#irishdancer

I'm still trying to grasp this weekend. To be honest it was the first time where I truly felt like myself. New dress, new hair, new vibe. Everything felt right. My two rounds felt clean and energized, but I found myself in that same moment of recalls hoping to hear my number. As it got closer to my number I could feel the nerves and FINALLY my number was called. Finally all the work and all of my training pulled off a recall. My set felt fine, I wasn't 100% happy with it, but overall I danced my absolute best for the day. The rest of the day felt like an outer body experience. Standing backstage with dancers I looked up to and inspired to be and to get called 1 place shy of top 10 was incredible. 4 places from WQ!!

Never have I recalled and here I am 11th in Eastern Canada, 4 places away from WORLD QUALIFYING.

It still feels like a dream. 🖤

All I can say is hard work pays off and I'm so happy I didn't give up when results wouldn't go my way.

This is just the beginning.

1: when people refer Irish dancing as “clogging” or “tap dancing”

2:when people say Irish dancing isn’t a sport

3: when your Tc says “one more time” at least 50 more times before they mean it 

4: the struggle of dancing or blocking on a tile or any other slippery type flooring

5: the struggle of performing outside in the rain or in over 100 degree weather 

6: waiting 900 years for recalls to be announced, just to wait another decade for awards 

7: two words: oireachtas season, nationals season, worlds season, any season

8: the looks you get when you Irish dance to normal music, or any music that isn’t Irish

9: always saying “sorry I have dance” whenever people try to make plans with you 

10: dancing first

11: dancing alone

12: dancing last 

13: doing a treble jig full, or any full for that matter, especially in heavies 

14: when your Tcs go from really chill to really scary in 2.0 seconds 

15: when you are at a feis and you line up for your comp just for the judges to go on lunch break so you wait 4 score and 7 years for the judges to come back 

16: breaking in new heavies

17: after a really intense workout or full you get jello legs 

18: that annoying competitor that tries to push you off stage or cuts you off 

19: when the musician plays the wrong music or ends too early or too late 

20: when 2 water bottles aren’t enough for class so you die of thirst

21: when non Irish dancers ask you to teach them something, so you try to teach them the jig and even that is too hard -.-

22: the exhaustion of competing whether its a feis or a major 

23: the pain of a full wig 

24: when your spray tan goes wrong and you look like an oompa loompa or a carrot 

25: the gross feeling of putting sock glue on / off 

26: the frustration when people who danced after you, get their results before you when you’ve waited 40 years and they’ve waited like 5 minutes 

27: when your friends think Irish dance is easy but when they try to do it they look like a drunk leprechaun 

28: the pain of missing a click and hitting your ankle instead 

29: the struggle of stepping on or tripping over your own feet