georgia bound

plane tickets bought. feis fees paid. atlanta is on LOCK.
october will have to be the dedicated month of the set dance.
signed up for the set dance special for both saturday and sunday comps.
still need to finish coming up with the last 8 bars. whoops

ready to work my tail off tomorrow and sunday and feel more prepared for san antonio already!
GAME ON

I can't lose focus

intensity.

aggression.

passion.

grit.

mental beat down

you don't see me as a threat yet, but you will.

SOUTHERN REGION OIREACHTAS 2012

THIS IS ME

THIS IS YOU

jump in the slip jig

also, THIS:

started first week of work and worked in the evenings as well. didn't put any practice in like I had hoped but that will change next week. I absolutely MUST make the time for practice in the evenings, no exceptions. I did, however, work out every morning and hopefully that'll help me in the long run.

here's what I'm hoping for, leading up to december:

monday:
(morning)
work-out arms and back
(evening)
practice specific pieces of my dances

tuesday:
(morning)
work-out legs
(evening)
run-through of my dances completely

wednesday:
(morning)
some kind of cardio
(evening)
practice specific pieces of my dances

thursday:
(morning)
ab exercises
(evening)
go to practice class

friday:
(morning)
walk the pup, maybe doing sprints
(evening) run-through of my dances

saturday/sunday:
practice anytime/go to class

feeling the pain

I'm going to train and practice like I'm going to win my age group.
I have zero expectations. I could recall, I could not. regardless, I'm not going to hold back.
this takes passion and dedication.
whatever rank I have at the end of the day, I will be proud of.
it was 110% of what I could do on December 1st, 2012.
I will still work for 1st place.
why would you ever limit yourself?

dream. believe. now, go out and do it.

I feel like I've been on a large hiatus from dancing and then I realize that I only took a day off. I definitely got the irish dancey-itis.

going to put in a practice session this afternoon as well as teach steps to a fellow dance mate.

looking forward to the possibility of extra oireachtas practice and workshops as well. I need a TON of practice if I want to nail everything like I want to but I'm feeling better and better about my steps.

goal for september: nail the slip jig in terms of timing, steps, and tricks. get form and timing down for treble jig, add in 3rd step.

october: continually work on slip jig, adding height and power. add more power to treble jig. work on set dance, add my last 8 bars in.

november: practice slip jig into the ground. practice treble jig into the ground. be able to do my set in my sleep.

december: BRING IT ON.

 

I hope I can dance with half this much sass.

things to work on...

San Antonio's a month away. eeek. notes for my first prelim:

slip jig!
repeat after me: HEIGHT. EXTENSION. POWER.
I want the back of the room to see how over-crossed I am! aaah look at those neatly turned-out feet!

ok. 16 steps to a neat, graceful, sharp, well-done slip jig:
1. over cross coming down from the straight kick outs. 2. left leg height. 3.height and sharp snap in bird jump. 4. tightness in the turns. 5. height and more neatness in bicycle. 6. nailing clock turn in timing, sharpness and over cross. 7. extension on the hop backs and cross. 7. turn-out in the '1,2,3,4' part. 8. extension and height in hop out. 9. movement in the hop down, hop down. 10. cross-over in the hop 1, hop 1. 11. timing on ending part. 12. more fluid cross key. 13. height on entrechat. 14. nailing the hop cut, cut. 15. more exaggerated slide backward, (timing from then on) 16. height on double hop at the end.

***
treble jig.

LEARN STEP ONE.

step 2: nail all the beats in the fast footwork in the beginning. click height. rhythm pieces right before double click. getting the full double click. rhythm piece at the end. OVER-CROSS.

step 3: OVER-CROSS. getting height in 4th click. turn-out/cross in the 2nd half.

BE LOUD IN ALL 3. POWER!

my dancing future

there is wishful thinking. there is living in delusions. dreaming myself onto the podium will never make it a reality. telling myself I'm the best in the world and not putting the work in will never make me a champion. there is being cocky and there is being confident. I need to give myself more confidence because I doubt myself too much.

I'm going spell everything out and claim my dancing future so I can stop doubting what I can and can't do.

____________________________________________________________________

my experience in prelims will be nothing but positive.

who I dance against holds no bearing, this is about me and how I dance on that day and no one else.

I will learn stage presence. I will claim all four corners of the stage. I will demand to be watched by the adjudicators because I am powerful, graceful, and full of passion.

I will keep my chin up and my eyes forward. my shoulders back and my chest out because I'm proud of my school, my dance mates, and the work I put in to prepare me for these moments. I will keep my arms to my sides, my knees straight, and I will creep steadily higher and higher on my toes because nothing else in the world makes me feel this free.

my steps will be polished, precise, and sharp because of the hours of dedication I've invested in these dances. I will dance strong and unabashedly loud in my hard shoe because I deserve to be heard. it is my turn to dance, it is my turn to leave an imprint in the southern region.

I will work out to strengthen and tone every part of my body to dance stronger, better and free from injury.

regardless of my placement, I will learn confidence before the oireachtas. I will dance my first two rounds with no regrets, pushing my way to the front. I will get a recall and give my set everything I have in me. I will be happy with where I'm at by the end of the day, regardless of numbers because I gave 110% of what I could at this time in my life.

no regrets.

I will continue work my butt off. I will learn new rhythms. I will master more tricks. I will improve technique. I will learn to fly across stages. I will place into open championships. I will qualify for worlds. I will dance on that stage. I will be proud of myself and my journey and for who I've become as a person.

I will "retire" knowing that I set a huge goal before me and worked and worked without result until I finally got to where I was going.

I am more thrilled about the journey ahead of me than the ending. I will enjoy every second of this.

In other news...

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."

I love that quote. I try to read it almost every day. it's a little reminder that my desire needs to be nurtured in some way, so little by little, I can continue to drown out those pesky fears that creep up all too often.

being involved in competitive Irish dancing really challenges you in ways that I think that only a small percentage of people experience. I battle my own well of negativity that springs up, trying to hold me back on a regular basis and I think the relentless persistence through the countless hours of practice and the facing of fears that competition requires, refines who I am as a person, not just as a dancer.

I didn't get those coveted firsts at the KC feis but I really had a great experience. I finally felt aggressive in my slip jig and know I can push myself so much more. I got through my hard shoe without stopping and performed 3 new steps with treble jig and hornpipe even though my stomach was in knots. I worked on holding my chin and just having more fun with it. Of course having fellow dance mates from my school as an amazing support system was the best feeling ever. I couldn't ask for a better school.

Next up:
October 6th - Feis San Antonio. My 1st Prelim. John Carey as judge. Adult diaper firmly in place. aahhhh soooo nervouss

I just have to remember these dances are over so quickly. I put so much effort into practicing them. I put down money to pay for my entry, hotel, gas, etc. It's a solid commitment. But I need to remember to have some fun while I dance too. There's no other place I'd rather be than on that stage, dancing. Why do I get so caught up in being nervous then?

I love to dance. I just need to show it better on stage.