First Feis

Brenna danced in her first Irish dance competition today (a feis - which is pronounced "fesh" for those not in this dance loop!) She surprised me by repeatedly asking over several weeks if she could compete so I was happy to let her give it a try. Frankly I think she was mostly wanting to do it so I'd get her the school's beginner costume. You can see from the pictures it's an embroidered shirt, black kick skirt, black tights and a black shawl with the embroidered symbol of her dance school.

This feis was held in Virginia and there were hundreds of kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic region there. I had heard it was not only fairly local for us but also well-run - an important factor for those of us not having the foggiest how to do these things!

She was registered for only one dance - a reel - and was really nervous. Last night she kept saying she didn't want to dance after all and what would happen if the judge didn't like her steps. The kids dance two at a time but each kid is doing different combinations as each dance school has their own particular choreography. That's got to be confusing! I just reassured her that her first few competitions were like practices where she shouldn't even worry about placing against so many other girls who have already competed in several feisanna. (See? I'm getting the hang of this lingo!)

Well go figure! She placed 4th in her division in that dance! (1st-3rd get trophies and 4th and 5th get medals)

Needless to say she was thrilled with her award ("It's the highest medal, Mom!" she said. I like her way of thinking - she hadn't even considered the trophies.)

We also bought her a special Tshirt to remember the occasion. It has the logo of the feis on the front and a partial list of competitor names on the reverse (you pick the program page featuring your own school and they add a star next to your name) She's in seventh heaven now!