A long time ago, when this website was still on Geocities, I began to document my time as a dancer. Sparing no detail, I wrote about each class, each performance, each competition, each activity that pertained to dance. After a couple years, my online presence moved to LiveJournal and the Irish Feet website disappeared, so these diaries have all been lumped into a category I like to call really old archival memories. They began in 2001 and ceased sometime in 2003, then picked up again in 2006 (with a little interlude on Livejournal in between). Most are dated and will be organized as well as I can, but my memory is faulty and some lists, particularly of our performances, are incomplete.

Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Session Four

2003
2004
2005

2006

Between Lessons 2001
Between Lessons 2002

Dance Camp 2001
Trinity Workshop

Session One (12 April - 30 June, 2001)

Classes start on Saturday!!! Wooohooo!
I'm in beginners 12 and up as usual. I've only been practicing dances (reels, jigs, etc.) through videos and Riverdance. So I am excited! Mom thinks that I'll take it like a duck to water, so to speak. I dunno. I'm not graceful (I guess), and I have NEVER, and I mean never taken any dance class in any way......ever :P
I'm also one of the most inflexable people on earth..... :P again.
But, Caitlin, my teacher, says that this is not a problem. She doesn't know what she's saying....at all.
Now, totally random: I get the, 'cute freckles' a lot. Ugh!!! It's not that I hate them, it's just...well, they take control of my face...lol
I've noticed (or rather, my mom noticed) that my hair is getting redder. Oh joy ::most enthusiastic voice::
Actually, I love my hair. BTW, this is totally random, and not in any way associated with dance in any form. I'm just going on and on about my hair and freckles. And this is new:
How I want to go to Greece. LOL
I've wanted to go to Glasgow, Scotland since forever, and same for Greece. My grandma, Elizabeth (AKA- Betty), was born in Glasgow in c. 1916. I don't know for sure. You'd know about this if you read my biography....go do it. BUT FIRST READ THIS BORING AND OFF TOPIC DIARY ENTRY!
Now, on the subject of dance: I got ghillies last week. Although they are long toed, and I figure I will be getting new ones, the shoes we were supposed to wear were jazz, and on the first day, tennis shoes, so it really shouldn't matter much. They are fun to run about the house in :)
My grandma Melva said something that made me cringe. In a Easter letter to me, she wrote, 'You're mom told me that you are taking up River Dancing!' UGH! UGH! UGH! My mom told her that it was a show, and what I am doing is NOT Riverdance. FAAAAR FROM IT! Grandma even wrote it as TWO WORDS. Oh my. I had to give the lecture to someone, so I gave it to my mom, even though she's heard it a thousand times before.

April 14, 2001

Classes started today. I got there pretty early, and watched the younger girl's class. The 9-12 year olds I think. Anyway, they were pretty scattered, and so I wondered if we would do better or worse than that. My neighbor, Lauren, who is 9, had her classes from 9-10 AM. My classes start at 11, and end at 12 PM, so it's really nice. But I really wanted to see Lauren dance. Oh well. Pretty soon, one other person came. She was my age. We walked to the dressing room, and I got into my long-toed ghillies. The girl, Amy, and I talked about dance. Neither of us had ever done it, but she did (or does?) ballet. Well, a group of three friends then came, and they were not dressed at all for class. Street clothes. But thats okay. I walked over to the window and waited around for class to start. We all filed in quietly watching our teacher get on her ghillies. Caitlin, our teacher, was a lot younger than I thought. There are about 6 girls all about the same age as me, and then one 50 year old man. I thought it was a little funny, but then again, I am glad that he is starting dancing even though he's so old...er...not young. But anywho, we warmed up, and I, along with three other girls, groaned and moaned in pain...I guess I lost all flexibility. Hehe, oh well. We started with v-walks, and a few of the girls almost fell over, causing me to laugh, and almost fall. Hehe.
After the long session of v-walking, we practiced good posture. That was a sinch. After that, we started on the reel. We learned hop-2-3's, and at first, a few of us were really confused, as we were a bit rusty, if I do say so myself. I kept forgetting to alternate legs after jumping. Caitlin was very understanding. Only three girls (including myself) actually stayed on our toes in the lead 'rounds. The three girls on the edge didn't make individual circles, they followed each other...LMAO!!! After that we danced our lead 'rounds to the music, and boy oh boy! WE SUCKED BIG TIME! None of us alternated legs, I almost fell over, and this girl next to me almost crashed into me!!! It was total chaos! After that little incident, she took us one at a time to practice our hop-2-3's accross the room. I did pretty well. After that, we worked on our lead 'rounds some more, and added the sevens to it. At first it seemed complicated, but I got the hang of it in a second! Although, we all started colliding on the sevens to our right. Hehe. Then, she took us three at a time to practice lead 'rounds. I took the liberty of getting a drink at that time, and we watched the other girls. Then it was my turn. We did "reely" well. After that, we practiced the sevens, and then put it together again, with the hops and whips and all that. Then she took us two at a time to practice them. When it was my turn, I forgot to alternate feet at first, but after that, I got it, and we finished quickly. The girls next in line got to dance to the music. They had major trouble...so they got to try it without music. Caitlin only used the music "as an experiment". After that, we got to try it once more together, and then Caitlin danced for us. She was very good and quite light on her feet. Next week, we are supposed to put the whole reel to music, and start on our jig. We are also going to get our ghillies. But for now, I am going to make sure I alternate feet, and get a little faster, preparing for the music portion. I guess I'll go practice. And maybe I'll slip some reel music in my CD player, and see what happens. I can get a head start, right?

Side notes Caitlin is 18 years old. Amy has taken eleven years of tap, and takes pointe and lyrical. She also took modern.

April 21, 2001

Well, today's class was EXTREMELY tiring!!! But all-in-all, it was pretty good. News-wise, we get our ghillies in two weeks or so. I can't wait ;)
We practiced our hop-2-3's and side downs and lead 'rounds and all that, then we added switches, leaps and more hops. And the worst thing of all- switching feet!!! OMG, we all did terribly on that. I had fun though. Caitlin was extremely understanding. First, we ran through our lead 'rounds and side downs over and over to the music. It was obvious we all practiced, because we all stayed in time. A few of us (including me) went faster than the music...hehe. Then we learned the points, and that was pretty easily, yet, not at the same time :\ confused? Anywho, as soon as we learned the hop-2-3's and the points, we added it to our side downs, and then tried it with our lead 'rounds. After running through that a million times (well, close to a million), we added switches and more whips and sevens. Then we learned more hops and put that bit together in our reel so far. Then we finally did the leaps at the end, and the sevens. After that, Caitlin showed us how to switch legs. It was disaster!!! Utter chaos!!! NONE of us, and I mean NONE, got the hang of it. But for some reason, I always ended up on the right leg to be on. Good thing. So, then she watched us one at a time, and we showed her the points and hops. I did really well after she demonstrated it to me once more. No one seems to care if anyone screws up. They are all too busy practicing alone. I got a drink after my turn was up. Then she watched us three at a time, and we did all the new steps including the leaps and switches and all that good stuff. I was in the first group, so after doing pretty well on that, I ran for a drink again. After confusing us with that, we did it to music, and started on the light jig. Confusion again. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and off you go hop hop 1-2-3 and on and on!!! Ugh! I ALWAYS hopped on the leg that was behind instead of in front, and then didn't cross my leg over well enough. And I ALWAYS forgot to straighten my left leg after 3 hops. :p
We went over it a million-billion times, yet I still don't have it. I'll be practicing very hard this week!!! Then, we got another water break, and went over the whole reel, leg switching and all, and by then I was lost. But that was okay. We practiced it three times, and then it was time to go. My mom bought a tape of music from Caitlin for $3.00. It's totally cool because Deirdre (Caitlins mother, and also my other TCRG dance teacher) was saying all the steps as the music was on. That way, I won't forget. The only problem is that she uses different terms than Caitlin. I'll figure it out. I guess I'd better go practice. I already have a lot today. I even did while playing with my neighbors Ashley and Jake. I tought Ashley hop-2-3's last week. She's nine. Jake is five, and currently my fiancè. Don't ask. But I made the mistake of dancing on concrete. OUCH! My shins and feet REALLY hurt today. Time to go practice.
It's later that week now, but I am going to elaborate on the class. I could barely walk on Sunday! My calves hurt very bad, and so did tendons in my quads. But I am seriously worried about my left foot. It has been hurting really badly since Saturday night. Hopefully it will get better.
Anywho, see ya!

April 28, 2001

I got there right on time, with about eight minutes to spare. I darted to the dressing room without glancing at the younger kids. The door was open to the dance room which was weird, but I didn't really care. I changed into my shoes, and while doing so, I heard Caitlin's mom Deirdre. I guess it was that time again. When Deirdre, the TCRG teacher, comes in to teach us.
My foot was much better, but I was worried about my left knee, which I twisted practicing my threes that morning. But, it felt okay.
I stood in the hall and watched as Deirdre lined the younger kids up and watched each of them demonstrate a very shaky and unpolished hop-2-3 and then the side down. Their feet were quite unsure and their arms were flapping about like wind socks. Finally, about 15 minutes later (and fifteen minutes into our class time) Deirdre let us in. We stood about the room. Many of us asked when our ghillies would arrive. "Hopefully next Friday." Deirdre said. We all shouted with glee!
We began stretches in a hurried fashion. Deirdre memorized our names, and then we began hop-2-3's. There was a new girl named Amber there, who was very nervous. She didn't know anything. So, this mother who was taking Irish dance took her into the practice room to teach her hop-2-3's. We practiced good posture (which Deirdre is VERY touchy about), and then did hops for what seemed like ages, then we did hop-2-3's. Deirdre said the words I thought would never be spoken to me, "You seem like quite the natural!". That self-esteem boost made me very happy. We went over the lead rounds and the side down, then FINALLY we worked on the new step. Switches, hops and leaps. We went over that last week, but we were all DYING to review. After watching us all together, she took the half that was progressing the fastest (including me- YAY!) and we did the whole thing. From start to where we are to switch from right foot to left. We stopped there. Then, after doing that three times, she let us just practice, stretch or do whatever until it's time to go. Deirdre then took the other half of the class and reviewed for them. I practiced switching from right to left until I had it almost perfect. I was sooo tuckered out after that. We didn't even get to review the light jig! Oh well.

The first feis is May 26th-27th. I don't think I will participate.
Next sessions start in June.
Until next time America.
PSSST!!! My b-day is in 6 days from today (monday)!!!

May 5, 2001

Got there early. Caitlin was back. I didn't know whether we got our shoes yet, so I has hesistant to get mine on. But I did. Turns out, they were sent out too late from Ireland, so we will HOPEFULLY get them next week. I got a new tape with music on it. The tape I bought a few weeks ago had different steps on it, so Caitlin's mom Deirdre fixed it and we got a new one with the stuff we learned. YAY!
Anywho, the new girl, Amber, goes to my school. She's in eighth grade like me. I kinda thought she looked familiar. There was another new person. A guy!!! An actual guy OUR age. He looked pretty stumped. Especially when we went off doing hops and hop-2-3's around the room. Amber and him tried to learn, but it was pretty difficult. So class went pretty slow, as Caitlin had to spend a few minutes teaching them the lead round and side down and the new step.
She watched us two at a time performing the reel and I did pretty well. Then she gave us two little feet tricks to practice. Quivers and one other one. I don't remember the name! :( It's where you wiggle your ankles and kinda weave them while going backwards. Anywho, if you can remember the name, TELL ME!!! I'm pretty good at that.
After spending a half hour on the reel, we moved to the single jig, and got pretty far into it before we spent the last five minutes on the light jig *FINALLY* before we left.

Feis UPDATE:
It's on May 26th. Yay! I don't think I'll participate, but I am curious to participate in the first feis reel. Maybe. But I am pretty sure I'm going to watch.
That's all! WAIT- My b-day is tomorrow! YIPPY!

Side note Those little weaving steps are called swivels.

May 12, 2001

Got there SUPER early today. My mom had to take my ferret to the vet for shots and stuff, so she had to leave earlier. Guess what else: STILL NO SHOES! UGH!!!!! We are dying here!
We reviewed the reel for about a half an hour, and we all got really bored. Except for a couple kids who were either new or had been gone.
There was the Jr. Lilac Parade downtown, and my school's (Sacajawea) marching band was first in line. But I didn't get to go see them. It was a 10:00 AM today. Our band is really good. They have won the honor of being the only middle school in the Torchlight Parade two years in a row, which I think is the maximum. :P
Anywho, on to dance. We added new steps on to everything but the reel today.
We went over the reel a BILLION times, then we finally moved onto the single jig for about twenty minutes, and spent the last ten minutes on the light lig.
We reviewed the hop and hit part of the lead round in the single jig, then we reviewed straight hop back hop back 2-3-4. We reviewed that over and over, then we learned the new parts of the single jig, hop step step, and that was sorta confusing.
The Feis in the Forest is on the 26th, so we won't have class that day because I think that Caitlin said she was competing. Go Caitlin!
I am still thinking about whether I should compete in the beginners reel or not. Probably not.
That's all for now!

May 19, 2001

SHOOOOOOEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
After the five week wait, we have them!!!
I got to class about ten minutes early and sorta glimpsed, out of the corner of my eye, a group of the little kids gathered around. I darted into the dressing room and then put my stuff away and walked back out. Sure enough! Caitlin was helping a group of fidgety girls try on their shoes. I got my old shoes on, not sure if we'd be waiting until the end of class or not to wear the new ghillies, and talked with this girl Amber until we were let in. We all restated our shoe sizes, and she gave us some shoes. At first I got 5's. My toe was crunching into the front. I pointed my foot for Caitlin, and guess what- TOO BIG! So, she gave me 4½'s, and I tried them on. My toes were even more squished. THOSE were too big too! So she handed me 4's, and my toes were sooo squished. I tried on this girl Jesse's laced size 4 shoe so that I could see for sure (mine weren't laced yet). Yup, these fit much better, Caitlin said. I laced and tied them up, which took about ten minutes :P
By now, the two guys (who don't get ghillies, they get reel shoes) and this girl who had ghillies already, were stretching and being bored in the back. So, Caitlin went over the reel while they were waiting for us. Once we all finished, we went straight to the reel. We skipped stretches since it was already about fourty minutes into class time. We kept going over the reel sooo much that I became bored, but Caitlin kept commenting on our lovely feet and how good we all looked :)
Our feet were burning and aching, but it felt good :\. We finally learned the rest of the reel, so now we know all of the reel, about ¼ of the light jig and ¾ of the single jig.
It was a very very VERY tiring class.
There is no class next week because of the feis which Caitlin is competing in (I think). New sessions start in June, and there will be no class in July and August :(.
Classes resume in September.
That's all.

June 2, 2001

No class last week because of the feis. I didn't get to see Caitlin dance, and that made me really sad :(
But on a lighter note (HA), we started the SLIP JIG! Oh yeah! It's sooo fun! I love it. And I really love the beat! 1-2-3-4-5 2-2-3-4-5! It rocks! Plus- the whole entire class (with the exception of one of the guys) got it down! The first step, anyway.
We reviewed the reel for ages, and I got really bored with it. I was doing extremely well, and so was everyone else, so Caitlin taught us the first step of the slip jig. Switch switch step closed, hop 2 3 4 5 float 2 3 4 5 turn 2 3 4 5 point point hop back hop 2 3 4 5 float 2 3 4 5 switch and point point kick back. I kept forgetting to float after the first hop 2 3 4 5, and that got me discouraged, but a quick switch to the single jig made me happy. I don't really like the single jig, but I'm good at it.
Caitlin thought that Amy and I were doing really well! She kept praising us and gving us full speed music to dance to and letting us dance alone while she worked with the "slower" dancers.
The lesson made me EXTREMELY tired! I felt like I was going to faint! I've never worked so hard in class to date! It was great though! And while walking to the car after class, I ran into my ballet dancing friends who were on their way to have pizza after the class. They had a photo shoot in their classical tutus (I think it was today) because their recitals are next week. I am hoping to go and watch.
Now some side notes on the feis!
It was sooo tiny! There were only three schools there, and only two stages! The stages were made of plywood, and they kept cracking! I was sooo worried that the stage would break. One girl slipped on a wet spot and fell down. But she got back up and danced her heart out.
My school (Haran School of Irish Dance) was the only certified school there. We so rock! Hehe.
Our school dresses rock! My mom got an awesome picture of the cape (actually- the back of one of the girls- hehe)! It's really neat. There is a large knotwork dragon with a knotted circle around it- if my memory tells me correctly. It is a light bluish purpley color. There are no panels, just some pleat-like things around it. You'll see what I mean when I put up the pictures.
Barely anyone had their hair curled, and I didn't stay long enough to see solo dresses.
I saw the set dances, which were all St. Pat's, and I watched the hornpipe for both novice and advanced beginner as well as the slip and light jigs in all the levels. A lot of the adults kept forgetting their steps, and some didn't bow.
It was really hot, so after the solo dances ended, we all filed inside to watch the figures and then the open champions and their solo dresses...hehe.
For the four hand reel, there was live music. An Irish fiddler and a drummer. It was really neat. But since it was late and we live two hours away from where the feis was, we had to leave before Caitlin danced. But we saw her sister, Claire, dance which was pretty cool. They look a LOT alike!
That's all!

June 9, 2001

Another tiring class. It wouldn't have been so tiring if my shins hadn't started hurting like the dickens!
We started off the class with the slip jig. We went over the first step over and over, then Caitlin taught us the second step.
I am having major trouble getting around in a full circle in five beats! It's so hard! And switching while you turn, that just confuses me. But overall, I understand it, and will be practicing. I love the slip jig a LOT!!!
When I practiced it for Caitlin, I added another step on accident...hehe.
We then worked on the single jig. We danced it over and over. I understand it completely, and so does everyone else (except the older man, Ken, and this girl Kelli who is quite...strange).
With ten minutes left, we worked on the reel.
Caitlin watched us three at a time, and I was with Ken and Kelli. It was quite easy for me, but I kept running into Kelli because she didn't know what to do, and neither did Ken. But it also made me look really good. Mwa-hahaha!
My mom is getting kinda angry that Ken is in our class, because, in her words, "he's taking up space."
He is though! He doesn't understand ANY of the dances! He executes the steps poorly, if he does at all. He is always staring at us trying to remember, but he can't! UGH!
The guys takes like five dance classes, which is probably not helping.
One of the dances is Highland. That's gotta be hard!
Highland dance requires hands up and legs turned all the way out. While Irish dancing requires hands locked at your sides, and legs only turned out at the knees or ankles. That can't be helping Ken learn!
Now back to dance.
We are not going to be at the downtown studio tomorrow. We are going to the valley because there is some sorta yoga convention thing in our usual studio. We aren't going to be there for the next two weeks.
I don't really care all that much.
I have one last rant:
WE HAVEN'T WORKED ON THE LIGHT JIG IN THREE OR FOUR WEEKS!!!
I am not getting any younger here!
That's all for now.

June 16, 2001

Schools out! Yay!
With that out of the way, I'll tell you about class.
It was the easiest and most boring class to date! For me, anyway. Class wasn't at the usual downtown location. Instead, it was at the valley location; about twenty more minutes away. Not knowing how long it would take, we left early. I got there really early, so my mom and I waited in the car for a while before Jessi and Brenna came. I walked in. The studio was HUGE! Much bigger than ours downtown. But the floor was terrible! It was linoleum, and it bubbled and popped. There was just three of us there, so we got our shoes on (the dressing rooms weren't even rooms, just hidden corners), and headed for a place to watch the younger kids at. We walked up this awesome flight of stairs and got an "arial" view of the action below. Soon, Devon came, then Amber. We stretched for a while, then started on the slip jig. Then Erin came. No one else came after that. After doing that a few times, we worked on the reel.
Caitlin wanted to go over point-point, so she asked who remembered. I sheepishly raised my hand. We all reviewed without music, but it was apparent (not to brag or anything) that I was doing really well on executing the steps, as well as remembering, so Caitlin said she'd like to see us do it one at a time.
We usually go in order of placement in the line, but this time, I went first even though I was in the middle. Caitlin asked if I would like to do it to music, I agreed (though I was nervous). We usually don't practice to full speed music, so it was slow when Caitlin turned on the reel. She turned the knob. The music went faster and faster until it was full speed.
I got ready to do it all alone, but then Caitlin joined me. That made me feel a little happier.
We started from the middle of the reel. Caitlin didn't call out the steps like she usually does. I felt as though I never jumped higher before! It was SOOO awesome! Plus, I didn't mess up either. That was unusual.
After we finished, and the moms in the waiting room clapped (that made me a little embarrassed), Caitlin said to me, "Sarah, I'm afraid you are going to be bored for awhile". I smiled and sat down.
Then, after going over the reel to everyone slowly and without music, we did an amazing thing.
WE ACTUALLY WORKED ON THE LIGHT JIG!!!
It was amazing!
We even added a new step to it! WOW!
Hop front and back and back 2-3-4 skip 2-3, skip 2-3, toe step heel step toe step heel step, hop hop back hop turn 2-3-4. I love it.
While we reviewed the lead round, a mom came in and took pictures. ACK!
After class ended, Brenna and I decided something.
We are going to move the valley location downtown, change the floor of the studio to hardwood, put in the dressing rooms from the downtown location, and presto! The perfect studio!
That's all!

June 23, 2001

Nothing much happened today. It was really quite...odd. First off, Caitlin sprained her ankle, so her younger sister Claire came. I felt really bad for her, because she didn't know what we were doing, how fast the music speed was that we use regularly, and what dances we've learned. She also didn't know who was excelling, and who was not. It was quite full of confusion, let me put it that way. Devon wasn't there, Kelli wasn't there, and neither was Hannah or Ken, so class was pretty tiny. There was Amy, Brenna, Jessi, Amber and Erin there. Of course I'm included, but I'm not counting myself because you people are smart enough to know that.
So anyway, we started on the reel. What surprises me is that NO ONE knows the names of the dances, so Caitlin, or Deirdre or Claire have to say some of the steps out loud so that people know what to do! It's really quite annoying.
Well, we worked on every dance today.
First, the reel, then the single jig, then the slip jig, then the light jig; the only thing we added any new steps to, but it was only the left foot. Class wasn't very tiring, because I knew all of the dances and their counts. I go over them in my sleep non-stop!!! Hehe.
Now some news, because there isn't anything else to say about class.
The Haran Dancers (beginners) are going to be having a camp for three days in Kettle Falls!!! Well, if enough dancers sign up.
We'll be staying at Deirdre's farm, and learning simple ceili dances and other figure dance classes as well. We'll be learning the 6-Hand reel, the 2-Hand reel, the 3-Hand reel, and part of the 4-Hand reel. There will be more info next week, according to the notice we received today.
And one more thing before I finish. There is only one more class for this session before we take a break for July and August!!! :(
But it starts again in September, and that's when we'll probably start hardshoe. Which reminds me! Claire did some hardshoe for the younger kid's class before us! She did the treble jig, I believe. It was really AWESOME!!!! That's it!

June 30, 2001

Waaaah! ::sobbing:: No more classes until SEPTEMBER!
The AC was working again! YAY! Yes, it was broken...lol.
This was probably the funnest class yet! We were all in an extremely good mood (especially Caitlin- who was back). Maybe it was the hot weather, or the fact the Hoopfest (3 on 3 street basketball thing- kinda famous) was going on downtown. ::shrugs::
But it was fun! First off, we all ran really late because of the fact that almost all the streets were closed because of the basketball courts, so only six people showed up. We spent the first five or ten minutes looking out the window onto the courts below and doing the 'elbow-wrist' wave to be people below. Three girls kept staring at us! It was so annoying! But Brenna and I knew why- they were jealous of us and our amazing Irish dance talents. Yes indeed. We told Caitlin. She laughed. We began stretches. All the while music was blasting on the streets below us. U2's 'Beautiful Day' came on, and Caitlin started doing obsurb, but hilarious impressions of Bono, the lead singer. We did some ballet sit ups (UGH!) and the whole time we were cracking up for various reasons, making it impossible to do them right- not that we care.
We also discussed music. We wanted to roll down the windows and blast Celtic music out into the streets. Of course, this wouldn't work because our windows don't roll down. Well, Caitlin told us that her mom was humming a Backstreet Boys song in the kitchen, and didn't even know who the song was by or what it was. Yes, very interesting.
Caitlin also told us how she sprained her ankle. She was feeding the chickens in her barn and was stepping over a bail of hay, when she heard her horse make a noise, and she turned around and stepped down half way on chicken feed and half way on the ground, and her ankle snapped. She said she also broke her toe in the barn once. She says that she shouldn't be in there anymore.
Finally, after like a half hour, we started on the reel and did that over and over and over and over and over.
Oh, and let me tell you something, Caitlin was dancing barefoot because she had one ankle wrapped up, and her ghillies wouldn't fit on over it. Her feet were black and dirty. It was so funny.
So, anywho, we have no more new steps to learn in the reel. We did them all.
After doing the reel a million times, (during which my mom took pictures! ACK!) we began on the single jig, I think. Either that or the slip jig. Well, anyway, we went over the whole two steps that we know, then switched to the slip jig- my best and favorite dance.
Caitlin danced the first step for us, and told us to 'pull' our body with our lead foot. Nifty little trick there. I love that dance. So graceful and light! I LOVE it!!! Yeah, well, anyway, we moved on the light jig.
After that reviewing the new step we learned (hop front hop back hop back234), Caitlin watched us. I was the only one who got it (not to brag- I don't like to do that, I'm just informing). We moved to the left foot and most had major troubles. But, in Caitlins words (these are good words) to me about the new step on the left foot, "Great! Almost perfect!" My silent answer to myself was, "Except for the fact that I haven't been dancing for ten years."
Caitlin commented to us (as we talked about Jean Butler and the yucky but talented Michael Flatley) that her sister and she knew all the steps to Lord of the Dance. They taught themselves.
After the light jig, class for this session ended until September.
My mom took a group picture (and pictures of us in action doing the reel and some other dances) of the whole class- including Caitlin! We were all sweaty, but hey! I'll be putting them up sometime, well, after they are developed...duh.
Mom says that Caitlin said that the camp is a sure thing! YAY! That means I'll have something to write in my journal this summer after all!

Story to share? Information to add? Correction to make? Webfeis trauma to rehash?

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