The Shoe Shine Contest

shoeShineContest

Most all of you know my affinity for well polished dance shoes. I feel so strongly, I have even written a blog post on how I do my daughters shoes, because, you know, I can rock a can of Kiwi.

Well, in the spirit of competition, fun, and to help motivate you guys into putting a little more effort into the shoe shine, and I mean more than using that squeezy tube stuff or spray painting them (and yes, it pains me to say I know someone who did that), I have teamed up with the Irish Dance TShirt Company to create the What The Feis Shoe Shine Contest.

The Specifics

  • I will announce the contest the Monday before a contest weekend. Announcements, and reminders will be made on my social media accounts:
  • Entries by the way of photos will be collected between Thursday at 5:00 p.m. EST and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. EST the contest weekend, and posted for voting Sunday night. Voting will continue till the Tuesday following the weekend at 5:00 p.m EST.
  • Entries can be emailed to inbox (at) whatthefeis.com, or messaged to me via the Facebook page. Entries posted on the Facebook timeline will be deleted.
  • Entries will be posted for voting either on whatthefeis.com, on the What The Feis Facebook page, or another location TBD. Links to the location will be posted on social media when voting is ready. No text message voting will be accepted, this ain’t American Idol.
  • Winner will be selected by popular vote, just like American Idol ;)

The Prize

  • Winner will receive one short sleeved classic or contour tshirt from the Irish Dance TShirt Company. Long sleeve and tank top tees not eligible as prizes.
  • Tshirt does not have to be for the polisher. It can be for the person who wears the shoes ;)
  • Prize includes free shipping to the prizewinners location. WTF & IDTCO reserve the right to select the shipping method. Don’t worry, we won’t use carrier pigeons or drones, at least not yet.

The Rules

thisIs
  • We are promoting shoe shining, with polish like Kiwi in the can(or a similar product). This means NO:
    • Squeezy bottles or tubes
    • Electrical tape
    • Spray-on polish or shiners
    • Spray paint
    • Patent leather
    • anything else that is not polishing.
  • Photos must be in un-edited format. No special Instagram or other program filters, color, hue, level, balance or any other adjustment in Photoshop or other editing programs. Cropping is ok.
  • Photos should be in natural light or standard building lighting. No special photographic lighting please. Flash is ok.
  • Pictures should be from top and or front of the shoes so as to best show the toe area.
  • Only one entry per polisher. Multiple entries per household are allowed, but they must be from separate shiners.
  • Only one prize per shiner for the life of the contest (assuming this is going to be a wildly popular contest and will be repeated). This is a shiner limit, not a household limit, so other shiners in the household are eligible for prizes.
  • Shined shoe picture MUST be from the week of the contest. The same picture WILL NOT be accepted for multiple contests.
  • WTF and IDTCO reserves the right to end the contest or update contest rules at their discretion.
  • Employees of What The Feis and the Irish Dance TShirt Company are ineligible.

2015 24 Days of Irish Dance Business List

Just wanted to post the entire 2015 business list from the 24 Days of Irish Dance Businesses in case you missed one, or as an easy reference when you shop with these fine people again (especially #24, no pressure ;) ).

  1. Hang in There Creations: http://www.Facebook.com/hangintherecreations and http://www.hangintherecreations.com.
  2. Used Solo Dresses: https://www.facebook.com/usedsolodresses and https://www.usedsolodresses.com/
  3. Ghillie Quick: https://www.facebook.com/GhillieQuick and http://GhillieQuick.etsy.com
  4. Sammie Swan Yoga: https://www.facebook.com/thesoarmethod and http://www.sammieswanyoga.com/
  5. Kay Hire: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153160513677689&id=105105752688
  6. Feis Buddies: https://www.facebook.com/FeisBuddies/ and http://www.feisbuddies.com/
  7. Rince Couture: – https://www.facebook.com/Rince-Couture-917494618330654 and https://www.etsy.com/shop/RinceCouture
  8. Shamrock Soaps: https://www.facebook.com/shamrocksoaps/ and http://www.shamrocksoapswi.com/
  9. Action Fabrics: https://www.facebook.com/Action-Fabrics-and-Trim-206916322779964/ and http://actionfabrics.com/
  10. Jewelry through Magnabilities: https://www.facebook.com/Creynolds.magnabilities
  11. All For A Jig: https://www.facebook.com/All-For-A-Jig-408465669211020/
  12. Irish Dancing Magazine: https://www.facebook.com/The-Irish-Dancing-Magazine-111938632155397 and http://www.irishdancing.com/
  13. Curly Girlz(Iirsh): http://www.curlygirlz.net/irish-dancer-pins.html#.VmS–7grLIU
  14. ReelRobics: https://www.facebook.com/reelrobics/
  15. Liffey Rivers Books: https://www.facebook.com/The-Liffey-Rivers-Irish-Dancer-Mysteries-405975679600950/
  16. Doug Lowder Sets: http://douglowder.com/Set_Dances.html
  17. Gena Dewey Books: http://vbs20.com/Irish/sample-page/
  18. No One’s Watching Book: https://www.facebook.com/NoOnesWatchingYAfiction/?ref=profile
  19. J & K Designs: http://www.jkdesignsar.com/Irishdance.html
  20. DeWalt-Designs: https://www.facebook.com/DeWalt-Designs-662455277156177
  21. Feis Kidz: https://www.facebook.com/feiskidz and https://www.facebook.com/CatsGotMyCotton/
  22. Coughlan’s Irish Imports: https://www.facebook.com/coughlansii
  23. Ballinvilla Products: https://www.facebook.com/Ballinvilla-Products-124842750865451
  24. Irish Dance TShirt Company: https://www.facebook.com/irishdancetshirts/ and http://irishdancetshirtcompany.com/

Until next year :)

Cincinnati Feis 2015 PC/OC Review

Be sure to take a look at the previous posts. I am streamlining this one a bit so as not to get to repetitive.

Before I get to the review, I want to give props to the Cincinnati Feis Committee. Not only did they read and comment on last years review, but before the feis this year, when I commented on the What The Feis facebook page, a member of the Cincinnati Feis facebook page commented that they had addressed the concerns from last year. Way to be proactive!


 

Cincinnati-Feis-LogoFull

The 32nd Annual Cincinnati Feis was held on November 15, 2015 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, KY. We have attended this feis a number of time, and this is the first year at the Open Champion level.

I did do a few walk thoughs on the second floor where the grades were, but this review captures my thoughts on the Champ area. If anyone has thoughts or opinions on the Grades level, please let me know and I will be sure to get them added, anonymously is you wish.

Venue

The venue was the same as the few previous years, and I have always liked this venue. Last years comments are still appropriate for this year, so I will not repeat.

A few notes from this year:

  • Climate control seemed to be an issue, especially in the camping/dining area on the first floor. Warm in the morning, and cold, not cool, by the end of the day.
  • And speaking of the camping/dining area, and I know the feis committee has no control over this, but the greasy food smell was so overwhelming in that room, we actually moved TGCs dress out of the area so as not to take the smell home with us.
  • The Vendor setup between the camping area and the champs stage area was not optimal. There was a bottleneck where people could pass each other but one vendor table was set up where if anyone was browsing the table, the flow was restricted, and inevitably, people would browse, stop and chat, etc… and traffic to/from the champs area was stopped.
    • There were some vendors on the second level, and there was a ton of room in the side hall that was not being used, hint, hint :)

For more on the venue, please see last years review.

Stages

At the end of the stage review for last year it said:

The stages themselves appeared to be made of plywood (although my dancer insisted they did not feel like normal stages) & were a decent size. However, they were the slipperiest stages I have ever seen at a feis, and we’ve been at this game for almost 4 years now. I saw dancers at every age & level, in both soft shoe & hard shoe slip & fall all day long on all 4 grades stages. My own dancer slipped in 2 dances & took a full out fall in a 3rd (and we did douse the soles of her shoes in sprite to try & prevent slips/falls). The feis did put wet towels at the side of the stage for the dancers to rub their shoes in & I did see stages being mopped during the lunch break, but the sheer number of slips/falls we saw was completely unacceptable.

This alone would keep me from coming back to this feis next year – it is extremely disappointing to have driven 5 hours to a feis, only to find that the quality of the stages is this poor.

This is the exact point the Feis Committee addressed in their comments on my facebook page, and I quote:

you will be happy to know we painted all our stages this year and we have Sticky Mats that were used at the NAIDC to help prevent the slipperiness of the stages from the carpet fibers at the NKYCC! See you Sunday – thanks for your support

And I am pleased to report, it appeared to work!

I did not see any slips this year, and heard no complaints from other feis goers. I did see one dancer appear to trip over a stage seam, but that was really the only issue I saw.

The stage monitors appeared to be watching and picked up any foreign objects between dances.

Good job on the stages Cinci!

Judges

They ran the Champs area like it will be run at Oireachtas. Three dances, three different stages, three judges on each stage, so a dancer was judged by 9 judges. That is some pretty good judging. I think that is great exposure for the dancers and prep for the O.

A side note: As I watched the judges, as one dancer finished their set, one judge turned to another and shook their head, then put their hand up to their mouth and followed their gesture with some comment. Sorry, but that was completely unprofessional.

Music

The three stages had some pretty good separation, but the music bleed in the viewers area was terrible. It did not appear to affect the dancers however, at least not as far as I could tell, but it made it weird to watch.

Food

Sorry, but not a fan. The fact that you could not bring in outside food made your options what was available in the dining area. They had a large selection, but if you wanted anything warm it was a very slow process, and we hit the tables before the lunch rush, so I can’t imagine what it was like on the actual lunch break. The food was not horrible, but not worth the price, and they were charging $3 for a 12 oz soda.

Results/Awards

Cincinnati has a nice podium with 5 places for the PC/OC awards, lots of room for dancers and seats for viewers, and a great sound system so you can hear the announcements. They also have SASHES for the top 5 places, the ultimate prize for the champs! They also give glassware to the top 3 places and candy for all the placements.

That being said, I heard some grumblings as to why the Grades got medals and champs got Hershey Bars, and one mom actually said, and no it was not TGCs mom, ‘it’s like they fill the jars with leftover Halloween candy.’ Sorry Cinci, I gotta call it like I hear it. If it is any consolation, TGC really enjoyed the candy last year when she placed in the prelim level.

One other note, it seems like the committee holds results and does a few comps at a time. Though there is room, it would make it less congested to spread the awards out every 15 – 30 minutes if that is an option.

Feis Flow

It was an extremely long day. I am not sure exactly where the PCs ended and the OCs started compared to the lunch schedule, but lunch did not get done till 115ish. By 430, TGC had still not done set, and they were still going strong on all three stages. Needless to say, we were still waiting for awards at 6. If the feis committee wanted to make it like Oireachtas, they did a pretty good job.

I am afraid I have to say that there were lots of grumblings about the flow, from dancers, parents and even from some of the committee.

Sorry, I have no opinions on how to make it better, but faster would be good :)

Summary

As I read this, I think my grumpy old man card is showing. I like this feis, have always enjoyed it in the past, except for that stage thing last year, and think the committee is very dedicated to making this the very best feis they can. This year however, I think they fell a bit short in some areas.

What did you think?

What did you think of the Cincinnati Feis 2015 (on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being lowest)?

  • 7 (25%, 6 Votes)
  • 6 (17%, 4 Votes)
  • 8 (17%, 4 Votes)
  • 4 (13%, 3 Votes)
  • 5 (13%, 3 Votes)
  • 10 (8%, 2 Votes)
  • 3 (8%, 2 Votes)
  • 2 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 9 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 1 (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 24

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Where have all the feis reviews gone?

In a recent comment, a Facebook reader mentioned that she liked it better when I was doing more feis reviews and less of the sarcasm and humor (I am paraphrasing). I have to say, I kind of agree, not with the sarcasm and humor part, that comes easy for me, but about the feis reviews.

I have done fewer reviews, mostly because I go to the same feiseanna over and over, and I felt like I was getting repetitive. Plus, they take time, sometimes a lot of time, and I have had less time to dedicate to them.

I did have help from some of you guys, writing reviews that were posted, but that has slowed down to. I appreciate all the submissions, and admittedly, I haven’t pressed for them.

So, as much as I would love to say the reviews will ramp up again, I can’t promise that. Our feising has slowed way down because we are at a level where we do not need to feis as much, and I refer back to the point about going to the same feiseanna, and being repetitive. I will keep the archive of past reviews and will see what I can do about adding to them.

That being said, if you would like to help, I would love to hear from you. See this page if you are interested in contributing a review and contact me. And don’t worry, I will continue with the sarcasm and humor, these days we all need that in our lives.

Thanks!

Building an Irish Dance Practice Stage…

…by someone who sits on his butt in front of a computer most days.

I can be handy. I have done handy stuff, but lately I have focused more on easier projects like light fixtures, ceiling fans, adding door locks and dimmer switches, replacing toilets and their parts, putting prefab shelves together, etc… I have done bigger projects, remodeled a kitchen (with help), built an entire wall of shelving in a garage, and some others, but it has been a while. Anyway, I figured this dance floor thing should be a no brainer. I was mostly right, but kinda wrong.

Below I am going to tell you how I put TGC’s (the girl child) practice stage together, and some DOs and DON’Ts along the way. It may not be the way you would do it, and if that is the case, please write a blog post and I will put a link out to it. You can also Google the steps. There are various ways to do it. I however, went my own route.

I have put in whatever I could to make it helpful, especially for someone who doesn’t do this kind of thing all the time (or at all). I also tried to put in some tips that I discovered along the way, once again designed for the DIY novice. It may sound over simplified, but if you are not a DIYer, this may not be second nature. I am also trying to have you go to [insert your favorite hardware store here] once for this project, not 3 times like I did.

Please consider this Irish Dance Practice Stage Building For Dummies, and here goes.

The Project

Create an 8′ x 12′ practice stage suitable for a teenage Irish dancer.

finFloor

The Tools

  • Power drill with screwdriver bits, and a drill bit with a slightly smaller diameter than your wood screws
  • Circular saw, or some other 2×4 cutting device
  • Hammer
  • Small sledgehammer – one handed (not necessary but really handy)
  • Measuring tape, at least 12′
  • Extension cord
  • T-square (or some right angle tool)
  • Paint roller
  • Paint tray(s)
  • Pencil

The Materials

materials

In SW Ohio dollars, no taxes added. Your mileage may vary. And remember, if you are a military veteran, like me, Lowes gives 10% off on everything all the time. Full price amounts shown below.

Qty. Item Cost Ext. Cost
3 4′ x 8′ sheets 19/32 cat rated sheeting (plywood) $16.97 $50.91
12 2″ x 4″ x 96″ select studs $2.62 $31.44
2 32 oz cans of chalkboard paint $9.98 $19.96
24 3″ x 6″ mending plates $1.10 $26.40
2 boxes 8×2 50 count wood screws $4.97 $9.94
1 1.88″ x 35yd roll Gorilla tape $8.98 $8.98
Total $147.63

The Steps

Prepping the Frame

You will need to cut all 12 2x4s to prep them for the frame. For my stage assembly, I laid the 2x4s out on their wide side, which made the stage a little shorter, and provided a bit more support area under the plywood.

  • Cut *7 inches off 9 of the 2x4s, leaving 9 @ 89 inches
  • Cut 3 of the 2x4s in half, leaving 6 @ 48 inches

If you have help, you may want to have them start putting the first coat of paint on the plywood. If you do not have help, you may want to roll a coat on before you start assembling frames. If you are working where you are painting, CUT THE WOOD AND CLEANUP BEFORE you start to paint.

painting

*For you true DIY novices, please note that a 2×4 is really 3.5 x 1.5 inches. Cutting 7 inches off will leave just enough to use a support piece at either end, resulting in an 8′ long frame, perfect for the 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood. (yes they are actually 4′ x 8′)

Assemble the Frame Sections

framePlatesYou will be making 3 frame sections and will do this step 3 times. I tried to be smart and create just two sections, but it was more work in the long run. See Don’ts section at the end of this article.

platesNote: If you are using mending plates for attaching the 2x4s together, it is best to work on a cement floor. Carpeted areas will work, but it is not recommended.

For this step you will need 3 of the 89″ 2x4s, 2 of the 48″ 2x4s and 6 of the 3″ x 6″ mending plates. Layout the frame as shown in the image to the left. The Red Xs indicate the position of the mending plates. Lay the 2x4s out so that the wide side is to the floor.

Square up one of the corners and using the sledgehammer, start pounding a mending plate into one of the 2x4s, working your way across the join to the other 2×4. You should be able to bang the plate into the 2x4s so that it is nearly flat. A hammer will work, but I found the sledge MUCH more effective.

plateRepeat this step for the other 5 joins on this section of frame and then repeat this entire step 2 more time until all 3 frame sections are complete. When they are complete, move the frames to where you will do the final assembly on the stage. (I did the prep work in the garage and then moved it all to the basement for assembly).

Note: You can use other methods to make the joins. This was recommended to me, made sense, and worked pretty well, and the plates are not too expensive.

DO NOT get ahead of yourself and attach the plywood. 1, it is probably not dry and needs a second coat of paint anyway, and B, you will need to attach the frames to each other before adding the plywood.

Add a second coat of paint to the plywood if you haven’t already. Shouldn’t be more than an hour or two between coats.

Assemble the Frame

completeFrameLay the 3 frame sections out next to each other as in the image to the left.

Note: Make sure you have it as close to the final destination as possible, because it will be harder to move after the next few steps.

Add 6 more mending plates to attach the frame sections together, in the locations marked by the green Xs. Keep in mind that you will be screwing the plywood on to these frames at about 1′ intervals, so try to space the mending plates so they are not in the way of the screws.

Go check the paint, is the second coat dry? If so, bring the plywood to the final build area.

Adding the Plywood

Dry fit all three pieces of plywood onto your frame. If you followed the measurements, and if I explained it correctly, each sheet should cover one of the frame sections nearly perfectly, and all three should cover the entire frame with no overlap or exposed frame. If you are satisfied with the dry fit, remove two of the pieces of plywood.

Lay your first sheet of plywood paint side up ;) , onto the frame. I noticed that my frame was not exactly square due to some of the shortcuts that I took (fixed for this post). If your plywood did not fit perfectly, start laying the first sheet of plywood on the most visible section of the stage, leaving any ‘errors’ for the least visible section.

measureDry fit the plywood onto the frame. Take your tape measure and extend the tape 12′, lock it, and lay it along one long side of the plywood. Use this to quickly drill pilot holes every 1′ with the small drill bit. Just laying the tape out keeps you from having to measure and mark the board itself. Drill the pilot hole through the plywood and into the 2×4 beneath. Repeat every foot on both sides, up the middle, and along both shorter ends. Be careful to avoid the mending plates along the long end that butts up to another section of stage, but the plates should still be visible since you are only working a sheet of plywood at a time, so this should be easy.

screwsWhen you have all the pilot holes drilled, use your drill to add a 2″ screw to each hole. Try to sink the screw far enough in where it is at least flush with the plywood, or maybe even sunk a bit into the wood, so as not to cause a trip hazard for your dancer.

Repeat for the other two pieces of plywood. For the edges that butt up against each other, you don’t need the tape measure, you can use the screws you just added to the previous piece as a guide for where to put the pilot holes. You will need it for the other three sides, but you saved a little time there.

Once all the screws are in, cover each line of screws with a layer of the Gorilla tape. I also covered the edges of the plywood which not only gives it a cleaner look, it also helps keep down any splintering. See the first picture above for the finished project.

dosdonts

Although the stage came out pretty well, there are some things I would have done differently now that it is complete, and some things I would have done the same. Below is a list of Dos, Donts and Considerations for when you build your stage.

DO

  • DO assemble all the frames on a hard surface if you are using the mending plates. It provides a better support surface when you are pounding in the plates and does not give like the carpet (in my case) did.
  • DO use premium wood screws. I used an OK screw, but some of the heads striped as I was putting them in. This is going to make it really difficult  if I have to take the stage apart.
  • DO check the plywood and 2x4s for quality. Buy the plywood as smooth as possible, and the 2x4s as straight as possible. Both of these issues caused extra work for me.
  • DO keep band aids handy.

DO NOT

  • wrongFrameDO NOT take a shortcut and just use 3 2x4s under the plywood like in the picture to the right. In my head, it would have been fine, but when I dry fit it, the ends of the plywood between the supports was weaker and could have been a hazard.
  • DO NOT try to take shortcut thinking you can create one big frame section (replacing 2 of the sections in the steps above) with 8′ 2x4s on the ends instead of 2 smaller frame sections with 4′ supports on either end. I thought of doing that, realized there was no way I could build it and get the completed section (finished size 8′ x 8′) down to the basement. So, I carried the parts down to the basement and started adding on to the 8′ x 4′ section I had already built and moved down. This is when I realized trying to assemble on carpet was not the best idea, but by then I was already to far along to do it the right way (I listed the right way above).
  • DO NOT work barefoot, because inevitably you will be working in your carpeted basement, thinking all is well, trying to get the mending plates attached, and you will step on the bag of mending plates. Those are some pointy little demons. (See the band aids note in DOs). I won’t mention the fact that stepping on the bag of plates made me spin around, loose my balance, and step on the bag with the other foot. I wish I was kidding. Please just wear shoes.

CONSIDER

  • Replacing 4 of the 2x4s with 2 2x8s instead, and using those in place of the 2x4s where the frame sections butt together. This would provide a more sturdy final stage, less cuts, less mending plates, etc… You will have to do your own math on putting that together.
  • Alternatives to the mending plates. I was looking for something that was nearly flush when installed. Mending plates worked well in that regard, but were more difficult to install than another bracket alternatives would be. I acted to quick. I should have researched a bit more.
  • Consider alternates to the chalkboard paint. It is OK, but after a week, it has taken quite a beating. It is not slick, which is good, and maybe additional coats is the answer. Refer back to the research line above.
  • Other surface coatings. Some other stage building blogs suggest using shower pan liner as the topper. You can get shower pan liner at [insert your favorite hardware store here] in 5 foot wide rolls for $8 a foot. Quick math says that would add nearly $200 to the cost of the stage I built. There are probably other options.

Tell Me How Yours Goes

The stage is solid and TGC loves it, so my work here is done, but I am not vain enough to think mine is the perfect way to build a dance stage. I do think other people will find this post, so I want to offer as much info as possible. If you have suggestions on how to make this better, please add them below. I may have to do this again.  ;)

 

 

An open letter to Irish dancers, from a dance dad…

My latest post for my Feis Dad gig out on Antonio Pacelli.

A recent situation between my dancer and I made me realize a few things, and I am probably not the only one that feels this way, so I wanted to share. If you can get your dancer to read it (more power to you), maybe they will realize we aren’t that bad after all ;)

You can find it at https://www.antoniopacelli.com/community/article/an-open-letter-to-irish-dancers

 

American Pride Feis 2015 PC/OC Review

4-231x300Feis Info

The 3rd Annual American Pride Feis was held Saturday, September 12th, 2015, at the Franklin Field House in Franklin, Tennessee. This review covers some of the general info, but is slated more for the PC/OC levels since that is where we spent most of our time.

Venue

Afraid I didn’t make it to this feis last year when it was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Convention Center, but the grumbling in the crowd indicated to me that the Franklin Field House was not quite on the same par as the Gaylord.

There were 5 stages, 1 – 4 for the Grades (as far as I can tell, although it makes sense to me that some of the PCs/OCs ‘might’ also could have been on those stages). We were on 5 during our dances. The large venue was split into sections by sliding partitions so there was some separation between the stages, so to speak, and 2 of the stages were in an area, 2 in an adjoining area, and the PC/OC stage in a third area.

Stages 1 – 4 were plywood, and a reasonable size, looked to be about 20′ x 24′, BUT, they were attached along one side so really stages 1 & 2, and 3 & 4 were both just big stages cut in half with tape. Due to their proximity, the combined stages shared a single musician, so there were only 3 in the entire venue, more on that later. Please note, the 20 x 24 was the size of the stage after being cut in half by the tape.

Stage 5 was a pretty good size, about 32′ x 24′ and was textured. Not sure if it was paint (looked to be), but I heard no complaints about the stage from my, or any other dancers. In fact, this is the first feis I remember in a while where I saw no slips or falls. Not saying they did not happen, just that I did not see any. (now that that has come out of my mouth, it seems highly unlikely none happened).

SIDE NOTE: All stages, as in years past, were named after a branch of the armed forces. Why the PC/OC stage was not named after Navy is beyond me, and I will try not to let it affect my review.  ;)

The practice stage, wait, the 6 individual pieces of plywood that served as the practice area, probably could have been handled better. At least they provided a hard surface for the dancers to practice, considering the remainder of the flooring was either like basketball flooring where no hard shoes were allowed, or artificial turf, not the best dance surface.

Results and awards, and the PC/OC podium was in yet another area, separated from the stage areas by a netting, you know, the kind that keeps soccer balls from being kicked into the spectator seats in an indoor arena, which this kind of was. Results were posted on the wall which was right next to where awards could be picked up, very convenient.

The size and layout of the venue allowed for adequate camping, and the Southern Region seems more tolerant of camping in spectator seats, although we never had an issue finding a place to sit.

The concessions and vendors were setup in another open area near the concession stand and front door.

The venue was really large, but easily navigated

Parking was plentiful but may have involved a bit of a walk depending on when you arrived. There was a way to pull right up to the front to drop off dancers and gear though. No charge for the parking, always nice.

The only issue I had with the venue was the climate. They really did not get a handle on that till closer to 10am, and it was VERY warm up until that point. Hopefully noted for next year.

Judges

PC/OC  always has 3 judges monitoring the performance. The judges seemed attentive on our stage and took no breaks that I saw, and the same three were there for at least the first half of the day.

There were only seven judges invited, so with 3 at stage 5, and one each on 1 – 4, I am not sure how much rotation was done by judges on the grades level. You should know by now I am a big fan of grades level judge frequent rotation.

Music

Stage 5 had its own musician, Stages 1 & 2, and Stages 3 & 4 each shared a musician. Not a fan of that. It inevitably causes delays somewhere, and I did see some times when not all stages were active due to unbalanced stage assignments.

Food

Standard concession fare, pizza, pretzels, hotdogs, soda, granola bars, water etc…. I thought the prices were a little high, but not terrible.

Vendors

Tshirt people were there, and the standard accessories tables, but the vendors seemed VERY limited to me. No larger shoe vendors (that I recognized), no ‘fun’ Irish swag, and no Irish M&Ms…. :(

Results

Really cant speak to how the Grades level results went. Sorry.

PC/OC were fairly smooth however. The stage monitor announced when awards would be, and there was also a board over in the awards area that listed the time. For us, it showed up about 20 minutes before it happened, which was great. Sometimes a feis will post the notice only a few minutes before, and it is not enough time to find everyone, get the dress on, and get to the awards.

I have commented on other feiseanna that I would like to see them announce the top three in each round, instead of just 1st. At this feis, they did that one better, they announced the top half in each shoe and in the set.

Anyway, between the end of the dancing and the announcement was about 75 minutes, which is probably a bit better than average, so no complaints. We were pretty much done before lunch with everything, so really I had no complaints.

Feis Flow

The comp was medium sized, between 15 and 20, and they were done dancing all 3 rounds in just over an hour. The stage monitor kept things moving after the champ stage finally got moving. Casual observation showed they had a hard time getting the stage started and that stage did not start till after 9 a.m.

Scoring

Other than the building climate issue, and the late start, and the individual practice areas, none of which really seem to impact us very much, well there was some sweating, but I digress, I thought the feis was pretty good. I would give it a 8.25ish, not to shabby.

What Say You?

Take the poll below and if you have comments on what you thought about the feis, please add them below.

What did you think of the American Pride Feis 2015 (on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being lowest)?

  • 10 (29%, 2 Votes)
  • 8 (29%, 2 Votes)
  • 9 (14%, 1 Votes)
  • 6 (14%, 1 Votes)
  • 1 (14%, 1 Votes)
  • 5 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 4 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 7 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 3 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 2 (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 7

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Glass City Inaugural Feis Review 2015

final.gcf2015Feis Info

The Inaugural Glass City Feis was held Sunday July 26th at the Seagate Center in Toledo OH. It was held back to back with the Great Lakes Feis. This review is for grade comps only.

Venue

It was a typical convention center feis. Parking wasn’t bad (especially because it was Sunday); stages were a bit bouncing, but were mopped several times; the room for camping was REALLY SMALL and the traffic flow within the hall was cramped.

Score: 7

Judges

The judges were plentiful and rotated. My OPW dancer was seen by three judges in five dances.

Score: 9

Musicians

The musicians were assigned to each stage and were adequate. On one daughter’s stage, it was exceptionally hard to hear; another took a quick break after every 3rd or 4th dance.

Score: 7

Food

Food was available within the hall. However, didn’t purchase anything. Not having to leave the room was fabulous for those who purchased!

Score: N/A

Vendors

Typical selection of vendors (t-shirts; dance stuff; jewelry). Nothing that screamed “YES!” Location of used feis dresses was odd—outside the main hall in the middle (literally) of the results area.

Score: 6

Results

With the exception of one dance, there results were almost instaneous. Posted outside the main hall, easy to get into and out of.

Score: 8

Feis Flow

Things ran quite smoothly in the morning. My Novice dancer was done by Noon. My OPW dancer was delayed by the lunch break. The Lunch Break very nicely offered Mass, which was a first for this family. However, the lunch break lasted 90 + minutes, which is kind of unacceptable, especially if you didn’t go to Mass. Needs to be adjusted.

Score:7

Ratings

Feis Score: 7.75
Overall Rating: 7.33

What did you think?

What did you think of the Glass City Inaugural Feis 2015 (on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being lowest)?

  • 7 (50%, 3 Votes)
  • 9 (17%, 1 Votes)
  • 8 (17%, 1 Votes)
  • 5 (17%, 1 Votes)
  • 1 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 6 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 4 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 3 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 2 (0%, 0 Votes)
  • 10 (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 6

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Local Attractions

Located in downtown Toledo, within walking distance of the MudHens stadium and the Imagination Station, which was most helpful for the little brother.

Is my dancer really learning life lessons from Irish dance?

 

llI am not actually sure if I am learning life lessons by watching TGC as she grows during dance, or if she is learning them, or both. For my next Antonio Pacelli post, I collected the lessons I think we are taking away from this Irish dance madness.

If you have a minute, give it a read and see if you agree, or have more to add: https://www.antoniopacelli.com/community/article/is-my-dancer-really-learning-life-lessons-from-irish-dance