With Guinness and shepherd's pie on the line, St. Paddy's Day cannot be ignored.
My
gr-daughters are Irish dancers. It is possible that our photos and
dance recordings of the two of them could overwhelm you. Instead, you
will see a world record of Irish dancers performing across the bridge,
with the line wrapping down along the street.
"Riverdance
World Record Longest Line 21st July 2013" - What a fantastic day on the
banks of the River Liffey. A sincere thank you to all who made it happen
- .. but most especially all the 1693 record breaking dancers from 44
countries whose enthusiasm and energy made the day and broke the record!
Thank you!
Lead by Jean Butler
and Padraic Moyles and over 115 professional Riverdance dancers in costume which were joined by 1000 other dancers. the
Riverdance line stretched for 1km along the north and south banks of the
river Liffey, Dublin. The dancers were watched by an audience of
thousands cheering them on as they danced for 5 continuous minutes in an
unbroken line into the record books."
These are our gr-daughters in 2018 in Sequoia. They light up every place they are.
From
the first slip jig of the day to the last reel at the end, one fact was
abundantly clear:every competitor in
this Irish Dance Feis (Fesh) was still a kid.
Oh,
each one gave their best to stand tall and be mature.
Their
toe points were perfect.The arms were
straight.Knees straight on the
kicks.1 2 3 4 5 6 7, Hop 2 3, Hop 2 3,
Back you go 4 5 6 7, Hop 2 3 and Hop 2 3.
Wigs
are now required as dancers move up the ranks—curly crazy wigs that bounce to
accentuate the dance.The dance schools
each have their own school color and design.It can be blue with red pleats, the Celtic designs in bold embroidery,
white with orange pleats, or any of many variations.The shoes are either soft shoe or hard
shoe.The white socks are held in place
up to the calf with sock glue.
This
is a long way from the surge of Irish dance of Riverdance fame.
For an article that compares the past to the present click here. You will see the before and after photos of Irish dancing!
Many
words could be written about how something simple and pure morphs into a huge
business in the world of dance with rules and regulations, expense (one “worn
only twice” solo dress was for sale: $1,200) and dedication.They won’t be written here.
After
the dancers finish and the dance costumes carefully put away, the dancers are
children. The shoes are packed, and flip
flops replace them.Tee shirts and
shorts don’t glitter, and the wigs are off with a pony tail in their
place.
They
stand before the wall with the results numbers.There is both joy and disappointment.One little girl (in the beginners 1, under 8 yrs. competitions) searched
for the scores for her dances.There she
was:a 3rd place, another 3rd
place, oh and a 2nd place.Oh, Mommy, there I am!I got a 1st
place!!
That
little face lifted to her mother, those sparkling eyes, and a huge smile say
that the dancers are still kids--kids
who want a hug and then go to get some ice cream, and maybe a movie.
Over the years of watching and caring for my granddaughters, we have gone through many stages. At the beginning in the early days of toddler-hood, we marched around the living room with Barney the Purple Dinosaur ™. Whatever you may think of the annoying dino, the show had some good children music—tunes to march around, dance and wiggle. At the end of each show, ‘Bright Eyes’ and ‘Sunshine’ and I held hands and swayed back and forth, affirming our love for Barney and each other.
I love you.
You love me.
Our imaginations are all we need.
We evolved into other shows. "Little Einsteins" was fun and we patted our hands to make the rocket ship fly.
Then there were "The Wonder Pets", which still has appeal. These amazing Kindergarten pets rescue animals from all over the world, while singing a disturbing form of opera.
They can do anything!
But one has remained a constant favorite, more or less because I find the show so darn funny and creative: The Backyardigans ™. The premise of this show is there are 5 children (a girl hippo, boy moose, boy penguin, boy kangaroo, and some girl creature with pink spots and strange head appendages) who share a large backyard. After lunch, these children come bursting out into the play area, and a make-believe game begins. The characters take on the personas of the day’s theme, while the yard morphs magically into the desired habitat. Sometimes they are pirates, or surfers, or ancient Egyptians—there are seemingly no limits.
There is no end of the creativity involved in this show. The dialogue is cutting, the humor is rapid, and most of all, the music is unexpected. Try pairing Knights of the Round Table guarding a dragon egg, dancing to Bali-wood music. Picture the Old West town of Ping Pong Plateau, getting down with hip-hop. The characters have intricate dances that can only be done by experienced dancers. I know. I am not one, but I recognize it when I see it.
Over the past few years, Sunshine and Bright Eyes have opened a new world of entertainment for me, and they have welcomed into their circle of child play. But I have learned there is a line that they have drawn, beyond which I will not be allowed.
Recently Sunshine and I watched a DVD of three new shows, and I was trying the dances. One was hip-hop, another Bali-wood, and the third I think some R & B. In the past, there has been polka, Irish dancing, and Cajun, among other music & dance types. Let me tell you: these are cardio-challenging. Forget all those workout programs advertised! Watch this show, and try to keep up with that hippo! She is sassy and bossy, and knows how to move. The penguin might look slow, with the awkward feet and all, but he will surprise you.
After watching the DVD, I decided to see if I could take it home to show Grandpa.
I asked Sunshine, “Can I borrow this DVD? Please? I will bring it back on Friday!”
She looked at me, and then at the DVD I held in my hands. Carefully she took it away from me. “No, I don’t think I should let you take it. Bright Eyes likes this one.”
“Aw, come on, Sunshine! I let you guys borrow my ‘Night at the Museum’ and ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth!’ I always let you take my good movies.” I hate begging, but it was clearly coming to that. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”
Wordlessly, Sunshine put the DVD back in the drawer and closed it. ‘That’s it, then.’ I thought. ‘I’m gonna tell her mom.’ Or maybe I’ll get my DVDs and take them home. That’ll teach Sunshine a lesson or two. Should you want to listen to the music, check this link. http://new.music.yahoo.com/backyardigans/tracks
