Thursday, March 17, 2011

Them's Fightin' Words

Stepping away from a writing post today (and all is better than my depressing post from last week--I finished off a short that was more than likely the source of my frustration), I thought I'd share something that really can't be anymore Irish than Irish step dancing.

See, normally this time of year is extremely hectic for our household. We even name it Hell Week with two to three performances a day for around 7 days (they are short in duration, it's just getting from one side of the city to the other sometimes that is the aggravation). Heading into the past weekend, it was shaping up to be a normal week of ferrying my daughter around from performance to performance. However, she took a nasty spill during the kickoff performance (a St Patrick's Day parade) and we got to visit the ER for a few hours instead. All is well, but it put her out of the performances for the week (we joked with her on the way to hospital that if she wanted out of the performances, all she had to do was not sign herself up for them! LOL).

But there is always a bright side to her chosen activity. Traditionally, Irish step dancing is very stiff and formal. In fact, the competition side of the dance is very different from what audiences see in Lord of the Dance or Riverdance. Heavy, ornate costumes, arms stiff at their sides with no arm movement whatsoever and a pound or two of curls (a wig) on their heads. Usually, the only thing competition Irish step dancing and those shows have in common are the ghillies (soft shoes) and jig shoes (hard shoes, the ones most people associate with Irish step dancing). Occasionally though, they get to let their hair down - literally! - and have some fun. In our case, a handful of the girls regularly perform a few times a year with a bad when they pass through the area.

So enjoy the video here of two fightin' Irish step dancers, no frills, no fuss. And yep, one of them is my daughter. Don't let the attitudes fool you, the girls are best friends and have been dancing together for about 4/5 years. :^)

6 comments:

Liia Ann White said...

I loved it! Their attitude is great hehe

Irish dancing is great. I admire anyone who can do that with their legs and feet - I'd be puffed out in two seconds, even when I danced as a teenager lol
No wonder you daughter sprained her ankle!

Sara Brookes said...

They still talk about this because they had so much fun doing it! Thanks for stopping by Liia. :^)

Rebecca Royce said...

That was AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing it. I can't stop grinning!!

Sara Brookes said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Rebecca! Getting to see her do things like this always makes trudging to all the competitions a little easier. :^)

Hailey Edwards said...

Wow, that was amazing! You should be one proud momma. Such beautiful girls, and they were just amazing to watch.

Sara Brookes said...

Thanks, Hailey! I am proud, usually until the receipts start pouring in. LOL