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!

Hover jumps? Leaps? Over-2-3s...

I just recieved a comment from IDMer spirit of the gael who asked me such a good question I thought I should post my response on here too for anyone else with the same problem. Thanks Spirit of the gael!

Spirit of the gael asked me how to do what she called hang leaps. I'm going to presume that this is what I would call a hover leap (methinks we need a cross-organisation/school Irish Dancing dictionary) and so here is my 3 step plan for mastering them.

Step 1: Learn how to do a leap.
If you don't know how to do one this article probably isn't for you, I'd recommend practicing the basic steps you do know because you need to have perfect basics before you can start learning the more difficult stuff. (Precision makes World Champions.)

Step 2: Learn how to go UP.
By this I'm not suggesting you don't know how to jump, but you're probably (albeit more than likely unknowingly) used to going forwards to cover distance as opposed to going straight UP. How I train myself is to get a small stack of boxes/one medium/large box and put it on a stable surface and try to clear it in one jump, giving myself a good run-up of course. Try not to be scared of tripping over it because then you more than likely will trip over it due to hesitancy. Worst injury you'll get from this is probably a bruise if you keep your wits about you and trust in yourself that you have the ability to make the jump.  Work your way up from a low height (which you could clear without even trying) to a more challenging one which you would find difficult to reach. Remember that the leg you bring up at the start of the jump must be as high as you want to go. If you've ever heard people tell you that the direction your head faces is where you will follow can be applied to this too, the higher you kick your front leg, the higher the rest of you is likely to go.

Step 3: Learn to hold it.
A girl I knew used to drink a lot before dancing so that she'd cross her legs tighter from needing to use the toilet on stage. I am not recommending this as a way to keep your legs nicely crossed, because I always thought it was a bit risky (not to mention distracting) but the same rules apply. As you tense your thigh muscles when clenching your legs together so too must you do it now. In order to hold your legs in position lock your thigh muscles when you reach the peak of your leap, this will hold you in position and give the appearance of hovering in the air. Then after a second or two quickly move your legs to land. Simple as that. (Well, at least it will look that way.)

Hope this helps you all, and thanks again Spirit of the gael for the question!

On your toes, girl.

Stretching. Warm ups. Drills. They're all really important if you want to become a top dancer, but which ones can help you nail those kicks'n'clicks? Here are a few of my top 5...

The Quadriceps Stretch...

 This stretches the muscle on the front of your thigh which you use to keep your knees and legs locked when dancing. Move yourself into the position the model is in with one foot behind you and one bent in front touching the knee, then slowly and carefully move yourself into a lying position. Don't worry if it really hurts the first couple of times, only go as low as you can propping yourself on your arms as necessary and ease yourself into it so as to prevent injury.

Touch Your Toes...


This stretches your calf muscles on the back of your legs, loosening them up ready to do those power moves! Whilst this girl is probably doing a more pilates or yoga-centric version of this stretch, try to keep your legs straight as she does and put your hand to the floor. The more you do this the more your flexibility will increase.

Split Stretches...

This is an assisted single leg stretch such as those ballet dancers do to improve their flexibility. Keep the leg on the floor as much as you can with the toe pointed whilst your friend pulls your other leg (also pointed) back towards your head. When it hurts too much tell her to stop and hold it for a few seconds until the pain eases, at which point you can pull it back a little further. Keep practicing this stretch regularly and soon you'll be able to do full splits, which will certainly make your kicks a lot higher, stronger and more elegant.

Squats...

Squats are are not only a great way to tone legs, thighs and bums, they're also a brilliant part of your dancing warm up. If you put them into a drill where you have to put them at the end of a block of 7s or sidesteps (think 1-2-3-4-5-6-SQUAT-1-2-3-4-5-6-SQUAT) you'll warm up your muscles really quickly by moving from lower leg to upper leg stretches quickly. Warning: these also tire you out really fast when done in this manner. But work hard to gain more!

The Butterfly Stretch...

This stretches the muscles in the groin and inner thigh increasing flexibility. Join your feet together in front of you in a butterfly shape then push your feet back as far as you can without discomfort. Try to keep your kees as close to the floor as possible and lean forward to try and rest your head on your feet. This combined with the split stretches should really help to keep your kicks high.

After using all these stretches I usually feel pretty set up for a practice sesh, and I hope these work for you too!

All photos from Google.