Oireachtas 2011

This Thanksgiving weekend Mom and Abby parted ways with Dad and Andrew (went to Detroit for hockey tournament) and headed to Chicago for the 2011 Mid America Oireachtas regional Irish dance competition. Unfortunately, Abby did not place in her category, but I think her and Mom still had fun. Here are some photographed highlights.

Oireachtas Pep Rally

Yesterday Abby had a practice and pep rally for her upcoming Mid America Region Oireachtas competition that is in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. Every year the O'Hare Irish Dance booster club has a pep rally to wish good luck to the girls that will be competing in Oireachtas. It's usually good fun and a nice way to get everyone excited for the competition. Good luck Abby!

Abby Takes First at the Prairie State Feis

Abby participated in two feiseanna this weekend in Chicago at the preliminary championship level. The first competition, the Chicago Autumn Feis, was on Saturday and we won't talk too much about that one since Abby finished 10th overall and 2nd in her set dance. However, she bounced back Sunday with a 1st place finish in the Prairie State Feis that was sponsored by the Mayer School of Irish Dance which was her former dance studio in Chicago. In fact, her first Irish dance instructor, Paul Mayer, had the honor of presenting her with her first place sash and award. Nice job Abby!

Gem City Feis

This is a belated post I forgot to publish regarding Abby's performance at the Gem City Feis in Dayton, OH last weekend. She took home another 3rd place finish (and a nice big gem-sized trophy). That's her fourth straight top three finish. Nice job Abby - and good preparation for the annual Mid-American Region Oireachtas competition in Chicago, IL next month.

Abby Takes Third at Pittsburgh Halloween Feis

Today Abby danced at the Pittsburgh Halloween Feis in Pittsburgh. Like last year, she was able to wear a Halloween costume while she danced in the competition. While she did not finish first place like she did in the past two Feis, she did bring home a solid third place finish (she also finished with a second place in her "set dance" competition). Nice job Abby!

Congratulations Abby!

Yesterday Abby competed in Irish Dancing at the Michigan FEIS. Not only was she wearing her new dress, but she was also out to get her second consecutive first place finish dancing at the Preliminary Championship level (she earned a first place a few weeks ago competing in the Great Lakes Feis). The way it works is that dances must earn a minimum of two first place finishes in official feiseanna competitions in order to move up to the Championship level of competition (the highest). I am proud to report that Abby did just that ... so congratulations you Championship Dancer!

Medina International Fest

Today Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls performed at the 3rd annual Medina International Fest (as they did in 2010 and 2009). Dad and Andrew were at hockey, but mom was on hand to take the following video footage. This was a retirement performance for one of Abby's good friends, Jacqueline (aka, Jackie), who will be hanging up the dancing shoes to focus on her volleyball career.

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Dance Out in Parma

As she did last year and in 2009 and 2008, tonight Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls performed at the St. Charles Borromeo church in Parma, OH for their annual carnival/fair. It's always a hot, fun event.

Louisville Weekend

This weekend the Hollywood Four all went to Louisville for so Abby could compete in the Louisville Feis on Saturday. She finished 5th overall in her main competition (19 dancers) and 1st overall in her set dance competition (she danced her "the downfall of Paris"). She also took a couple other first place medals in some lesser competitions for specific dance steps. On Sunday, Dad got breakfast in bed at the Hyatt Place. Then we packed up and went to Churchill Downs for the early part of the afternoon (since the kids have been enjoying horse racing 3D on my iPad). We won about $65 and spent only $20 so that was good. In the evening we went to a new minor league baseball stadium to watch the Florence Freedom play.

Feis Weekend

This weekend Abby had two Irish dancing Feis competitions. On Saturday she competed in the Akron Feis and finished 5th out of twenty some girls. Today she competed in the Cleveland Feis and took 3rd place out of twenty or so girls again. Here is a short clip of the award presentation from today (taken with my cell phone).

Dance Me Out To The Ballgame

Last week Thursday Abby and the O'Hare girls had a dance out for Irish Day at the Akron Aeros game. I guess the crowd was sparse, but it was a neat venue any ways.

Irish Dance Update

Today Abby competed in the Buckeye State Feis in Columbus, OH. There were about 30 girls in her age group for preliminary championship level. She finished fourth which was another great accomplishment - and the trophy was nice too (unfortunately, no sash though). Way to go Abby! Speaking of Irish Dance, I forgot to post a short video clip from the O'Hare School of Irish Dance year-end revue that was last week Sunday. Abby was the drunken sailor for the Drunken Sailor dance. Here are a few highlights.

Dance Out at Sully's

Tonight Abby and some of the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed at the Sully's Irish Pub in Medina. Sully's is always a fun and interesting venue because of the limited dancing space and the very festive crowd. What was special about tonight's performance was that Abby - and her friend Jacqueline - were entirely responsible for organizing the dances and dancers for the performance (since their instructors was not able to attend).

Irish Dancing for More Old Folks

This past Sunday, Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed for some more old folks (see March 7 video post). This one was a little more interesting because they had the band with them and they performed some fun, odd songs too.

The Rhythm of Ireland

This past Saturday, Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers put on a spectacular show called "The Rhythm of Ireland." Dad was responsible for video taping the entire show which was a little over 2 hours long. So, while I can't share the entire show online, here is a clip of the dance that received the most applause.

Irish Dancing for Old Folks

Yesterday Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed for some old folks in Brecksville, OH. Here are a few highlights of this performance.

Abby Takes 2nd Place at North Coast Feis

Today Abby competed at the North Coast Feis in Cleveland. She has been practicing very hard lately and it paid off as she took second place in the Preliminary Championship Level (that's the level she competes at right now). A first place would have been nice as that is what she needs to move up to Championship Level; but a second place finish is not too shabby ... Abby. Since no video is allowed at feiseanna, the photo to the right shows Abby accepting her second place "sash" and "vase".

O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio - Promo Video

At the request of Abby's Irish dance instructor, I again edited together a "promotional" video using some footage a couple of the parents shot at the Akron First Night performance on New Year's Eve night. They normally link this video to their website http://www.oharedanceohio.com/ to showcase the dance studio recruiting and to generate interest for possible performances throughout the year. Although the video is uploaded to YouTube, I have embedded it below as well.

Festival of Nations

Today Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance girls performed at the Akron Civic Theatre as part of the Festival of Nations. There were six cultural on-stage performance and a variety of international booths and food for intermissions. Of course, the grand finale was reserved for the O'Hare girls ...

First Night Akron 2011

Just as she did last year, Abby again danced at the First Night Akron celebration (two back-to-back performances). Mom took our guests, Susanne, Craig, Myranda and Ellie to watch the performance while Dad and Andrew stayed home to prepare some snacks for New Year's Eve. At the conclusion of the performance, Ellie even got to dance with the help and instruction of the O'Hare Irish Dance girls. Here is some video footage that Mom shot while at the event.