2010 Oireachtas

This past Thursday Abby and I drove to Chicago so that she could compete in the 2010 Mid-America Oireachtas competition on Friday. She danced a Hornpipe and a Reel and did good, but unfortunately she did not "recall" (girls who place at the top get recalled to dance another Set dance); but we still had fun any ways. I guess Abby finished 70th out of 120 girls or so meaning she just missed out on the recall (normally top 50%). It probably didn't help that she got kicked by another girl while she was her Reel dance. Here are a few low-quality highlight clips we took with Abby's digital camera (not of the actual dances, however, which is forbidden).

Oireachtas Pep Rally

The O'Hare School of Irish Dance had their annual pep rally for the girls that will be dancing at the Mid-America Oireachtas competition over Thanksgiving weekend this year. Generally each of the girls get up and do a little dance while the parents cheer them on (Abby had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction). The girls also received some neat warm-up shorts and t-shirts commemorating the the upcoming competition. Good luck girls!

Pittsburgh Halloween Feis

Today Abby competed at the Pittsburgh Halloween Feis with her friend and fellow O'Hare dancer Jackie. What was neat about this feis was that they were able to wear Halloween costumes if they wanted. So Abby went as a bumble-bee and Jackie went as a lady bug. They were very cute - and very strange as some of the photos and video they took will prove. Abby ended with a 3rd place finish, while Jackie took 2nd place.

Medina International Fest

Irish dancing highlights from Abby's performance at the Medina International Fest today.

Dance Out in Mogadore

Today Abby had another Irish "dance out" performance in Morgadore, OH at the local car show and summer festival. Here are the usual highlights.

Dance Out in Parma

Tonight a few of the O'Hare Irish Dance girls (including Abby) performed at the St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Parma for their Summer Festival. First the girls marched in a short parade across Parma led by a local Scottish bagpipe band. Then the girls performed and were followed by Brigid's Cross (an awesome, cult fave Irish band). Grandma Carole was even on hand to watch it all! Here are a few highlight clips (missing sound bites and bad video quality, however).

Broadview Heights Festival

Abby (and her friend Jackie) danced at the Broadview Heights Home Days on the Green Festival tonight. Also present was special guest, Grandma Carole.

Louisville Feis Results

Abby competed at the Louisville Feis today. It was only her second competition at the Preliminary Championship Level (the fifth of six levels: Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Novice, Prizewinner/Open, Preliminary Champion, Open Champion). At this level, this year the girls dance two dances: Reel and Hornpipe. They can receive medals in each dance, but overall results are based on the combination of both dances. Abby took 2nd place in Reel and 4th place overall (out of 25 girls), which is awesome! Just a little more practice and she might be able to bring home a first place soon. She also danced her Solo Set Dance (she danced to Blue Eyed Rascal) in a sidebar competition. She finished first in that dance (out of 12 girls). Way to go Abby! Here are some pictures Mom took (remember, no video allowed)!

PS: Note, you can now expand Blogger videos to your whole computer screen by clicking the arrows in the lower right corner ... cool!

Memorial Day Weekend

The Hollywood Four had another busy Memorial Day Weekend. Most of our fun centered around Lake Frogerick, including the re-launch of "Kevin" (our floating trampoline), but also included Hockey practice; Irish Dancing at the Akron Feis on Saturday; and Irish Dancing at Cleveland Feis on Sunday. Andrew and Dad went to see Iron Man 2 Saturday morning (seen vintage H4 Iron Man) before Andrew went to a birthday sleepover Saturday night (he got very sun burned playing in his friend's pool). Sunday evening we grilled and Monday morning we worked around the house. Now we're just waiting for the thunderstorms to roll in.

Irish Dancing at the Scottish Festival

Today Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed at the Celtic Beltane Festival presented by the Scottish American Society & Maize Valley Market and Winery. There were a lot of men skirts and plenty of bagpipes as well. Here is a short highlight reel of the Irish dancers.

St Patrick's Performances

Abby did a lot of dance-outs this week seeing as how St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday. Here are some highlights from a couple of her performances. The first is from today at the Medina Library. The second is from Wednesday at Sully's Irish Pub.

Rhythm of Ireland

Last night Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed for a special evening of Irish music and dance at The Rhythm of Ireland show which was sponsored by the O'Hare Booster Club (promotional video compliments of Hollywood Four Studios). With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, it was highly festive and, once again, a wonderful performance. Here are the highlights.

Festival of Nations

Abby performed at the Festival of Nations at the Akron Civic Center last night. It was a long night because they saved the O'Hare Irish Dancers - the best act - for last. It was still enjoyable as we tasted multi-cultural cuisine such as Irish cabbage & noodles; Italian pizzelles; Indiana stew; German donuts and a few other things. Here are the highlights from the 8 nations that performed on stage.

First Night Akron 2010

Last night Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dancers danced at the First Night Akron New Year's Eve celebration. They practiced hard the past few weeks and it all paid off - the house was packed and they put on a great show. Here is a short highlight reel.