Indianapolis Feis 2014, PC/OC Feis Review
The Indianapolis Feis was held on June 14th, 2014 at the Indiana State Fair Grounds Exposition Center. This is the second time we have attended the Indy Feis, although this year it was held at a new venue.
Venue
This was the first time the feis was at this venue and there are mixed feelings from lots of people on it. It is a fairgrounds building with a concrete floor but it was big and fully enclosed and it was climate controlled, unlike another fair grounds building we all know, but I wont go there right now 😉
The provided a nice map of the venue that might be a good reference.
Stages and Seating
There were 6 stages made of plywood, and the one that I mentally measured was a very good size at 32 x 32. That was a PC/OC stage and I cannot say if the grades stages were the same size.
Being plywood, there was the traditional issues that go along with that type floor. I saw one fall and numerous slips on the stage I was viewing. The feis committee did mop the stage during lunch however, so they tried to keep up with maintenance.
Seating wasn’t bad, and I never saw all the chairs full on the stage we were on. There were those that decided that chairs were better suited for their gear, and on some stages, people actually took some of the chairs and formed them into their own little camping area. You know my thoughts on this topic, but this time, other feis goers captured the event in a photo. smh
Camping and Access
Camping wasn’t horrible, admittedly no where near the best I had seen either, but they tried. Seems like each stage had an area behind the viewers seats so people could stow gear, and the far end of the venue and along the outer walls had more areas, so you could probably find a place to park your gear.
Access in general was pretty good. I found the main issue was people standing in the aisles between the viewers chairs to watch the comps. You could usually find another way around through.
Awards and Results
Both Awards and Results were along one wall on the side of the venue, out of the way but still convenient to get to.
There were chairs for viewers in the champs results area which not all feiseanna do, so that was good. They did have room, and probably could have used more chairs there. I was also a little disappointed to see a few dancers held chairs with their solo dresses, so some of the parents had to stand to see results.
Parking
Lots of parking, but not all close. There was a $5 charge for parking which was a surprise to us and apparently to other attendees. Not that $5 is a big cost, but if you are not expecting it, and don’t have cash, it can be an annoyance.
Other
One other thing I heard complaints about was the directions on the feis site. I did not use them but heard some complaints from those that did, that the directions could have had some more details.
And speaking of finding the feis, if you tell your GPS 1202 W 38th instead of 1202 E 38th, you will end up at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, a lovely building and grounds. Just trust me on this one 🙁
Judges
3 Judges, attentive and pretty good comments considering the size of some of the comps I saw. No complaints.
Music
OK, here is where I heard the most complaints. Each stage had their own musician, which is always good because shared musicians tend to cause delays. Not the musicians themselves mind you, but the stages waiting to get caught up or to catch up as the case may be.
More than one dancer on the stage we were on complained about the tempo of some of the music, and also the ability to hear it. As a viewer, I could hear music from everywhere so I could understand how the dancers might have issues. TGC had a start issue on one of her dances, and that has never been an issue for her (not making excuses, just commenting on the music).
I also saw a musician play the wrong song. The dancers danced anyway, and it was not until the 1st set of dancers had nearly finished their steps that the judges realized what was going on and stopped them. They were able to redo their dance.
Not sure what the problem was, might be a musician thing, but I can’t help but wonder if the acoustics in the Expo Center contributed to the issues.
Food
There were three food stands, but it appeared that two were not as fully equipped as the third. You could get drinks, corndogs and few other items at all three, but if you wanted grill items you needed to stand in the long line for the third stand.
Prices seemed very reasonable but I cannot speak to the quality as we did not eat at the venue.
Vendors
The usual suspects. If you have been to a Mid-America feis you know who they are. There was some nic nacs and non-feis swag on top of the typical feisessities (feis necessities). You can see the vendor list here. Oh, and if you follow me on Facebook, you already know there were Irish M&Ms 🙂
Results
Results for PC/OC, for TGC’s comp anyway, were out in about 75 minutes, which has been close to the norm. The awards were off to one side of the venue, behind the stages and the vendors. There were chairs for viewers as mentioned above, but there was room for more and they needed them. Lots of younger dancers sitting on the floor between the chairs and the podium, and lots of people standing behind the chairs.
At most PC/OC feis I have attended, the hard and soft shoe results are announced first, followed by the overall standings. They did it the opposite way here, announcing the overall first, and then the hard shoe and soft shoe results. And they did not allow time for the dancers to leave the podium between overall and the ‘shoes’, so you had a number of dancers standing there, kind of awkwardly.
I prefer when they announce the ‘shoes’ first personally. It gives an idea of how your dancer might have placed overall and you can prepare mentally a bit better 😉
Feis Flow
The flow was great. I heard a few comments that comps on a few stages, were moving along and from start to finish for us was less than 2 hours. Kudos on keeping it moving.
Scoring
Kind of torn on scoring. If we had been in last years venue, I think overall the feis would have faired much better. But, the venue issues combined with the music issues and I am afraid I would have to give this years feis somewhere around 6.5 to 7. We will be back though!
What did you think?
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This was our third year at Indy Feis. We love the volunteers and the huge stages. The musician on stage 1 was great, but since we could hear him at the other end of the venue, I can understand how other stages’ dancers might have had issues. At the former venue, stages were much farther apart and there was no music “overlap.”
One nice feature some feis-goers may have missed – the fairgrounds have a shuttle van; we did not have to walk all the way from our parking space to the venue.
Announcements were difficult to hear over the noise of the feis.
My dancer did not like the fact that the PC/OC awards area was behind a stage; the screaming as awards were announced was a distraction that she worried about as she lined up to dance. Given the size of the venue, I am not sure where the podium could have been placed to avoid this issue. (Outside, perhaps?)
Overall, a good feis, thanks to the organizational skills and Hoosier Heartland friendliness of the feis team and their volunteers.
P. S. – Next time, I will introduce myself to Mr. What The Feis…we saw you and I was lucky enough to watch TGC dance!
Please do! Are you sure it was me? 😉
I was a little disappointed in the volunteers at our stage. A gentleman was using his iPhone to video the OPW dances at our stage and when I asked a volunteer to intervene, he replied, “well, we don’t have phone police here. “.
This was our first year at the Indy Feis. While we didn’t have issues with the venue, the OC stage was slippery and several girls fell in my daughter’s competition. The committee did attempt to address the issue by mopping the floor between rounds and things seemed to improve, at least temporarily, and I don’t know if there were additional falls afterwards. Round awards were announced before overall results, which is apparently a change from past years, as I read the comments here from several years ago. As far as overall results, I realize the dancers should be there for the “experience,” but for as much as the dancers pay to do exactly three dances, something more than a cheap prizewinner trophy for placed dancers would have been nice. My daughter was happy enough with hers, until she realized it didn’t even denote the competition level and was literally the same trophy received by the 1st place prizewinners. At least the Prizewinners had the opportunity to take home one for each competition they won for a whole lotta less money! If funds are an issue for this feis, they should try something unique, yet inexpensive, like a piece of pottery or something with the Indy 500 theme. Either way, I was surprised by the awards for Open Championship! As far as food at this venue, it was the usual feis fare: pretzels, hot dogs, etc. They had plenty of concession areas, so I didn’t experience or see long lines at any time. There was plenty of parking outside, although the venue charges $5.00 per car to park there. Seating was the usual headache, as they had the oft found inconsiderate feis goers who insist on using the spectator chairs for camping, rather than the designated camping area. If I had a nickel for every chair I saw covered with supplies, no owners in sight, I might be able to buy my daughter a new solo dress! I’m not sure we’ll do this one again. It wasn’t a bad feis overall, but there are so many other feis options the same weekend that offer good practice for Nationals and a chance for my daughter to win something appropriate for her competition level.