As I was reminded on Twitter today - it's almost hard core Feising Season! I've actually been working on our feis plans for this year for some time. I think I started last Fall when the North American Feis Commission released it's final 2011 schedule. So far we've been to two feiseanna - the Pittsburgh Winter Feis and the North Coast Feis. We had planned to go to the West Virginia Feis this weekend but are pulling out because my daughter got invited to a birthday party of a close friend and she really wants to go. The other reason is that she's added some new steps to her dances and after a private lesson last week she just doesn't seem quite ready to compete. Our plans for this year include:
The Buckeye Feis (Columbus, OH) and the Central New York Feis both in April
Queen City (Cincinnati, OH), Akron & Cleveland (Ohio) in May
Buffalo, New York and the Dayton/Cincinnati (Ohio) weekend in June
Feis at the Falls (Niagara Falls, NY) and Rose City (Windsor, ONT Canada) in August
the Pittsburgh (PA) Halloween Feis in October
Throw in two dance camps this summer and we've got ourselves a pretty full schedule! It's easy to get carried away isn't it? I'm sure if I looked harder I could find more!
I like to make feising fun for my daughter who's eight (going to be nine in July) and build in a long weekend here and there. We did that last year with the Louisville (Kentucky) feis. Great city! It was hot but that didn't stop us from taking a riverboat ride down the Ohio river, stopping at Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger baseball bat manufacturer and museum. This year we'd like to make Feis at the Falls a mini vacation and are considering Nation's Capital Feis in Washington D.C. in July and either spending a day or two in Washington, heading to Baltimore or Virginia Beach but haven't finalized those plans yet. The same with Dayton/Cincinnati - we could stop at King's Island amusement park and Great Wolf Waterpark for some fun or take in some other adventure. We'll see how our plans shape up but one thing is certain - I'll be blogging about the feiseanna we attend and sharing our feis season 2011 with all of you! Till next time - Slainte!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A Dilemma
I hit the wall last night and I hit it hard. My family was attending a friend's St. Patrick's Day party - a party I had been looking forward to for weeks because it's fun and some of the guests are other families from my daughter's dance school. The party got off to a great start - good food, good beer and good conversation which was not about Irish dancing. The party went along well for an hour or two then one of the moms began to talk about the school in not so pleasant terms. It's not the first time it's happened. In fact it's become a part of her routine when she is at any function involving Irish dance.
I first met this particular mom four years ago when our daughters started dancing together. We hung out in the lobby with other parents and socialized and all was good. However, last year things took an ugly turn when her daughter began attending feisianna and quickly went from Beginner 2 to Novice. Since then she has been on a quest to promote her daughter and while there's nothing really wrong with that - it's the way that she's been going about it that is unpleasant. She pulled her daughter off the Oireachtas team because she felt the other dancers weren't quality dancers going so far as to say that certain girls "sucked", (that team took 8th place out of 21 teams at the Oireachtas without her daughter by the way), is constantly comparing and praising another Irish dance school while being extremely critical of our school.
We all like to think that our children are great and I'm no exception however does that mean we publicly degrade other dancers, the school and the owner in the process? For me that answer is no. It also brings up the question of what to do about a fellow parent who does just that. Irish dance is a fun activity/sport but it's also difficult when the competition becomes so important to some parents that it supercedes everything else - including friendships and feelings. Yes, at some point we all have had concerns about the school our kids go to whether that's the costumes they wear for the parades, how classes are taught, if changes should be made to choreography, etc. However, this particular parent is completely unhappy and as a board member of the school I'm wondering today what my responsibility to the organization is. Do I say something to our owner - tell her that a parent is publicly bashing dancers and that I feel she is being harmful to the organization, tell this particular parent that if she's this unhappy why not consider another school or avoid the situation all together? I've never been the run and tell the teacher type and have a feeling that move would backfire - the road to hell and good intentions you know the story. Plus this woman's daughter dances in the same age bracket as mine so will it appear I have sour grapes? If I do nothing while this parent is complaining then am I in some way enabling? Do nothing and go about my business? That's not my style either but as they say, you can't control other people you can only control yourself. This person is not going to change and as long she is involved with our school I need to find a way to deal with her attitude and behavior because I will be the one who is miserable not her.
I first met this particular mom four years ago when our daughters started dancing together. We hung out in the lobby with other parents and socialized and all was good. However, last year things took an ugly turn when her daughter began attending feisianna and quickly went from Beginner 2 to Novice. Since then she has been on a quest to promote her daughter and while there's nothing really wrong with that - it's the way that she's been going about it that is unpleasant. She pulled her daughter off the Oireachtas team because she felt the other dancers weren't quality dancers going so far as to say that certain girls "sucked", (that team took 8th place out of 21 teams at the Oireachtas without her daughter by the way), is constantly comparing and praising another Irish dance school while being extremely critical of our school.
We all like to think that our children are great and I'm no exception however does that mean we publicly degrade other dancers, the school and the owner in the process? For me that answer is no. It also brings up the question of what to do about a fellow parent who does just that. Irish dance is a fun activity/sport but it's also difficult when the competition becomes so important to some parents that it supercedes everything else - including friendships and feelings. Yes, at some point we all have had concerns about the school our kids go to whether that's the costumes they wear for the parades, how classes are taught, if changes should be made to choreography, etc. However, this particular parent is completely unhappy and as a board member of the school I'm wondering today what my responsibility to the organization is. Do I say something to our owner - tell her that a parent is publicly bashing dancers and that I feel she is being harmful to the organization, tell this particular parent that if she's this unhappy why not consider another school or avoid the situation all together? I've never been the run and tell the teacher type and have a feeling that move would backfire - the road to hell and good intentions you know the story. Plus this woman's daughter dances in the same age bracket as mine so will it appear I have sour grapes? If I do nothing while this parent is complaining then am I in some way enabling? Do nothing and go about my business? That's not my style either but as they say, you can't control other people you can only control yourself. This person is not going to change and as long she is involved with our school I need to find a way to deal with her attitude and behavior because I will be the one who is miserable not her.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
St. Patrick's Season Activities
OK, so - St. Patrick's season is in full swing! What's everyone doing this year? It seems that every year my calendar gets fuller & fuller during March between the parties, dancing and parades. This year's social season includes more visits to the Irish American Club in Euclid, OH on Cleveland's East Side. We've attending their family day for the past three years because Marina dances that event with the Murphy Irish Dancers. This year we plan to go to their Harp & Guinness Night II to listen to The Boys From County Hell, Irish Coffee Night - a club tradition the night before St. Patty's Day and again after the parade in the afternoon for the kid's party! My daughter has St. Patrick's Day and the following day off of school so it is very convenient for us to get involved in the day's festivities and have the next day to relax.
Did I mention the parade? Yes, Marina and I will both be marching with the Murphy Irish Dancers this year. Because I'm on their board I marched with the unit last year and had a ball! It's great to look out into the crowd and people watch! This year our founder Sheila Murphy Crawford is one of the Co-Chairs so it's an extra special event for us. Plus we're in the first unit so we'll be done and can enjoy the rest of the parade. Pre-parade - not sure yet. We've been invited to go to Flannery's Pub in downtown Cleveland for Kegs & Eggs before the parade but even though it sounds like fun it might not be appropriate for my daughter. Of course taking her to the House of Blues last Saturday for the Gaelic Storm concert was probably not appropriate either but she's been a fan since she was five and got us to the front of the crowd - got some great pics! Ah to be eight years old and cute again ! But I digress......
Then there's the St. Patrick's Day shows that Marina will dance. We have four this year starting tomorrow night a GE's NELA Park in East Cleveland and ending on April 8th with St. Dominic's Fish Fry - always a good time not to mention yummy!
Crowning the season will be a party thrown by our dear friends that promises to be bigger and better than last year. Did I leave anything out? I don't think so but with a week to go I'm sure I'll find something else to add to the list! Enjoy the season, drink responsibly and have fun! Til next time.....Slainte!
Did I mention the parade? Yes, Marina and I will both be marching with the Murphy Irish Dancers this year. Because I'm on their board I marched with the unit last year and had a ball! It's great to look out into the crowd and people watch! This year our founder Sheila Murphy Crawford is one of the Co-Chairs so it's an extra special event for us. Plus we're in the first unit so we'll be done and can enjoy the rest of the parade. Pre-parade - not sure yet. We've been invited to go to Flannery's Pub in downtown Cleveland for Kegs & Eggs before the parade but even though it sounds like fun it might not be appropriate for my daughter. Of course taking her to the House of Blues last Saturday for the Gaelic Storm concert was probably not appropriate either but she's been a fan since she was five and got us to the front of the crowd - got some great pics! Ah to be eight years old and cute again ! But I digress......
Then there's the St. Patrick's Day shows that Marina will dance. We have four this year starting tomorrow night a GE's NELA Park in East Cleveland and ending on April 8th with St. Dominic's Fish Fry - always a good time not to mention yummy!
Crowning the season will be a party thrown by our dear friends that promises to be bigger and better than last year. Did I leave anything out? I don't think so but with a week to go I'm sure I'll find something else to add to the list! Enjoy the season, drink responsibly and have fun! Til next time.....Slainte!
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