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An article about us in the Irish Central
Christy Dorrity wrote a lovely article about Hopping Mad in the Irish Central. This is an online magazine that focuses on everything Irish. It was lovely to see, here's a link to the article: Hopping Mad Irish Dance School for Adults in the United Kingdom
Previous Events and upcoming Events!
So after we returned from Worlds we put on a bit of a display in Molly Malone's pub in Brighton. This was part of our sponsorship deal. It was really good fun, if a little exhausting.
On the Saturday we put on a display for a wedding anniversary. It was good fun, we had everyone up for a bit of céilí dancing and we did a few heavy displays. It was really good fun.
So the next set of excitement is the Hemel Open on the 21st and 22nd of July! We will likely enter solos only but it would be nice to get the team sorted for entering a céilí too.
European and Worlds Update!
So it's been two weeks since the Worlds/Europeans weekend and I'm very proud to inform you that we placed 7th in both our competitions! We were only aiming for top ten so to come 7th is brilliant!
It was a fantastic weekend away. Once we arrived very early on the Friday morning, we checked in and most of us were able to go to our rooms. This was quickly followed by going to the pool and lying about for a while and enjoying a nice steam. We did some practice in the evening to just confirm we were all comfortable with the dance.
Then Saturday arrived! Thankfully we weren't dancing until 5.45pm, so we spent the day watching all the other dancers and faffing generally! We had another practice on the day just to help get rid of some of the nerves. Once practiced we made the dash to shower and change into the dresses. I'd already spent time ironing all our shawls and my OH spent time polishing 8 pairs of pomps ready for the stage! So dresses on, hair curled and multiple trips to the bathroom, we were ready. We got up on stage and danced our socks off! Very nerve wrecking, but I planted an enormous smile on my face and we all relaxed and danced on. That was just the Europeans!
We had the Sunday to ourselves, so some of us split and went to investigate more of the old part of Dusseldorf - only the old part was open as it was Easter weekend, the rest of us stayed to watch the grade feis. We practiced our Cross reel a bit in the evening but nothing too exhausting.
Monday rolled round and the nerves started to come back. The Cross Reel was looming over us most of the day. We did some easy practice, making sure we were all comfortable again. Our time slot rolled round and we all lined up at the side of the stage with the other teams. We danced second to last, which I'm not sure was a good thing or not. Either way we got up, smiled and danced our best.
Unfortunately the only down side to this competition is they only place the top three teams. So we had to wait until we were back in England to find out the official placing. Other than that it was a brilliant weekend all round!
Europeans and Worlds
So all the preparations have been done. We had our last team practice at the end of last week. All the girls have worked so hard and put in serious blood, sweat and tears into these dances. So fingers crossed after all this hard work we can place in the top 10 in the Senior Ladies teams.
We fly out early Friday morning, thankfully the Maritim hotel is attached to the airpot. So we can all get booked in and lying down! Early mornings are not good. I'll have to go and sort out a few bits and help the organisers from WIDA. If any of you fancy a look, you can click on the link and it will take you to the pictures area - we're dancing in the Hall Maritim.
We're dancing on Saturday late afternoon in the European Championships and Monday late afternoon in the World Championships. I have to admit the nerves are already kicking in. I've never attended a competition of this level before, so it will be a new experience for all of us! If you've had a look at the photos on the hotel website you can understand the nerves, the stage is enormous! The hall is enormous!
We've put in all the hard work, we just need to remember to enjoy it when we get up on stage. Fingers crossed we will place well and come back with some medals. Wish us luck!
St Patrick's Mayhem
So here's a run down of St Patrick's epic weekend mayhem! Thursday night we kicked things off with a performance at the Sussex Uni union. As we were late getting on we didn't dance for the full half hour, but we got through the main displays and it was good fun. Then Friday rolled in and we started our dancing day at an old peoples shelter, this is our second year dancing here. We love it, the residents are lovely, they make a real fuss. So buns with shamrocks, green cakes, barn brack and the residents decorate their day room. Really genuinely nice people too. Friday evening we held our annual St Patrick's day céilí, which was just brilliant! Plenty of dancing, a few displays by my girls, we had some live music from the Celtic Ti-grrs, a raffle and we even had a family reunion! We danced our final display of the day after the céilí in Molly Malones - this went down a storm and we even had a stag do attempting to join in the fun!
Saturday morning was tough getting up, but we got up and went to dance outside St John the Baptist's chapel - unfortunately the regular priest was out and the stand in didn't tell anyone we'd be dancing, so mass finished early and we didn't get to dance! Although not too disappointing as it was starting to rain, so didn't really want to start the day soaking wet.
Then on to Molly Malone's again for dancing. We could barely even get into the pub! It was craic but we had very limited space to dance in again, but again went down a storm. I was smiling throughout - hard not to when you look up and see people standing on the bar and chairs just to get a look at us! I thought the pub was going to come down with all the cheering! Once done there we went down to The Eagle, this time outside the pub as we couldn't fit in the pub. We even ran a céilí dance down the middle of the street outside, it was fantastic to see! Considering it was raining - although not hard, hard enough that we were all a tad soaked! Was brilliant!
Our last gig was at The Cricketers, unfortunately we had to cancel. We turned up and checked the paving, it was slick with the rain. I couldn't risk any of my dancers getting injured just a few weeks before the Europeans or Worlds. So we cancelled.
We didn't do too badly all in all! We danced 6 displays and raised enough money that we've covered over half the costs per person. So technically the girls are getting to the Worlds and Europeans and staying in a very fancy hotel for £100 per person! Not bad!
Successful St Patrick's weekend all round!
St Patrick's Celebrations!
So to kick off St Patrick's we're holding our annual céilí on Friday 16th March, starting at 7.30pm and running until 10.30pm. It's £3 in and a bring your own bottle event. There will be a raffle and cakes for sale. We'll put on a few dancing displays and hold some proper céilí dancing for everyone to join in with! It was almighty craic last year so come on and see what the fuss is about! The Celtic Ti-grrs are joining us to add some live trad music into the mix!
We're then dancing in Molly Malone's from 11pm until 12pm, which is on West Street Brighton.
On St Patrick's day itself we're dancing again in Molly Malone's at 3.30pm - 4.30pm. Then taking a break to watch the Ireland vs England 6 nations rugby match. Then we're off to The Eagle to dance after the rugby from 5.30 -6.30pm. We'll round off the evening at the Cricketers on Black Lion Street at 11pm.
We're dancing at various places across the city so if you see you dancing feel free to drop us a few pound if you enjoy our dancing! All money raised is going towards covering our costs for Worlds in April.
Brilliant Feis, Junior classes and News
We attended the Stratford upon Avon Open Feis on Saturday and what a great day it was! Two dancers entered a number of dances: reel, light jig, slip jig, single jig and traditional set. I am pleased to say they received numerous medals for their efforts! They also entered the premiership competition - which means they danced their reel and light jig and whoever has the highest combined score of both dances wins. I'm pleased to say that the first place cup and sash went to Hopping Mad as well as a medal place!
The girls danced incredibly well on the day and competed well against the high number of other dances. The Feis was a great success, the atmosphere at the Feis was great. Everyone is very supportive and Mary & Meabh bring a bit of craic that can often be lacking. It was fantastic to see the quality of dancing on the day. I'm a very proud teacher.
The first of Hopping Mad's Junior classes kicked off well last week. We had a number of children start and I'm pleased to say they took to the dancing very well. The enthusiasm and fun they had learning their first steps meant they were an utter joy to teach. The class went down well and I'm told a few of the girls danced their way home after class! A good sign!
We're also now booked pretty solid for St Patrick's weekend. I will post up details of where we are dancing and when so you can come see what we get up to. We're also running a céilí on the 16th March. All the money raised from the displays and céilí is going towards our travel to the Worlds. So all being well our costs should be fully covered!
So generally speaking we've had an excellent start to March!
Getting ready for juniors!
So I've been receiving a number of emails asking if I teach children, unfortunately I don't currently. This is all about to change.
I'm in the process of reorganising a few bits so I can take on a children's class in March, it will run for an hour - this is long enough for younger children as they require lots of attention from me and it can be hard for them to stay focused for any length of time! So keep an eye on upcoming excitement!! The classes will run at 5.30-6.30 on Thursdays and will be £5 per class. Watch this space!
Hello to 2012
Well this week we start back into class after the Christmas and New Year's celebrations. I thought I'd give a quick round up of our year and our future plans.
In January 2011 we celebrated the school being one year old in January, we decided this was our year to start competing. So in March we attended our first feis in Stratford and the girls that competed got their first medals! Then of course there was the madness of St Patrick's day in March, we managed to dance in Tru nightclub, a care home, outside and inside a few pubs and we even ran our first proper Céilí. We managed to raise a fortune for charity in those few days! Our feet felt it for a week!
After March the work began in changing the style of the classes. We split them into a Wednesday Céilí class and a Thursday solo class. This meant those that just wanted to do céilí didn't feel the pressure to take up solo dancing and visa versa! May arrived and the Brighton Fringe Festival. Unfortunately I was absent but my girls put on two fantastic shows and got the crowds involved, resulting in everyone enjoying themselves!
The British Open Oireacthas took place in October, all the girls placed receiving medals and resulting in our team qualifying for World Championships in Dusseldorf! Considering the team had only started practicing together in August - only practicing a few times together as a whole before the competition, I think we did rather well! I also decided to take a number of my teaching exams in October - the same weekend as the Opens. I passed all the exams I took, so I'm on my way to receiving my TCRG and my TMRF qualifications, only a few exams left.
We celebrated our achievements with a fancy dress Céilí - it's hard to beat the craic. Lots of singing, dancing and general craic was had by all! You should come one day.
I'm pleased to say 2012 will be just as exciting as 2011, if not more so. We've our first feis again in March, the St Patrick's madness, World Championships in April, another feis in May and then the build up for the British Opens again at the end of the year. Throw in a few wedding display bookings and other fundraisers to perform at. So welcome to 2012! I hope to see you at class! Come on for the craic and get involved with something fun.
An Excellent Hallowe'en Céilí
So we had an absolutely excellent céilí on the 29th Oct. We had everything from Zombies, Skeletons, Cats, Witches and a very confused Batgirl by the end of the night! We had a brilliant turn out, so thank you to everyone that came! The craic was almighty.
We tried out the bonfire dance at this céilí, well my edited version anyway - best not to keep these things too complicated, much rather get people dancing and enjoying themselves. We had a few old favourites in there too with the Bridge to Athlone, Walls of Limerick and a few others.
We also had part of the local irish trad band Craic Pots there too, so we had some live music. For more information for their bookings etc please click here. We had some songs printed for the occasion which was great as by the end of the night all the songs were being pelted out, I'm surprised anyone had a voice left the next day!
We managed to raise a bit of money towards our recent trip to the British Opens, so that is always handy. We ran a raffle and I'm pleased to say everyone went away happy, especially those that got the voucher for dinner for two at Strada!
The plans have started now for the christmas céilí and I have to admit I'm really looking forward to it! Hopefully it will be just as successful if not more so! It's great to see so many people enjoying themselves.
WIDA British Opens
I have to admit that I was both excited and worried about the British Opens. I had my TCRG and TMRF exams to worry about, along with getting the girls through their first big competition.
Friday rolled round and armed with dresses, suitcases and handbags we boarded the train to Reading. We arrived in good time without any makor knock-ons. Once in the hotel I booked a taxi to get me to my exams on time. I took the first part of my TCRGs on the Friday evening along with the written section of my part 1 and 2 TMRF exams. I think I got through these alright but I won't know more for a few weeks.
Then the big day came, Saturday, we were all up at 6.30am and in taxis by 7.30am! All solos were danced on Saturday and I have to say as the teacher I was pleased as punch. All the girls danced their best on the day and every single one of them came away with at least 2 medals! They also competed in the Premierships and one did well enough to place 2nd and come away with a lovely trophy and sash. Some of the girls have now moved up a level as they danced so well. It was a long and tiring but very successful day.
Sunday was for the Open Championships and the céilí competition. Thankfully we didn't have to dance until 4pm, so we all had a much needed sleep in. Once fed and watered we headed off to the venue to watch some of the dancing. The Open Champions were stunning to watch, you could see all the hard work they've put in by the beautiful steps danced. Then came our turn to dance. We were the third team up and to be honest we were all a tad nervous but we managed to smile and dance our hearts out. It was worth all the hard work as we placed 2nd! This means we've qualified for the World Championships in Dusseldorf in April 2012. I was so pleased, I've never been more proud of the girls, everyone give their best and we did really well! The school trophy now has pride of place at home. Now to relax and enjoy the Fancy Dress Hallowe'en Céilí on Saturday! I cannot wait for the craic
Final stages of prep for the British Oireachtas
This is the school's first year of entering the British Open Championships and the nerves are running a bit high (mostly for me!).
We've been working really hard on the team dance - which is the Cross Reel and of course all the solo dances, which include: beginner reel, beginner light jig, beginner hop jig, St Patrick's day, primary heavy jig, Blackbird and intermediate reel.
There are 8 of us travelling up to Reading next weekend to compete in a number of solos which are held on the Saturday and the team competition is on Sunday afternoon! I'm also completing some of my TCRG exams and TMRF exams - these exams get be closer to becoming a fully fledged irish dancing teacher. So it will be a busy weekend all round!
I'm really looking forward to seeing all the different dances in competition and seeing the Open level competitions on Sunday morning before our team dance, I'm sure some beautiful steps will be on display!
Hopefully we'll have something to celebrate at the céilí the weekend after!
First monthly céilí
So our first céilí went down a treat. It was quite a relaxed affair and everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly. We danced an edited version of the Bridge to Athlone, Walls of Limerick, Harvest Time Jig and a few of us did the odd hornpipe or heavy shoe dance. We had plenty of live music which was brilliant and thank you to everyone that got up and played!
We managed to raise some money towards our trip to the British Open which was brilliant. The next céilí is on September 30th, which should be even bigger than the last one. Cannot wait. Details will follow!
Regular monthly céilí
I'm so excited. We've decided to have monthly céilís! So the last Friday of every month we're going to hold a céilí in the local parish hall - St John the Baptist's on Bristol Road in Kemptown. It's only £3 in and it's a bring your own bottle event. The trad band I also play with mostly consists of my dancers so we'll get together and have a wee session half way through or provide some of the music for the dancing! Very excited!!
Plus who doesn't love a good céilí. It seems to becoming more popular with younger and younger people. It's so different than a night out. You actually get to chat to people while you're having a dance and you can grab someone you like by the waist and have a wee spin! Plus who doesn't enjoy a bit of craic! So it's fun all round really! Our first one is the 26th August, so if you're in Brighton look us up!!
Getting ready for the British Open!
Well the preparation for the British Opens in October have begun in earnest! Dress fittings have taken place, céilí dances have been selected and dancers have been registered.
We've decided to enter into both the figure dances and céilí dance. For some of the dancers this is their first competition. They will enter as beginners, if they place in the top 3 they will move up from beginner to novice. So I've a total of 9 dancers competing and we're all thoroughly excited! 1 boy and 8 girls. We're entering into reels, jigs, hop jigs, slip jigs, traditional set, hornpipe and heavy jig. I'm returning to competition myself for the first time in a decade, so it's full steam ahead. Practices have been interesting as there is a lot of hard work involved. Hours spent dancing the same steps over until your legs do them without you needing to think, then comes the tidying process. This usually involves working to hold your turn out throughout the dance, making sure you stay on the balls of your feet throughout and any jumps are high, you've straight legs and you land in time with the music. Along with all this we have to make sure our upper body is held nice and straight and arms are clamped to our sides! So you can imagine the sweat drenched classes, but the joy of getting the step completely right and looking good is worth it.
We've selected the Cross Reel as our céilí dance. Practice for this is similar to solo/figure dancing. We should all dance straight and tall, however we need to all be in synch when we jump back and turn as well as when we spin, arch and circle. That added in with keeping our arms at shoulder height while holding hands or doing chains! It's lots of hard work, but it will be worth it all when we are on stage and get it right.
We've decided to get dresses made so we look better on stage, so they're in the process of getting made! The first fitting is coming up soon, so we should have a better idea of how we'll all look! It's exciting times.
I'm also starting my TCRG and TMRF qualification the same weekend as the Open, these are the irish dance teacher and céilí dance teacher qualifications. So I'm working towards being fully qualified!
Brighton Fringe Festival Fun 2011!
I must say first of all I'm incredibly proud of the girls dancing at the Brighton Fringe Festival! Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there to help with last minute nerves, or shoe disasters so I'm very proud that they got up and danced so well.
The girls arrived nice and early to give them time to get changed, warmed up and do any last minute practices needed. Their first show was at 1pm and although the music and dancing was slightly drowned out by some nearby Chinese drumming, the girls held their nerve and rhythm and kicked things off with a beautiful Reel display.
This was followed by some heavy dancing. This went well, even though there was constant fear of slipping on the cement, we didn't realise how slipping the surface would be. Thankfully the duct tape on their shoes offered some purchase but this was short lived as it was danced off by the end of each dance!
Next up, some céilí dancing. The girls demonstrated the dance and then dragged willing members of the crowd up for a dance! This went down an absolute treat! Everyone really enjoyed themselves and we had a few of the crowd that used to dance in their youth and others discovered a real interest in dancing and have since joined the class!
The second display kicked off again at 2.15pm, so the girls managed a short half hour break, only for one of the dancers to go and join in with some swing dancing! The second display attracted an even larger crowd! Again the girls held everything together really well and danced through their Reel display, Sweets of May, Hornpipe steps and the A Cappella piece. Even more people got involved in the céilí dancing, to the point that they had to stop letting people joining in as there just wasn't enough room! 3
One of my favourite moments was the second A Cappella display. Unfortunately the 3 girls all slipped at the same point and proceeded to fold laughing! The crowd joined in with the laughter, then the girls gathered themselves and finished perfectly! This was a brilliant demonstration of what Irish dancing is all about! Enjoying what your dancing! Having a laugh with the people you dance with and generally having a good time! This is what we try to aim for every class. Learning some new steps and improving on existing steps and ENJOYING ourselves!
The videos have been loaded onto the website, have a look!
St Patrick's Day Fun!
As this was our first year properly celebrating St Patrick's day we thought we'd do it all to raise money for charity. So after weeks of planning and rehearsals St Patrick's rolled around.
We started off with a display for an irish themed night in Tru nightclub. The event organisers turned up at the practice session on Wednesday 16th, so we did our training and then went straight on to the venue to do a 15minute display! Fun way to kick things off! It went down well and we got plenty of cheers and clapping! It was a bit of a late night unfortunately. Not what was needed!
Thursday 17th morning rolled round very quickly. Double and triple checks were done on shawls, first aid kits, music, speaker and duct tape (never go dancing without it!). Off we went to the old peoples sheltered housing on the far side of Brighton from us. We arrived a tad early and all the old ladies and gents filtered into the day room. The day room had shamrocks hanging from the ceiling, there were St Patrick's day buns and goodies!
Once we were all changed and ready to roll we danced a nice 4 hand reel to get warmed up, followed by a few other reels and slip jigs. Then we got the folks up for a wee dance. Nothing too exerting but movement was required none the less! They thoroughly enjoyed it! We thoroughly enjoyed it! We were made feel so welcome and it was great craic! So after a few hours spent there we all went our separate ways so we could go off and sort ourselves out before the céilí in the evening!
So after a bit of a late lunch/early dinner off to the hall to make final preparations! We hung some fab homemade posters, brought out the buns, cupcakes and scones ready to be sold (along with some tea, coffee and fizzy drinks). We were ready to rock and roll by 7pm. The hall was full by 7.30pm! I couldn't get over how quickly people arrived.
We kicked it all off with the St Patrick's day dance, followed by Sweets of May. Then we got everyone evolved with some Walls of Limerick, Siege of Ennis, Bridge to Athlone and Waves of Tory. I was pleased to see everyone getting involved and the craic was 90! The hall was filled with the sounds of laughter, me calling the dances and the overriding music! We finished the night off with a last minute A capella piece which went down a storm. We then politely asked everyone to leave so we could get the hall cleared and we could made it for our last display at the Cricketers in town. The hall was cleared and we were on our way by 11pm.
At the Cricketers we were greeted by a lovely landlady and gent, which was exactly what we needed, we were all a bit exhausted and just about able to get the shoes back on our feet. Unfortunately there was nowhere to dance inside the pub so we ended up dancing on the street! We put a hat down and made £75 in 15mins! It was a brilliant end to our manic day. We all celebrated with a few drinks and there were plenty of smiles. The best St Patrick's day I had in Brighton! Brilliant fun and we raised an amazing £620 for charity!!