position, toe pointing, high kicks, etc. I have to work twice as hard to improve a tenth as much. But I guess that shows I’m making progress. I still marvel at the Seniors. Once you’re that good, how can you tell if you’re getting better. They could practice 30 hours a week and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Maybe the judges can spot that tiny iota of extra polish, but I sure can’t.
After this Feis, win, lose or draw, I’m done until classes start up again in September. There’s a Feis in Syracuse after this one, but I’m resisting the urge to go. I really need a break. Once classes start I’ll be able to concentrate on learning new stuff as opposed to pushing myself to do these few familiar dances better. That should make things interesting as well as a bit more relaxing.
28 August 1999
Attended my second and, most likely, last Feis of the season. I’m feeling sorta regretful about that, it was such great fun I really don’t like to think I’ll have to wait a year for another one.
Prize wise, I did fantastic. Bronze in my Jig, silver in my Reel and gold in my Slip Jig. I felt really good about that. Even though I’m a beginner, I was competing against beginners who have been dancing much longer than I have, so it was nice to take some medals. Unfortunately, the medals at this Feis were all uniform–placing first, second or third simply got you a medal, there was no difference in them at all. So I took a magic marker and wrote my rankings on the back. Now, I suppose I could have gotten a bunch of bronze medals and just said they were gold (although, that would be wrong).
My partner and I took a silver medal in the 2-Hand Reel competition, but since there were only two teams competing, another way to look at it is to say we came in dead last. I wish there had been more competitors; I would like to have known if we were really any good or not. The Reel went well, though, and we had a lot of fun doing it, so on that basis you could call it a success.
The Singing competition went something like that, also. There were only four competitors in all and I was the only one competing in my age category. Given that, I suppose I could have gone up there and recited a limerick and still have won first prize. And apparently, due to the lack of entrants, they lumped all the age groups together and handed out only one set of prizes so, in effect, I was competing against a 5 year old kid. That made me feel even worse.
Oh, but I was good. I was so sorry there weren’t more people competing–I would have kicked some serious butt.
So now I’m semi-retired, looking forward to the start of classes in September. And what are my expectations for this next season? Better shoes, a Horn Pipe, more advanced steps. That should be enough to keep me busy all winter.
September
11 September 1999
Today was the day of the Syracuse Feis. I didn’t go. I’ve been on hiatus since the East Durham Feis two weeks ago. Mostly I’ve used the time to rest up, check out some Adult Irish Dance sites on the web and update my own site. I practiced for the first time yesterday. It didn’t go as badly as I thought it would, but I did get tired pretty quick and it is obvious I haven’t been practicing. Classes begin again on Monday. I can’t wait.
14 September 1999
Irish Dance Rocks!! No, I’m not resorting to teenspeak, I mean, rocks, as in the dance move. I had seen some dancers doing them during competitions this summer and thought they looked really neat. Then, in our first lesson of the season, we were taught a new routine that includes them. This is so totally cool! (Okay, now I’m restoring to teenspeak.) I was surprised that I was able to do them at least sort of okay; they looked much harder when I saw them being performed. On the other hand, my feet and ankles do ache in some unusual places today.
Not surprisingly, I’m still finding it difficult to recall routines. I can recite the entire text of Poe’s The Raven, I know several different programming languages and can still tell you the ingredients of a Big Mac™, but I can’t remember that the ‘jump’ is followed by a ‘point and back.’ Getting the sequences straight in my mind is still the biggest challenge for me, although I am finding even that to be just a little easier this time around.
20 September 1999
Great class last night. We’re learning another Jig and we added on to our 8 (10, 12, whatever) hand reel. It’s getting quite complex; toward the end of the night it looked more like a session of bumper-cars without the cars instead of an Irish Folk Dance. We had a lot of fun, however.
It is good to finally get some solid instruction in the 7’s and 3’s. Having come in at the middle of last year’s class (toward the end, actually) it was simply assumed that I already knew them, and I just faked it as well as I could. Now I’m finally finding out how to do them right. Some minor adjustments, that’s all, but still gratifying.
30 September 1999
Finally got to see the video they made of our school’s recital last spring. I had supposed that watching myself dance would probably make me want to quit again, but it really wasn’t that bad. Although I wasn’t very good, I was able to see where I have improved over the past few months, so it was actually an encouraging experience. It was also inspiring watching the senior class dance and seeing the rest of the classes up there. One thing it did drive home, however, is that I need to smile more. And not just while I dance. I consider myself a fairly happy, friendly person, but I walk around with this look on my face like someone just kicked my dog. What’s up with that? On the other hand, the few photos I have of myself from the most recent Feis show me smiling, so maybe I’m improving there, also.
Class is a lot of fun, and I’m still finding the memorization of the steps to be much easier this year. Practicing, however, is coming a bit harder. Tuesday, we went out, Wednesday I worked late, today I had other things to get done and tomorrow is Friday. If I don’t get some practice in then, the weekend will come and go, and I’ll be at class again without having worked on my steps. Is it me, or do the days have fewer hours in them lately?
October
4 October 1999
We’re beginning to get quite a turn-out in the adult class. That make’s practicing our 8-hand a lot easier. We were able to (almost) form two complete circles. We’re also learning a Horn Pipe now; my first. Now maybe next season I can compete in Horn Pipe instead of Slip Jig and not have to explain myself so much.
27 October 1999
Really great class this week! We’re learning more Horn Pipe, and I just love that dance. Although I seem better at recalling steps this year, I’m no better at getting them right the first time through. Some of my classmates watch Jen do a step, then follow right along without any problem. I have to watch it, and watch it, then walk through it, then watch it again (only slower this time), then walk through it a few more times, then watch it fast . . . Trying to do it myself is a joke; I have all I can do to not trip over myself. That is, until I finally get the feel for it, then I’m fine. I guess it just takes me a little longer than the others to figure it out.
Speaking of figuring things out, that last Horn Pipe we learned is providing a mathematical challenge. It wasn’t feeling right, so I broke it up into measures and bars, and found I am a full beat short. I must have dropped a step somewhere because I’ve been mixing the steps and beats up all day and still can’t get them to come out even. I wrote my teacher about it. Hopefully she’ll have an answer before class so I don’t continue to practice it wrong.
We worked on some Ceili dances and I again discovered myself, in a room filled with women, to be the only person without a partner. So far I’ve been able to pass this off as an interesting series of coincidences–I don’t think I want to entertain any alternative possibilities.
November
5 November 1999
Still working on Horn Pipes. That mathematical problem I had with the beats in Horn Pipe #2 never resolved itself until I finally danced it to the music and found out I had it right all along. I guess not every dance can be neatly chopped up into symmetrical bars and measures. Maybe I’m spending too much time programming computers.
Our third Horn Pipe is really cool. Big jumps and rocks–it looks great when it’s done properly. The whole class was so into it we collectively decided to not work on our Ceili and continued practicing the Horn Pipes instead. I could barely walk the next day and my ankles still ache.
11 November 1999
Finally, some time to update! I’m pretty busy lately saving the world from the Y2K bug, so I don’t get to practice as much as I’d like, which is a shame since I’ve got some great dances to work on. We’re learning a Treble Jig now–very cool! I’m continuing my streak of actually being able to recall the sequence of steps without much difficulty. This is such a relief; I was so bad at it last season I actually thought I was going senile.
The Treble Jig we learned was the same one (almost) I tried to learn over the summer, with toe clicks and switches, etc. I recall being so frustrated at not being able to even comprehend what was being shown to me, much less mimic it. This time, my mind picked it up right away–it took a little coaxing to get my feet to follow, however.
As for practicing, without large blocks of time, I try to stick a little in whenever I can. I usually warm up in the morning when I walk the dog–dressed in a shirt and tie, wearing a full-length trench coat and holding a furry little rat on the end of a string. For a while it was still dark when I did this, but now it’s light again and I can only think of how bizarre it must look to anyone unfortunate enough to peek out their window at that time. During the day, I find I can do a few measures while the elevator is moving between floors. (This works better when no one else is riding with me.)
Another thing I do to get some practice time is show up early for class. While Jen and Chris are teaching the kids, several of the adults work on our routines in the adjoining classroom. We were there this past week, going over the latest Horn Pipe. The woman I was practicing with was doing her ‘big’ kick with her leg out at about 90 degrees and bent at the knee. Being the helpful fellow that I am, I told her she should be keeping her leg straight. “Like this,” she asks, and kicks–straight legged, toe pointed–up to the level of her shoulder. I was amazed. “I was doing it that way,” she said, “because I saw the other dancers doing it that way. I thought that’s how it was supposed to be done.” I assured her it was merely the effects of age, not style, causing us to kick like that.
In other news:
I finally gave in to temptation. SWMNBN was having far too much fun with her new, personal domain for me to want to stand by and watch. So, late last night I signed on to HostSave and set up Lindenwald.com. It may or may not be active by the time you read this so if the link doesn’t do anything, don’t blame your PC. At any rate, I won’t be moving in for a while and I’ll provide details on the where, when and how of that operation as it progresses.
Why Lindenwald? Uh, why not? While I was racking my brain trying to come up with the perfect domain name (every combination of Mike and/or Harling have already been spoken for) it suddenly came to me. And it felt so, so right. Barring a descriptive name (such as IBM.com) or some other semi-permanent tag (such as Irishdancer.com or cigarsmoker.com) the only other choice was to pick something meaningless.
I really didn’t want my own name as a domain name, anyway (I thought an e-mail address of Mike@mike.com sounded just a tad egotistical as well as redundant), I don’t have a company and, although I have many interests, they do come and go (last year, I would have selected scubadiver.com–and this year I could have advertised all my stuff for sale on it).
So Lindenwald.com, after the estate of our 8th President, Martin Van Buren. I grew up living next door to this Federalist mansion and it was always a source of wonder to me. Over the years, it had mostly been a private residence, but for a short time during the 1950’s it had been a private nursing home and my mother had worked there as a teenager.
While I was a child, it belonged to an old man, Mr. Campbell, who ran an antique shop out of the single, surviving gate house, and I spent a lot of time in that shop, admiring the dusty old artifacts. As I became older, I was able to raise enough money to purchase several sword bayonets of 1880’s vintage from him.
In all that time, however, I never got to see the interior of the house.
After a while, the National Park Service purchased the property, Mr. Campbell died, and the mansion was restored and opened to the public. I took my boys there at the first opportunity.
(WARNING–Amusing Child Anecdote: As we began the tout, our guide told us that we would see the room where Martin Van Buren died. My son, an avid fan of police TV, spouted, “Really? Can you still see the chalk marks from where the body was?”)
At the end of our tour, I explained to the guide who I was, where I grew up and what the house meant to me. Then I asked if I could bribe him into letting me up in the Tower. He was kind enough to allow it, even without the offered bribe, and together (sans boys) we climbed the narrow stairs to take in the view from the top of Lindenwald. It was a fine and memorable moment.
So, Lindenwald seemed perfect to me. I told SWMNBN what I had decided.
“But it doesn’t mean anything,” she said.
“It does to me,” I countered. “I grew up there, it was part of my childhood, part of who I am. My home was on the original Lindenwald estate—”
“No it wasn’t,” she said.
That was two months ago. Since then, I have searched for a better name, but found none.
The idea might be stupid, but it’s mine, dammit!
And my house really was located on the original Lindenwald Estate.
16 November 1999
So, how do you like the new design? I’m pleased; for not knowing what I’m doing I don’t think it’s half bad.
No new dances this week, which is good. We’re still trying to master our Horn Pipes and the Treble Jig (at least one of our class members thought it was the ‘Trouble Jig,’ which seemed to make more sense). We’re having great fun, though, even if we’re not ready for Riverdance (which I still have never seen).
I went to our school’s fund-raiser last weekend, too. It was good to spend some non-class time with these people I have come to know over the past eight months. It was also good to see the dancers; I really like watching people who can do it well and all of these dancers were on their way to the Oireachtas.
Surprisingly, I’m improving in my Horn Pipes and Treble Jig. I never thought I’d get the ‘shuffle’ down, but I’m at about 80% now. Not too bad for an old guy. We’re supposed to be getting hard shoes soon, and I think that will be even more fun. That classroom is going to sound like rapid, random firecrackers are going off.
24 November 1999
We got the second half of our Treble Jig last week, lots of toe clicks and neat stuff like that. We also finally ordered the new shoes (I bought a pair of soft and hard) which will be good because hitting my toe down on the floor with nothing but soft shoes on tends to hurt. We have a week off now, so that should give me lots of time to practice before the next class. We’ve got three Horn Pipes and two Treble Jigs, plus that really long Ceili and a Reel Jen taught us the first week. We never do the Reel anymore, but I still practice it–it was the first dance I learned with the ‘rocks’ in it, so I’m kinda fond of it.
I’m already looking forward to Feis season. I had such a good time I can’t wait to go again. Maybe this year I’ll make it to more than two.
December
12 December 1999
Wow, a long time since I’ve updated. Don’t think I’ve given up; I’m just busy with my job (actually had to work over this weekend), Christmas (can you say ‘MasterCard?) and my other web sites (I do more than dance, you know).
Having mastered the Horn Pipes and Treble Jigs (that’s sarcasm, in case you didn’t get it) we’re moving on to Slip Jigs. Fine by me. I seem to do okay in the Slip Jig and I don’t mind dancing it at all, but I’m not so sure I want to go through the “Hey, guys don’t do the Slip Jig” stuff I went through last summer. (Hmmm, are guys supposed to do Treble Jigs?)
Despite a lack of real practice time, I seem to be doing fairly well. This is due in no small part to doing whatever I can whenever I can. I still make a habit of standing on my toes, standing with my feet ‘in position’ and slipping in a few steps, no matter where I am, when no one is looking. It’s rare that I actually get to run through a whole dance but that doesn’t seem to matter. When I get to practice, I am generally able to complete the routines with little difficulty. Maybe after the Holidays (I can’t wait to get this Y2K stuff out of the way) things will settle down and I’ll be able to polish up my steps.
Class is tomorrow and we’re supposed to have our new shoes it. This ought to be good.
15 December 1999
Vacation coming up. No class until January 3, 2000. Could be a great opportunity to get in a lot of practice, or an excuse to let all my dances get rusty. We’ll see.
The Shoe Order came in for our last class–most of them, at least. Mine, and a few of the other’s, weren’t there, but enough of the class got theirs so we could get an idea of what it sounded like to have a room full of people trying to do a Treble Jig in very loud and unfamiliar foot gear. From watching my classmates, I think it’s going to be somewhat harder to become adjusted to the new shoes than I thought.
My shoes, I am told via E-Mail, did arrive, just a day late. Hopefully I can pick them up and practice with them over vacation.
While we adults are struggling to get through a complete Slip Jig without screwing up, the younger dancers are out winning championships. Declan Crowly went to the recent oireachtas and won the “Eastern Regional Championship for Boys 8 and Under.” Jen Boland, our instructor, won second place in her division and is going to the Worlds. (Other Boland dancers won in their competitions as well, but I didn’t write their names down so I don’t remember who they were. Sorry.) Jen and Declan were recently featured on our local news; I didn’t get to see all of their interview/demonstrations, but what I did see was impressive.
24 December 1999
Got my shoes today! It’s like Christmas! The hard shoes don’t fit, but my new jig shoes are great. They are so different than the shoes I’m using now! Just walking around in them is a bit awkward. My old shoes are flat while these new ones have a bit of a heel, which is very hard and clacks loudly when it hits the floor. I am assuming, since these are used for jigs and reels, that the heel isn’t supposed to hit the ground while dancing, but I could be wrong. I guess I’ll have to verify that at our next class.
Because of the hard heel on my jig shoes, I doubt I’ll be able to practice at home with them, and certainly not with the hard shoes. I can’t imagine what those heels would do to the new floor. I guess I’ll have to continue home-practice in my slippers and work with the shoes at class-practice. I suppose I can walk around in them a occasionally, just to break them in.
I’m really anxious to get my hard shoes now. From what I saw at our last class, it seems as if it doesn’t really matter how well I can do Horn Pipes and Treble Jigs in soft shoes; switching to hard shoes is going to be like learning to dance all over again and I want to get that process started as soon as possible.
At least I have something new to work with over the next week and a half.
31 December 1999
Back to the garage.
My hard shoes arrived yesterday. This time they are merely snug, but I can live with that. What I couldn’t live with was dancing on the new floor with them-because my girlfriend would kill me if I did. Those heels–on both my hard and soft shoes–would make short work of the Pergo’s® pristine shine. Luckily, we haven’t had any snow yet this year, so the garage is still relatively clean from when I swept it out last September.
I’m not sure if the concrete is good for the heels, but it certainly makes a satisfying CLACK! The new shoes make me feel like I’m dancing in roller skates, which makes Horn Pipes and Treble Jigs just a little more challenging. I’m having fun, though, and will probably get the hang of it before too long. I just wish I had gotten them when I was originally supposed to–class is coming up in a few days and I was hoping to be out of the ‘awkward’ stage by then.