And we're back!..

After considerable prompting from the brilliant author of Damhsa ar an Chroi (check it out, I'll put it in a link), Rince has returned from the Summer season and will be back with tips on stamina, that all-important posture and guest-written posts on make-up, before our run-down of the new feis year featuring me on the An Comdhail side with a little help from some Coimisiun friends. :) So, check back! New features coming your way soon...

The Evolution of the Solo

I've been involved in the world of feiseanna and Irish Dancing in general for about 12 years, after having been taken to a new class starting in our area when I was 7 in order to better connect with my Irish roots. As I'd already spent pretty much every holiday there for as long as I could remember and considered myself more Irish than English anyway, I thought this was superfluous. However, as I loved dance anyway to class I went and from then on I was hooked. Having been dancing for a good 12 years I've watched the solo transform from a comparatively simple velvet dress with embroidery inspired by the Book of Kells (if you ever get the chance, go to Trinity College in Dublin to see it - it's awesome!) to the be-glitzed, be-dazzled and be-garish numbers you see flitting about the stage today. So, for those of you who are relatively new dancers or just simply are interested to see what a feis was like when I started I have put together this article, complete with pictures, on how dress styles and crazes have developed in the time I've been dancing.

So, here it is. My first feis.

I'm the one in the middle with the shiny silk-style shirt. Age 7/8 approx.

This photo was taken circa. 1999/2000 so as you can see things were a bit different back then.  For a start only one girl is wearing a wig, and that was fairly normal. Wigs weren't as big (pardon the pun) back then as they are now. For a long time I spent every night before a feis with my mum drenching my hair in setting lotion before skewering bendy rollers into my head to make some half-frizzy curls which were then wrenched back into a half ponytail with ribbons and inevitably fell out halfway through the day. After going through that for a while, well, it's not surprising that I was very grateful to get my first wig. You'll also notice that the two girls in school dresses are wearing a velvet three-panel dress with celtic-style embroidery and a lace collar. This was still the norm even for solo dresses and many a girl in my class' first dress was a velvet solo number.

The Early Noughties (00s)

This is a typical example of a dress worn in the early noughties when girls began to get a bit more creative with the fabrics used and adopted a more lightweight fabric base, usually a shiny silk. Dresses still had the 3 panel design, which didn't change much until about 2005/6 ish as I remember (but please correct me if I'm wrong!) when Elevation design came on the scene with their new multi-panelled dresses. Of course these were the first dresses I saw of such a design and this is my memory - some other designer may have done it first. The embroidery on this dress is still largely celtic in nature and there is a simple colourway with a black centre panel and red sides - a typical design feature of many dresses at the time including my own in different shades of blue. What you can't see really in this picture is that the design is made out of cut-out swatches of glittered fabric, another common design feature that you can still see today. Not many are now made with shiny squares on a mesh-type base nowadays though. They were wide, the skirt was voluminous. They're the reason why girls started sitting on stools so as not to crush the boards. They're also a reason why it was common to see a girl vainly hitting the back of her skirt in order to kick her bum properly - it's really hard to get your foot up under the dress!

The Wrap-Around Skirt

The wrap around skirt was one in many a craze that started around the mid-noughties. Admittedly it was one I could never explain - it wasn't the most flattering style of skirt and I'm one of those people who isn't particularly enamoured with asymmetric shapes. However it proved pretty popular with younger dancers and so you saw plenty of tiny little girls in shocking pink wrap-around style dresses tripping around on stage.

The 4 Panel Skirt

This is a picture of my old dress (btw, if you want it, I'm selling it) which has the 4 panel-esque skirt. This and the 5 panel were often commonly referred to as "gladiator skirts" and were very much en vogue in 2005/6 when this dress was, coincidentally, made. I actually still love this style myself, but have to admit that the new soft-style skirts make it a LOT easier to kick your leg etc. I also like being able to sit on a chair without having to worry over much about my giant and stiff skirt.

The 5 Panel Skirt

We started getting crazy with the panels here - 5 panels! I have to say though, kudos to the 5 panel skirt. It did look rather elegant and had the other benefit of preserving the Irish tradition because on most of these dresses the panels had a celtic design on them to a very pleasing and eye-catching effect. You'll notice on this dress too that the fabrics have evolved - there's not nearly so much glitterball and the fabric looks like a white silk with a silver-dotted clear overlay on it. As well as some red lace-style material. I personally like the use of pretty and less-tacky looking fabrics for dresses, so I'm quite a fan of this dress.


The Tutu Skirt

So here it is! The beginning of a craze that's going to take us straight down the path to the sorts of dresses we see today; the Tutu skirt. Shown here underneath a 4 panel skirt, as it was usually incorporated when it started out, having a tutu style or frill underneath your skirt was very much the fashion a few years back. Even if you had a panelled skirt you put a tutu underneath it irregardless of whether you could see it or not - that's how popular these were. I did however witness the development of one particular dress over several feises that was adapted to the incorporate the skirt which went from a fairly ok, if a little too clashing, 3 panel dress to a 5 panel which had huge gaps between each panel so that the cupcake tutu could show through and a hanging part of the original main panel on the front. Let's just say that the less said about that dress the better - I don't think I'm ever going to be able to erase that image from my mind. That said, the tutu skirt is wonderfully practical as well as pretty and feminine so I was happy to watch (slightly jealously) as girls bought new dresses with this great new feature to parade in on stage.


The Puffball Skirt

Admittedly, the first time I saw this style of skirt around 2008 I was seriously unimpressed. I felt that the puffball looked awkward, lumpish and unflattering and as a choice of skirt for Irish Dancing highly impractical - it doesn't kick so much as crush. However, it has grown on me since I've seen more elegant examples such as this dress from Elevation Design, so although it would not be my choice of skirt I can now see why other girls would.

The Ra-Ra Skirt

It's flippy, it's frilly and it's fun. Oh, and it has tiers. The ra-ra skirt is a bit of a point of contention - some people think it looks too much like an ordinary skirt to be a real Irish Dancing skirt. However, I think that it can look very pretty on a dress so long as the bodice is fairly plain. It didn't really catch on as a skirt on it's own though, so lo and behold...

The Puffball Ra-Ra Skirt

...The cross between the two. Still quite current this is what I would call the puffball ra-ra skirt as it combines the tiers of a ra-ra with the fullness and "puff" of a puffball skirt. I've been trawling the internet recently (as you know) for a new dress for myself and this style of skirt popped up again and again. Whilst I eventually chose something a little different (See the Dress Quest Part 2) I have to say I quite like the general effect of the skirt with a plain coloured bodice and embroidery. Whether this'll still be here in another year only time will tell...

Well I did promise a photo...

...So here it is! This is me wearing my new dress at the Emerald Championships yesterday, looking very pleased with myself, if a little baffled.

It was a great competition yesterday and I really enjoyed it! The standard of dancing was so high. Congratulations in particular go to Ashleigh Diggin-Ogle, and the double threat of Bethany and Alice Boyer who once again proved exactly why they're the top winners in Southern England Region.

I will be posting again this week, so check back for my new tips and tricks for your kicks and clicks.

The Return of the Feis

Ok, I haven't posted in a while and for this I apologise, but you'll be pleased to know that it's because I've been working on the content for today's blog!

I haven't competed in around 2/3 years...long enough anyway that I can't remember when my last feis was, but I believe it was the All England's in 2009... possibly 2008 but I think it was 2009. So, understandably, I'm a little rusty. Well, more than a little rusty. I have recurring nightmares where I forget all of the (admittedly simple) feis rules and falter on the step down the line by starting too early, forget to bow to the adjudicators and dance a slip jig when I should be dancing a reel for my Championship. I'm nervous, to say the least and hoping that I can place in all my dances but I'm not expecting too much, I'm sure a lot has changed at Open level since I last competed.

So, the question is; how do you make a comeback? I'm trying to return to the original level I competed in under a new teacher, with new steps and a 2 year break, having only been dancing again for 6 months; the odds are not in my favour. It's for this reason that I've been devising my own strategy, one that I think any dancer could incorporate easily, and I'm happy to say that it's working. It's what I call the 2 week cram.

The 2 week cram is simple, and I'm holiday now so easy to work on. It involves 1hr45mins of non-dance related cardio and 1 hour of practice per day. You can do one in the morning and one in the evening, fit it around your day and if you really work in that 2hrs45 you make massive improvements within the 2 weeks, improving not only stamina but also confidence. My issue up till now has been that my stamina has been pretty pathetic, and whilst I can complete a dance I can't complete it well. So I've started to get my heart racing every morning by going to the gym, where I work out on the treadmill, bikes, cross-trainer and incline-trainer, which all involve a great deal of you using your legs. My favourite of these is the incline-trainer, which is sort of like a cross-trainer in that you  push and pull with both your arms and legs but it's at an incline as if you're going uphill. The best part of this is that it also stretches out my legs into almost a hamstring stretch - flexibility and strength! I rotate on all the machines for 10-15 minutes at a time with 15 minutes at the end for a slow jog to walk on the treadmill to warm down. Of course if you don't have a gym membership you can actually do the activities the machines mimic; go for a run, a cycle, hill-walking if you have some nice steep ones nearby. Just make sure that you're working hard and pushing yourself just that little bit further, you'll know what you can do without hurting yourself and the aim is to improve day by day not all at once.

For my one hour drills practice in the afternoon I split it up this way;  10 minutes for warm-up/warm-down, 10 minutes stretching, 20 minutes drilling specific parts of my steps that I think need more precision and 20 minutes running my steps in front of any reflective surface I can find. This I find creates a good balance and I get everything done without causing any damage to myself...well, in general. I'm still too accident-prone not to fall over. During my drills I work on the movement directly before and into the movement I want to perfect, trying to make the transition smooth, precise and the next movement as perfect as possible. I do this over and over until I'm satisfied that it looks great then move on to the next part of that step before drilling the whole thing at the end. This way of doing things may not work for everyone - you may prefer just to work on one dance at a time and do drills and whole dance together, but this is just how I work.

It isn't all hard work though, during my 2 week cram I make sure to take care of myself, especially my muscles and my feet. In the evening I relax by taking a warm bath to relax my muscles with some nice scented bubble bath - dancing is sweaty work after all! I also treat my feet to a homemade foot scrub every few days using a recipe from Skin Care Recipes and Remedies, I personally love the brown sugar and oatmeal scrub. The foot masque is also brilliant for softening your feet overnight, and you can find other easy recipes online that involve peppermint which is brilliant for cooling and refreshing tired and sore feet! The better your feet feel, the more confident and happy you're going to feel on the dancefloor.

This system works for me, my dance class last night was the best I've ever had and I'm feeling strong and ready for Sunday, I just hope my dancing reflects this on the day! I'll be at the Carroll School's Emerald Feis in Chertsey for any UK An Comdhail girls reading this, look out for my dress and please say hi! My friend JK will also be there, dress-spotting and probably taking a few photos for his fashion blog; check it out at www.unlimitedbyjk.com for his brilliant style-spotting tips and tricks, and keep checking back here for more ID-related gems.

Bun Wigs vs Big Wigs

The great debate. Which would you vote for? Personally I'm going to outline some of the pros and cons of each wig here along with a few pics of the ones I think look best.  
(Click on the photos to be linked to the websites you can buy them from; Celtic Creations is offering free shipping to the USA at the moment!)

The Bun Wig
I remember bun wigs being all the rage when I was about 12 or 13 so a good 6 or 7 years ago, but whilst they're not as much of a craze now it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be popular. Particularly for younger dancers the bun wig keeps hair away from your face, looks very neat and tidy and doesn't swamp your head by being so big it makes your head look tiny, which can be a risk of wearing a full head wig. I know my teacher prefers them to the full head wigs at least on the younger girls. I personally love the Celtic Creations Caitlyn bun wig, which uses the pattern of the Caitlyn wig (also one of my fave full head wigs, coincidentally) to create a softer, more natural looking bun wig that looks great on an older dancer.

Photo from Celtic Creations

Equally the Lucy bun wig from Camelia Rose gives an interesting new look, creating an almost beehive style which mimics the trend for using "bumpits" to create miniature beehives in everyday wear. I think it's worth a look if you're looking for something new...

Photo from Camelia Rose

However, if you're looking for a more traditional bun wig, you can't fault the Camelia Rose Ciara wig, which has the tight ringlets which are tried and tested, having been worn by hundreds of dancers including myself for years.

Photo from Camelia Rose

The Big Wig
Well the big wig is arguably the most popular at the moment; the bigger the better. I know a lot of girls believe that a large wig is necessary for stage presence when in championships, not entirely sure they've got it right though as the larger the wig is the more it's going to weigh you down and the more it's going to drag you back. If you feel strong enough to carry around the weight of a large wig on stage whilst still looking as effortless as you want, then by all means go ahead, but I would recommend a medium-length as opposed to a long-length fuller wig in general. When worn with the right accessories a big wig can look very flattering on dancers of any age, and different wigs suit different age ranges. For example, I personally am not a fan of the smaller, tighter "frankfurter curls" as we sometimes call them here because I believe they look too artificial and rag-dolly, but I know they suit a young girl better than an older one and are an ideal choice for an open dancer between the ages of 10 and 13 when they have smaller faces. An example of this kind of wig is the Celtic Creations Alana wig below.

Photo from Celtic Creations

However, for older dancers I am more of a fan of wigs such as the Caitlyn by Celtic Creations which is a fuller, split-curl wig which gives soft lush curls that look very delicate and pretty. It can be quite ''big''  though so I would recommend trying it on first if you have a small or narrow face.

Photo from Celtic Creations

If you're looking for a more ultimately natural look, however, but do not have the sort of hair that will hold a curl, I would recommend Camelia Rose's new Sinead wig. This wig has large soft looking curls that look like the sort you would achieve with magik wands or bendy rollers so it's going back to basics without the pain of sleeping in rollers all night the night before a feis. Unfortunately it's only available in blonde at the moment, but I think it's definitely one to watch especially for older and more mature dancers who are past the age for huge wigs and tons of glitter.

Photo from Camelia Rose

So, which would you choose? Post comments below on your favoured type of wig and we'll see if we can figure out once and for all the Ultimate Wig.

The Feis Report

So, Saturday I attended my first feis in roughly 3 years after retiring from competition (and eventually dance class) in order to concentrate on those dreaded GCSEs/A Levels. I wasn't competing on this occasion, lack of a dress and the interference of my uni exams put paid to that idea, but I did go to support the younger girls of my school and act as their big sister for the day. So I travelled just a little way from home to the An Comdhail Surrey Open Championships, not quite knowing what to expect on the day; I'd never gone purely as a helper before. All I can say is that I had a blast! I loved being back in that competition atmosphere; the music, the bustle, the occasionally funny things that other dancers did on stage (take, for example, one particularly cute 6 year old who stopped in the middle of her dance having forgotten her step and started slapping her head saying "URRGH. What is it?") and the great feeling of camaraderie you get within your school. I truly believe that feis, which I am told means something equivalent to "gathering" in English, really does encourage that spirit of togetherness and community within schools as everyone supports one another and cheers each other on. I am happy to say that another reason for it being such a great day was that our girls came first and second in the championship! So I shall say a big congratulations to Tabitha and Scarlett here.

However, feiseanna can be daunting. There's the pressure of getting the steps right, not tripping, not letting anything fall off your costume, not bumping into anyone and the battle to place the best that you can. It's not surprising that it can often be difficult to deal with nerves and to warm up effectively whilst not overstraining yourself, as IDMer Dancing Gal pointed out to me. Unfortunately, there's no set rule for how to deal with stage fright. My best suggestions to calm yourself down are to take a deep breath, try to focus and if you're feeling up to it try to chat with the girls around you; if they're friendly and you get a nice little (quiet) conversation going you'll soon forget you had nerves at all! You could also try a herbal remedy called Rescue Remedy, which helps calm nerves and give an overall sense of tranquillity, made from completely natural plant extracts. It's not harmful, trusted by many and it could really help you to focus before you go on stage, just give it 30 minutes or so to work beforehand.

The next issue is that of warm ups. Obviously you don't want to put too much strain on yourself; you want to be fresh for your competition and full of energy. I would usually start off with a few stretches before putting my costume on so that my muscles are nice and stretched out, then do a few jumps etc. before putting on a pair of legwarmers. Once I'm ready and my dance is going to be called soon I'd get someone to watch out for when they call the competition, then step outside (or if there's a practice area go there) and run the steps of that dance slowly. So as not to overtire myself I try to be as precise as possible but perhaps not jump quite as high, running one step then taking a break, a sip of water and maybe a bite of an energy bar before running the next one. This keeps the warm up calm, ensures you don't overwork yourself but also makes certain that you'll be ready to give your all once out there on stage. A technique which I hope to use myself at my first feis I'll actually be competing in next month! Wish me luck,  Rince-followers...

Oompa-Loompa? Me? No thanks!

As you may have guessed, I have a massive aversion to the terrible fake-tan craze which always appears at feiseanna; I'm really pale so temporarily making my legs orange to me looks unnatural and a little bit tacky. Of course if you find fake tan works for you, go ahead I have nothing against the idea, it does look good on some people. Just try to avoid looking orange.

My refusal to use fake tan or too garish make up means I've adopted a simpler style when I'm getting ready for a feis; I think the dresses are embellished enough already so I don't need to do too much to my face. So that you can see what I look like pre-makeup, here's a before shot:

Yes, I know, no wig. But mine was in a pitiful state, so I decided GHD curls were a better idea.

As you can see, aside from my eyes I'm pretty washed-out looking, so it's time to add some colour! For my feis makeup look I used a neutral base colour eyeshadow, a dark teal coloured eyeshadow, two shades of silver/grey eyeshadow, a bright turquoise kohl eye pencil, coral blusher, a light two-tone bronzer and a coral coloured lipstick and gloss.

I started off by using a neutral sand-coloured base on my eyes to get rid of any minor discolouration, I then covered this with a pale and shiny silver colour from my duo eyeshadow palette. This makes my eyes look wider and more awake as well as giving a pretty iridescent shimmer to my eyelids. I then layered the lower part of my eyelid with the grey and dark teal colours to give a shadow, before drawing on a solid line with the turquoise kohl eyepencil, creating a really nice block of colour to match with the colours on my dress. I then used mascara on my lashes to "open" my eyes up.

It looks really light like this, but then...

...It really is quite a punch of turquoise!

The next part is really easy, I simply use a larger blusher brush to brush on even amounts of a light coral blusher and and two tone sand/brown bronzer to create a natural and healthy glow on my cheeks, brushing a little of the sand bronzer on the ridge of my nose for a sunkissed look. The bronzer has a light shimmer in it that makes my skin glitter subtly. Sorry if the pics don't show this to its full advantage, but you get the idea.
To make this stick I spritz my face with a thermal water spray which moisturises my face and ensures I don't sweat my face off. I then apply lipstick by dabbing it on my lips to get an even, smooth, matte coverage before applying a light coral gloss then voilà!..

This look is intended to subtly emphasise your feautres so that they'll be noticed from the stage, with a promotion of natural-looking beauty, so as you can see it's a bit less flamboyant than other feis styles. If you're looking for something a bit more natural-looking (wigs are going that way, why can't make up?) then this might be the sort of style you may want to adopt. Barry M have brilliant eyeliners in loads of colours that really stay on well and will always have a colour to match your dress.

Why not play around with your make up today, it's always good to find new styles!

The Dress Quest Part 2: My Mission Accomplished

It's finally finished! I have bought a new Irish Dance dress and personally, I think it's beautiful. Here's a picture of it from the seller:

I picked this dress for a few key reasons which I believe everyone does (or should) take into consideration when buying a new dress, particularly one that's second-hand and sold over the internet.
First of all; price. Price is a key factor when buying a dress, you want to spend enough to ensure quality without paying so much that you might as well have just bought a brand new custom-made dress. You will see many dresses marketed for over $1200/£750, whilst this may seem reasonable for used Elevation and Gavin Doherty dresses I would ask you to think wisely before purchasing. For that £750 you could have a reputable designer such as Eileen Plater make you a custom made dress to your specifications, which is more personal and I believe better value for money. This dress was £550 and as I am a student and can't afford more, and have such exacting measurements, I believed this to be a good price for what I wanted without paying for a custom-made solo.

Second of all, you need to consider colour. Colour can look massively distorted in photographs online, and you may have chosen something you think looks pretty on the screen and then discover when it's delivered that it's not quite as nice a shade as you thought. To avoid this being an issue, choose colours that you know always bring out your best features. As I have (very) light colouring and very blue eyes, I know that most shades of blue bring out the best of my skintone and eye colour so it's a fairly safe bet when choosing clothes. Don't be tempted to choose overly bright dresses simply because you believe it'll be more eyecatching on stage, if it's not going to suit you and/or looks ridiculous the adjudicator like any other person will be more distracted by your dress than your feet so it's a little counterproductive.

Finally you must consider how appropriate the dress is for your age and level. I know this sounds a little uptight and/or obvious because we all pick outfits we believe are appropriate to our age, but it's definitely something you need to consider. One memorable line from Memoirs of a Geisha relates dreams to hair ornaments, that "young girls are eager to wear all of them at once, but an older woman looks foolish wearing even one". Don't judge me on that quote, I couldn't find my book to be more exact but you get the idea. With Irish Dancing dresses as with hair ornaments, an older girl's dress should be less ostentatious than say a 13 year old's. As I am 19 and so in the Senior or Over 18s category for feis apart from the All Irelands, I think this dress is suitable to my level because it is a classy Open dancer's dress; the use of only 3 colours keeps it simple and the almost subtle sparkle added with the diamontés adds just that little bit of extra stage presence and glamour. I also like the celtic-styled embroidery as I believe that Irish dancing dresses should look a little bit Irish, it's good to keep some tradition in our outfits.

If you keep these 3 points in mind when shopping around for your new dress, I am sure you will have great success. Look on my Useful Websites page to find links to dress sites I found useful in searching for my dress and check back for photos of me wearing the dress soon. A lesson in subtle stage-makeup for the older dancer and how to add a little bit of glitz for younger girls coming soon...

If you're gonna jig, make it quick...

I know, I haven't posted in a few days and for that I am sorry. I blame flat-hunting in London; I honestly swear that trying to learn toe-walks and double-jumps for the first time couldn't possibly be as time-consuming, or indeed as painful. So, as my apology, here's a review on dance music.

Music can be an issue when practicing; you need something the right speed, with the correct dance music, and most of all you need something that not only sounds like the traditional music you'll hear at feis but also upbeat and up-to-date enough for you to feel really pumped. I've tried quite a few cds now, and I believe that if you want something that sounds quite upbeat, modern and fun you could definitely do worse than the works of Ryan Lacey and Ellery Klein.


Ryan and Ellery's music hits the right note between traditional and modern with complex and modern-sounding tunes being played on traditional Irish instruments, and with 2 albums to choose from you're spoilt for choice. Their first album, Step Into the Beat, has quite up-tempo, pretty-sounding music that makes dancing really enjoyable with simple and easy levels on the discs for the different speeds of dance, as well as a couple of set dances thrown into the mix as well. With the main basis being the violin (or fiddle) with drumbeats to keep rhythm it's enjoyable to listen to as well as dance too, and really helpful when you're trying to fit your steps to the music and keep time.

However, I think my favourite of the two is their second album, Kick Into the Beat. As the title suggests, this music really packs a punch with fast tempos, complicated music with a mix of instruments including the guitar and real feel of energy. If you're looking for some music that really seems to try and inject some energy into your dancing whether you like it or not, this is the sort you should buy. I especially love the "Meek Maid's Reels" which contrary to the name has nothing "meek" about it.

Listen to their music on iTunes or amazon.com and try it for yourself. Happy dancing!