Irish March Madness Begins!

IT'S MARCH!!!!

LET THE TRUE MARCH MADNESS BEGIN!

I'm so glad February is done and that March has 31 days! More days to celebrate. People don't understand what a great time of the year this is. Though, people who are Irish or Irish lovers do.

I don't have any children yet but I found this picture and want to claim her as my own. Look at this little cuteness celebrating St. Patrick's Day:

She's my inspiration this month.

So, what do you guys do for St. Patrick's Day?

For me, I'm going to walk into work on Monday wearing my new green dress wishing everyone a Happy March and a Merry St. Patrick's Day.

It's funny because so many people that I have met through the years remember me at this time of year purely because I'm Irish obsessed?

Does that resonate with anyone else?

It is such an honor.

One of the things I do this month is listen to Irish music and only Irish music. 

Here's my suggestion:

Create these 3 Pandora stations and you will be all set for whatever Irish mood may fall upon you during March. 

1) "Riverdance" -- this is when you're in a dancing mood.

2) "Flogging Molly" -- this is when you're in a rocking-out mood.

3) "Molly's Revenge" -- and this is when you're in a traditional mood. 

I promise, it will cover all your Irish-music needs. But, if I have missed an amazing Pandora station, please let me know!

Also, if possible, don't miss out on live Irish-music concerts. Talk about a party! Bring your non-Irish loving friends, those who just don't get why you love Irish things so much, and then they will understand your obsession. 

I live in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Young Dubliners are coming to concert March 15th -- the day Salt Lake celebrates St. Patrick's Day. (Always the Saturday before March 17th) I am so excited of this concert and I'm bring so many friends to help them realize how marvelous Irish music is. 

Same day as the Young Dubliners, we have a massive St. Patrick's Day parade that goes through a outdoors mall in downtown Salt Lake. My Irish group will be in it and we've been practicing our parade-route number. SO EXCITED!

Anybody else going to be in a parade?

On March 17th, I'll be with a large group teaching them all how to Irish dance after we have eaten homemade Irish stew. I love teaching people how to dance and usually  people love learning it.

And lastly, don't you find that there is a different energy at dance class during March? I feel we work harder but also have more fun. 

It's our time to shine Irish dancers! Let's show the world why our hobby of dance is much more than just a thing we do -- it's a thing we eat, sleep and breath. It's our passion.

Erin Go Bragh!

The Reason Behind the Look -- The Competitive Irish Dancer

I've got so much to say to the author of the article "Why Irish dancing has lost its way and needs to change." If you don't know about it, it's the article that is enraging Irish dancers everywhere.

Rather than spouting out my feelings in a blog post, I'm going to (hopefully) calmly tell Cahir O'Doherty, the author, some of the facts he carelessly didn't check before writing his poorly researched article.

Mr. O'Doherty, you first stated, regarding the Irish dancer's modernized look, "They need costumes and giant wigs and spray tans and extensive wardrobes. We need to hide them beneath multiple layers of pan stick and polyester if they're to stand a chance on the stage on their own."

There are reasons behind everything you mention here. You didn't care to research the "whys" behind the costume (solo dress), the wig, the spray tan -- you just decided to write down your shallow opinions. 

In a competition, dancers get less than a minute to make an impression on the judges while they are dancing. Traditional athletes, as in basketball players or footballers, etc., get hours of game time to make an impression of their talent. 

We don't have that luxury.

That's why we have to make every second count.

We spend money on solo dresses that, first, represent ourselves. The solo dress is a reflection of the dancer wearing it -- their personality, their style, their interests. The dress also needs to draw the eye of the judge to the dancer. We're fighting for the spot light -- that opportunity to be seen! That's one reason why glitter and stones are so popular right now. They add flash and attract the eye of the judge to our outfit, and ultimately to ourselves. 

It's a tactic.

There's so much truth in this picture:

And another thing!

Who are you to say what we spend our money on??? That's none of your business!

*calm down*

Back to the points:

Irish dancers wear wigs as a symbol of our traditional roots in old Ireland. Irish girls would curl their hair before they went dancing. We do the same thing. It's important to keep tradition when your activity is rooted in a folk dance. 

And there's this indisputable fact:

Who can argue with that???

O'Doherty then mentions spray tans. Here's my question for him:

Have you ever seen a bodybuilder?

They're pretty tan aren't they? Why would they tan their bodies?

Think about it...

There's an important similarity between bodybuilders and Irish dancers, believe it or not. Each tans their bodies to enhance the visual muscular definition. Muscle definition can be more easily seen on darker skin than fair skin. This is why Irish dancers tan their legs. We are athletes, muscle strength is essential and the adjudicators look for strong legs while judging. Irish dancing is all about legs. We've got to make them look good!

Woo! Look at that!

Ultimately, Mr. O'Doherty, we look this way because it has the power to make us feel invisible. When you look good, you feel good, you dance good.

I hope all my readers take this next quote lightly. Being a strong, technically savvy dancer is what gets us trophies, but looking good can't hurt.

I love how modern Irish dancers look. It makes sense, the way we dress, if you think about the overall goal of wanting to shine on stage. 

I hope with all the backlash Cahir O'Doherty has received, he'll think twice before he messes with Irish dancers again.

*fierce*

If you want to hear an NPR (National Public Radio) piece on competitive Irish dance, click here. You'll love it.