#sro 2014

My girls taking a selfie on the podium 

The top 5 in my age group are just amazing. They are great girls and are so talented. Plus, Ellie orangeunderskirt  in fourth place danced with a broken foot and Emma in fifth place danced with a stress fracture in her hip! They are my inspiration!

So as everyone who has access to the Senior Ladies full results can determine, I came in dead last this year. Even though my express goal was NOT to do that thing, I'm ok with where I stand. The seniors competition this year was crazy. The standard of dancing just to recall was near WQ level and I honestly don't know how the judges picked a winner. I've learned a lot about myself these past few months in prelims. Through trial and error I've figured out a pre-stage ritual that seems to have finally clicked the day of the Oireachtas. (Actually performing at my best on stage is something I still need to figure out.) I've learned that I can face my fears and do something I've been dreaming about for over ten years. When I got on that giant stage with the big Southern Region banner for the first time, I was so overwhelmed wondering if this was really happening I almost forgot to start on time. I've also learned that if I want to take my dancing seriously, I'm going to have to make some pretty drastic changes. I need to start training to compete against my competitors at the Oireachtas, not just local feises. I need to revamp my approach to practice, begin eating like an athlete, and ramping up my overall fitness. Instead of being daunted by this prospect, I'm super pumped. I have a year-long gift membership to a local fitness club that I'm activating this week and I've been meal planning like crazy to help fuel my workouts and practices yet to come. When I quit dancing, I deeply regretted never competing in prelims or at an Oireachtas. Well, now I can say I finally did those things. From now on, this is uncharted territory, and I'm excited to see what 2015 brings, for both me and my school. Roll on Dallas!

SRO slip jig #4 - Cormac Ó Sé and Brian James O'Sullivan. Last one unless I can figure out how to convert the first recording I made to mp3!

SRO slip jig #3 - Cormac Ó Sé and Brian James O'Sullivan. This one I'm pretty sure is a tune Cormac wrote called "The Dark Lord"...and yes, that is a Harry Potter reference

SRO slip jig #2, again from Cormac O'Sé and Brian James O'Sullivan

parade of champs sat Recorded by me!