11/29: Congratulations to the following dancers and teams who placed at the Oireachtas: Solo Under 10: Jacqueline Sharry Solo Uncer 14: Bridget Murphy, Lauren Cahaly & Lauren O'Neil Solo Under 15: Megan Knittle Solo Under 20: Matt Mara
Traditional Sets: Jacklyn Bedard Meaghan Merrill Shannon Corcoran Gabi Kruczynski Lindsey Judson
Ceili Teams: We will list the names of the dancers in the placing teams soon. The Web-Mother's memory isn't what is used to be. Thanks for your patience!
p.s. There were a couple of lost and found items recovered from the practice room at the O. They are now at the studio.
11/29 Privates: Check with Clare to confirm privates for next week.
11/20 Congratulations to all our Oireachtas dancers! We are so proud of our teams, Traditional Set Competitors and Solo Competitors. Watch for pictures and results. Thanks, Congratulations again and enjoy your week off!
11/12 Thanks to everyone who attended the Rally on Friday! Now we are on the final count-down. Watch this space and your e-mail for practice info for the rest of the week. In the mean time, the specific time schedule is posted as well as a check-list to help with the packing. If I missed anything, please let me know. Thanks!
11/9 The Rally will begin at 7:00. Dancers must be there by 6:00 and will meet and change downstairs. Due to limited space downstairs, please have family and siblings wait upstairs for the performance.
We need just a couple of volunteers to do the 50-50 raffle and take admissions.
We will have live music for the dance presentation, but when we are all done, the dancers and their families are welcome to stay and celebrate their hard work. Feel free to bring your favorite CDs (labeled of course) for a dance party!
Regular practice times on Sunday.
11/6 We are getting down to the wire here! The excitement builds! This week's Notes: Watch for confirmation of practice times for the weekend. The Rally will be held on Friday Night. Further details can be found by clicking HERE. NEXT week, the week of the Oireachtas, Solos will practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Watch for team and T-Set announcements. There will be no regular classes on Thursday the 17th as many will be off to the O. Be sure you know where you stand with your school dress, wig and accessories before Friday.
11/3 Hi all~ Thanks so much to all of you who were able to make it for an extra practice on a stage tomorrow but there is a craft fair at the school so we are not going to be able to use it. With all the hectic schedules and the costume pickup appointment, we are not scheduling any ceili practice for Saturday. I will be at the studio from 9:30 -12:00 for anyone who is available for Tsets and solo practice. Please remember that you are also welcome to come to as many classes as you can make in the next two weeks to get in any extra solo or Tset practice. We'll be back with details for Rally next Friday once confirmed. Thanks, Mary
11/2 Please let Mary know if you didn't receive the e-mail with practice times for this weekend. Good luck at the Feis on Sunday!
More info will be available soon on the Rally! Nov 10th
Saturday: 10/21: Feis practice today: Solos from 9:30-11:00 and Prelim/Open from 11:15-12:45 (Sorry for the short notice, but our web-site server was down. Their maintenance also caused all of yesterday's Guest Book entries to be erased. Sorry! )
Monday 10/16: Friday and Sunday night schedule will be the same. Solo Dancers: Watch for e-mail with practice details.
RALLY! Save the date: Friday, November 10th. Details to follow.
Friday 10/13: WIGS! Pearl will be at the studio on Friday 10/27 with wigs starting at 4:00.
Thurdsay 10/12 Friday and Sunday's schedule will be the same as the last few weeks: 4:00-5:00 Under 9 5:00-6:30 Under 12 6:30-8:00 Under 15 8:00-9:00 15+ Saturay am. 10-11 is Trad Set, 11:00-1:00 Solos
Friday: Here is the schedule for Monday: 15+ 10:00 - 11:30 Girls 4 hand & Girls 8 hand 11:00 - 12:00 Mixed 8 hand & Mixed 4 hand
U 15 12:00 - 2:00 Girls 4 hand & Girls 8 hand 1:30 - 3:00 Mixed 4 hand & Mixed 8 hand
U-12 3:00 - 3:30 Mixed 4 hand & Mixed 8 hand 3:30 - 5:00 Girls 8 hand & Girls 4 hand
U-9 5 :00 - 6:00
Remember feis practice on Saturday!
Tuesday, 10/1 The weekend schedule: Friday's practices will be the same as the last two weeks. Saturday there will be Feis Practice and all solo dancers are encouraged to attend. (10 - 12 am) Sunday: No Oireachtas Practice. Good luck to everyone going to the feis! Monday: Times will be posted soon. Practices will be scheduled throughout the day. This note from Mary: Thanks for bringing in all your stuff!!! We are trying to schedule a visit from Pearl here at the studio so you purchase the items that you are missing (earrings & wigs). Details will follow. Please know you need to come on the given date even if you think you have ordered one to be sure you are on the list. Mary Devlin has been notified as to how many broaches we need. We will be covering the cost of the poodle socks, the conversion of the crowns, the new tiarras as well as your treats.
Thursday 9/28 This weekend's practices will be the same as last weekend. We have some business items to take care of this weekend so please take note of the following: FRIDAY: Please bring all Calendar returns and the remaining balance for the O fees. (We will draw the first name at the end of Sunday's practice so if you are not dancing Friday for any reason, it can wait until Sunday.) ALSO, please bring the jeans (see description at right) and size information for tank-tops, shorts, jackets and poodle socks. SUNDAY: Please bring your school costume, school dress tiara headband; earrings, broaches and WEAR your wig (unless you have a new one on order). We will have the practice schedule for Columbus Weekend by the beginning of next week.
Sunday, 9/24
Wednesday 9/20 * Go ahead and submit feis entries. We will work the practices around them. * If any O dancers would like to sell raffle tix at the studio at a time other than their class, please let Mary know. *For the next two weeks we are meeting on Friday and Sunday evenings: 4:00-5:00 Under 9 5:00-6:30 Under 12 6:30-8:00 Under 15 7:30-8:30 15+ The times above are when your teams will begin so please make sure you are dressed and stretched for the start. If not, we will have to allot more time for each group. Also, please remember to have both soft and hard shoes with you at all times. Thanks, Mary *Please let us know if you need more raffle calendars.
Friday, 9/15 1:00 pm : We have received word that the Westin is full. Here is the # for central reservatons at the Sheraton; 1-800-732-9689 Champ Workshop: 9:30 - 12:30 Sat per the e-mail. Further times will be established then. Thanks. Feis forms: Links to syllabi for Fall feiseanna are available on the Feis Schedule Page. As always, if you download the syllabus, let Mary know what you plan to enter & that you plan to enter. Waiting until the workshop is done before mailing is a good plan. These competitions, particularly the Lenihan one, fill up fast. Don't delay past next week.
Friday 9/15 Hotel Rooms: As noted below, the extra rooms at the Westin become available today. Also, rooms are available at the Marriott and the Sheraton in Stamford at the dancers' rate. Scroll down for contact info.
Wednesday, 9/13 There will be practice tonite as follows: Under 9 and Under 12 3:30ish-5:30 Under 15 and 15+ 6:00-8:00 8:00-9:00 (solos...not TSET) Thanks to all who are able to make this extra practice on such short notice. We appreciate your availibility. As you know, we are not meeting at all this weekend due to workshop with the solo dancers. We will have our regular scheduled teams practice on Friday and Sunday evenings beginning next week the 22nd.
Also: People selling solo dresses: There are several solo dresses in the school for sale. If yours is one that is currently at the studio you are asked to take it home for safe-keeping. They have all been photographed for the web-site so if you would forward the measurements and other pertinent information to the Web-Mother we can get them posted. Take a peek at the Solos 4 Sale page for examples. Thanks.
Monday 9/11: On Friday, it was decided that since regular classes are not starting until next week that we would meet this Monday (today).
Under 9 and Under 12 3:30-5:30 Under 15 and 15+ 6:00-8:00
Since we will have the workshop to work with solo dancers for the Oireachtas this weekend, we will not have any Saturday or Sunday practices for the teams. It would be great if we could meet again on Wednesday or Thursday so please know your schedule for the week when we meet on Monday. No pressure to meet. We were hoping to get in as many practices as possible to form the teams before the start of the regular classes. Once the teams are formed we will try our best to have a set schedule for the Friday and Sunday evenings. (We are not expecting to meet the Sundays that the Ne feises are being held (10/8-10/29-11/5 but we will confirm once we see who is entering the feises)
Monday 9/11: Oireachtas Hotels: The extra rooms at the Westin will be available for reservations on 9/15. Contact them directly, there is no password. The dancers rate is available. The Marriott will also have rooms at that time, and can be watched for cancellations in case people who had reserved there moved over to the Westin. Here are the links to the hotels.
1 First Stamford Place Stamford, CT 06902 (203) 967-2222
243 Tresser Blvd. Stamford, Connecticut 06901 USA Phone: 1-203-357-9555 Fax: 1-203-324-6897 Sales: 1-203-357-9555 Sales fax: 1-203-358-0157 Toll-free: 1-800-732-9689
2701 Summer Street Stamford, Connecticut 06905 · United States Phone (203) 359-1300 · Fax (203) 348-7937
This letter was sent out to O prospects on 9/8.
Many of you are aware of our New England Regional Championships (Oireachtas) held annually the weekend before Thanksgiving. Once again it will be held in Stamford, Ct 11/17-11/19. It is both an honor and a commitment to be asked to participate. The dancers and their families who have participated in other years can attest to both the excitement and progress each dancer enjoys. Although some will dance in the teams only, the many hours of rehearsal always benefit all of the dances done throughout the year. You have to WANT to do this! If you are assigned to a team, there will be extra practices, primarily on weekends and including Veterans Day and Columbus Day. Friday afternoon and evenings will always be practice nights. Last year, Sunday afternoons and evenings also seemed to fit nicely into everyone's already hectic schedules. All practices are MANDATORY. If your child is part of a team and does not show up for practice, the other members cannot practice.
The "Oireachtas" fee this year is $350. This covers all Oireachtas classes (excluding workshops w/ the McGinleys), entry fees, other ancillary expenses, and Oireachtas "treats" and costume necessities. We had a calendar fundraiser last year that worked very well for the dancers. We will be doing it again this year but a bit differently. It will be a cash calendar instead of a "prize" calendar and the dancers will get to offset their expenses by however many they sell. The calendars are $10 a piece. The more calendars you sell, the less your total cost will be. For instance, if you sell 20 calendars at $10 apiece, your cost will only be $150. Clare will be sending out and receiving all calendars. The fee is due not later than September 29th.
Dancers must have:
Approved Penny Pockets Dress Approved Rosie Wig from Celtic Daughters Crown Purple Warm up suit (The dancers from last year will continue to wear their purple sweat suits, they will not be given another one this year. If yours does not fit, you can purchase a new one. For those of you doing the Oireachtas for the first time, you need to purchase one. They are $70 and need to be ordered this weekend to be here in time.
We will also be having an Oireachtas Rally again this year. The tentative date is Friday November 10th at the Worcester Hibernian Center. This is a dress rehearsal and also a great way for all of your family and friends to see your dances without having to travel to Stamford. We are hoping that the proceeds from the rally will go directly to support some of your parents expenses for the Oireachtas weekend.
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