Thursday, July 14, 2016

Oireachtas?

Looks like I might be able to do adult traditional set at Oireachtas this year! I just have to make sure we don't have any family conflicts, but I have been waiting for years for this, so I am super-excited. I hope to be able to do Blackbird, but we're still working on that. I felt like I got some more work accomplished on my treble jig this week, and overall, class was a great workout tonight. Between the good Oireachtas news, and the positive exercise endorphins, class once again made me happy :)

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Racewalking?

Though I really want to be able to run like I used to (and I am bummed that I am not going to be in shape to place in a 2 mile competition near my parents' home this year), the post-pregnancy bladder woes have me worried that I will never be the same runner again. I'm curious about racewalking, though. I dabbled in it in AAU in high school, but never really got the form down. It seems to really work the shins and other areas important to Irish dance, and it wouldn't be as high of impact. I wonder how I would get the correct form, and what races would distinguish between racewalk and other walk/jog/run competitors (I always do better when I have competition). In other news, I've lost a pound, and dance night is tomorrow, so perhaps I will post again soon. 'Til then, have a good week!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Can Dance Class Be Too "Fun"?

I really like my teacher, I really like my classmates, and we have a lot of fun, in class, at performances, and at parties. But sometimes, I guess I wish class was more hard-core, now that I am starting to feel more like my old self. It is hard when there are so many different levels in one class. Still, it's hard to not feel frustrated when your toughest feis of the year is less than a month away, and really you only got a couple of run-throughs in soft shoe because most of the time was spent learning a different step. At least if I ever do one of the adult champ specials, I will have a third reel step, and I kept telling myself that doing an easier step was a perfect time to work on issues with form, such as not squeezing my toe points enough, not crossing enough, and not having "tall knees." So it's not like it was a waste of time, but still, I am getting nervous about the feis. At least we worked on treble jig for hard shoe. I'm starting to miss the repetitive drilling of steps, in a class where nearly everyone does the same step, or a slight variation of the same step. My classmates and teacher are so great, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else, yet I lament that I may not achieve all my dance goals this year. Oh well, I guess there are always trade-offs.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Wishing I Was at Dance Camp

Some of my adult Irish dance friends are off at Camp Rince Ceol, and I am so wishing I could someday attend. Last year, I had just started a new job, so I couldn't get off work. This year, I've got a five month old who I've never left for one overnight, let alone a whole week. So I think to myself, maybe next year I can go. Little boy will be 1 1/2, and my parents would love to have him for a week at Grandma and Grandpa's. But we will probably be moving again next year, so I don't know if it would make sense to go to CRC with steps from my current school in July, only to switch schools and learn new steps in September. Maybe we will have already moved by then. We think we are at this duty station for 2 years, but my husband was saying that we could have to move earlier. It's happened before. I've already started researching schools in some of the areas we might end up in. One place has no Irish dance schools, one has a few different options (including one school taught by a former adult dancer), and another area has several schools, but bad traffic, so I'm not sure what school would actually work out. Where I live now has bad traffic, so location and class time were major factors in my school decision (although my current school was so accommodating over the whole pregnancy/postpartum period, I am just so thankful I ended up there). Maybe it is too soon to worry about it, but I like to have a plan. Unfortunately, military wives don't always have the luxury of being able to plan ahead. So since I don't know where I will be next Oireachtas season, I am really hoping to get to do traditional set this year. Hopefully I will get to talk to my teacher about it tomorrow. We've also got some family stuff going on right after Oireachtas, so it might not work out anyways, or we may have to fly there to reduce travel time, which is more expensive and I haven't flown with the baby yet. At least I am selling some stuff on eBay to help make some money for dance-related expenses. Also, I learned that by entering my weight and other fitness stuff on the Walgreens site, I can earn points, which can end up saving me money. I jogged tonight, and my 1.5 mile time is about what my 2 mile time should be. Hopefully I will get there soon. Tomorrow is dance class, so hopefully I will have more of an update and fewer worries on my mind.