Return of Memoryfest - Day 24/31

[bironic]

Hrrrrrrmmmmm. Wiped out. My fingers are slurring on the keys here. Thank goodness for Backspace.

In honor of the activity that sapped me energy [insert brogue here], a memory about the first time I encountered Irish dance. elynittria, I know you’ll have something to share on this one. :)


24. High School

My mom, as has already been mentioned here somewhere, is in a band. It has gone through several iterations since its inception about ten years ago. During its first (when they went by The Logarhythms) or second (The Log Jam) variation, the three or four of them were practicing in our living room. They were great in performance but they could sound awful during practice sessions, and with the amps hooked up they were noisy, so after pleasantries my dad, my sister and I would escape to various parts of the house to hear ourselves think.

That particular night, I went up to my parents’ bedroom--the furthest you could get from the living room without being outside--and clicked around on TV. When I hit one of the PBS stations, I found myself mesmerized by a line of dancers in pretty, dark bodysuits and tights, tapping away on a stage, moving in complete synchrony to a hyped-up version of the sort of Celtic music I used to hear on the radio on weekends, while one sweaty man with an undersized shirt and oversized ego did solo bravado moves in front of them. They broke for intermission/pledge drive, and I found out that I was watching a recording of Lord of the Dance, starring the now-infamous Michael Flatley. I’d heard of Riverdance--my favorite teacher P. had spoken highly of it--and I think I'd listened to some of the music before catching that night’s program, but I hadn’t had any idea how marvelous that sort of thing was to watch.

I remember lying there on my stomach on my parents’ bed, just thrilled by the whole spectacle. Although I didn’t know much about dance, the rhythms were complex, the music was catchy, and the movements were alien and fascinating and beautiful. And that sound their hard shoes made when the whole ensemble stepped together--that tapping, stomping, clicking, sliding, wet noise...

I know it’s a cliché now to say you got into Irish dance because of Michael Flatley, but I was hooked.



Our instructor announced tonight that this year’s feis (dance competition) is going to be at the end of March, at my high school, like the last one. Every time something notable like this comes up, I think fondly back on that night in front of the TV and smile at the procession of events over the years that led me here.

Comments

[purridot.livejournal.com]

I remember the first time I saw Michael Flatley on TV, too! My mom had called me over -- "You have GOT to see this guy!" she said. As you say, he is infamous now, but the lad can dance!

Remember the Third Rock from the Sun episode where they all started celtic dancing outside the theatre after seeing "King of the Jig"?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yes, he certainly can dance. Did you ever see him do his "world-record" taps with the tip of one foot? Pretty astounding. And weird. But astounding.

Alas, didn't see that episode. Sounds funny, though.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Cool memory! You obviously still dance. Do you still compete and/or perform?

I fell in love with folk dancing when I was a freshman in college. The first week or so of the semester, the Folk Dance Club danced on the patio of the dining hall during and after dinner hours (basically, until it got too dark to see the labels on the records). Anyone who wanted to try it could just join in, and I did. I haven't stopped dancing since then.

Another dance memory (plus photo) can be found at my journal: Dancing in Bulgaria (http://elynittria.livejournal.com/24507.html#cutid1).

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I actually only started dancing the last semester of my last year at college, at a town community center. Then I took a break when I moved back home, found a new school, and am halfway through my... third year (total) now. Our school hosts a competition every spring. It's pretty big, but there aren't many people from other schools who come to compete in the adult category. It would be fun to go to one of the really huge feises (?) one day, or to go to some of the pubs on LI or in the city and do some group numbers, but I'm not particularly anxious for that -- I'm in it to learn steps and have fun, not to compete.

That live folk dance performance sounds great. Did you learn by watching or by jumping in and having them show you the forms? Very brave of you either way.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

I'm in it to learn steps and have fun, not to compete.

That's my motivation, too. A lot of my friends were very performance-oriented: they were part of a semiprofessional folk dance troupe. However, the thought of dancing on stage terrified me, so I joined up as their sound technician instead.

Did you learn by watching or by jumping in and having them show you the forms?

The folk dancing on the patio was purely participatory rather than a performance: it was just dancers having fun (albeit in a very public place). The standard way to learn is by dancing behind the line so you can watch the dancers' feet and imitate their movements. Once you feel you've gotten the steps down, then you join the end of the line (or ask to be let into the circle, if it's a circle dance).

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed your previous account, you champion dancer, you. I must say I do like the idea of Irish dance - are the shoes just plain heavy shoes, or is there something particular they have to conform to?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*g* Like I was just telling elynittria, there aren't many adult competitors from other schools who show up to our feis -- it's mostly a kids' sport/event -- so a lot of the time it's just our classmates competing with each other and one or two women from somewhere else.

The soft and hard shoes must follow some set of guidelines, since (a) they all look the same except for minor stylistic variations and (b) the national and world competitions have strict rules on costuming, steps, and just about everything else involved. The hard shoes are made of leather with polymer taps on the toe and heel, lacing in the front and a strap to secure it. They probably have regulation shapes and heel/toe tap size. I should take a picture of mine to show you. Getting a pair has been the highlight of my dancing "career"! The icon here is a photo I found on Google.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Nice shoes! I could have used a pair like that when I was on a rapper sword team in college.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

...Rapper sword team?

Those aren't my shoes -- just a photo found on Google -- but the design is basically the same. I don't have those elastics that twist up the ankles and shins either, although I should get something like them to keep the heels of the shoes from slipping off, which they do when my socks aren't thick enough.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Okey-dokey, here you go, fresh off the digital camera:

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Yeah, these definitely would be good for rapper dancing (which is a form of clogging). They look nice and sturdy, with good thick heels.

For more info about rapper (if you're curious), see this page (http://en.allexperts.com/e/r/ra/rapper_sword.htm).

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, nifty. I was definitely thinking rap like the music instead of like the sound/action, so I was all startled and confused. If rapper dances are now danced in Irish jig time to Irish music, I'd say Irish shoes wouldn't be inappropriate! In those photos at the bottom of the page, though, it looks as if the men are wearing soft shoes. But it's hard to tell. Maybe they're just a form of hard shoe that looks like a sneaker?

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

In those photos at the bottom of the page, though, it looks as if the men are wearing soft shoes.

Hmmm. I think they're actually wearing typical Oxford-style men's shoes, which I consider a hard shoe. Rapper doesn't use taps, but you do have to create rhythmic patterns of sounds with your feet, so the shoe has to make a noise when you slap it against the ground.

BTW, I put some sound files of gaida music on my LJ entry about dancing in Bulgaria.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay. I will try to download them at work before 9 a.m. tomorrow to listen to.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

They look lovely - very solid :)

(I actually looked up the various shoes last night before reading your first comment - it was more complicated than I'd envisaged *g*. And then came back to tell you I'd done so, at which point lj seemed to go down entirely and I gave up. It was something about having wondered whether there were 'taps' on the shoes but not being able to remember the exact sound. Or something.)

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Whee! I had a similar experience with another form of entertainment. :D

I'd always heard good things about Cirque du Soleil from my mother's mom who saw a live performance in Montreal in the mid-80s when it was new. It sounded really interesting and I always thought it'd be nice to see a production if I could but it was hardly a top priority or anything. Then when I was in eighth grade my French teacher brought in a video of Saltimbanco to show us. By the time the multicolored worms did their bit on the Chinese poles (which is not very far at all into the first act) I was completely hooked. I watched wide-eyed and completely amazed and then asked to borrow the tape which I proceeded to watch about a dozen times before returning it. I still adore Cirque and Saltimbanco is still my favorite show.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Mm. I love the contortionists most. Is Saltimbanco the one with the "family" of contortionists -- the father, mother and child? They were amazing.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Yes, if you mean the adagio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adagio_%28circus_skill%29) trio. That's right at the beginning, just before the Chinese poles.

P.S. Have some trouserless Hugh Laurie (http://pics.livejournal.com/dryope/pic/005q426p)!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Heh. I never understood the appeal of that photo. Well, no, I do understand it, but it doesn't do anything for me. I do still have the Life or Parade magazine it came in, though, because why throw it out when you've already got it?

Maybe I am mixing memories, because the adagio description sounds familiar, and I know Cirque de Soleil does acts like that, but it doesn't describe contortionism, and that kid was definitely a contortionist. Doesn't really matter; they're both fun to watch.

[kabal42.livejournal.com]

Ohdear, my only really good experience with Irish Dance is that a friend of mine is one of the best there is around these parts. She even trained in Ireland. As for a memory... that's harder...

I remember when I first decided to try dancing. It was after watching Dirty Dancing. That led to trying out the infamous mambo - and the lambada, in fact. (Yes, this really does highlight my age! *G*)
I was always dancing "boy" because I'm taller than most and that was fine by me. I was sort of proud of being a boy...

[bironic.livejournal.com]

That's nifty about your friend.

I think we're even on the being-inspired-to-dance-after-watching-what's-now-considered-a-hokey-movie/show thing. *g* And I hear ya on dancing the boy's part. Maybe this is universal, but at play tryouts in high school and at dance classes/clubs at college, the attendees were predominantly female, so inevitably the taller and/or more adventurous ones danced the men's part.

[kabal42.livejournal.com]

I'll consider that even :-) I still have a sneaking liking for Dirty Dancing (the film) *G*
Yep, it does seem that females do more of that as an overall than males.