Spirit of Ireland

I haven't written lately. Partially because I have been really busy, and partially because I didn't feel I had much to write about.  The fact is, I always have things to write about, I just get too lazy to do so. So...without further ado...
Sunday May 1st was the "Spirit of Ireland" showcase, presented by my dance school, the Bennett School.  We tend to put on many little shows and performances throughout the year for various schools, nursing homes, bars, community centers, etc. Once a year, we put together a large show.  Last year... I had a broken foot. So I was delegated the task of kid wrangler, show assistant director, photographer, and all around chaos organizer.  It was stressful. But it worked out just fine because I wasn't dancing.
This year, I was delegated to stage helper, kid wrangler and dancer. And let me tell you, that was tough to balance.

Me backstage pre-show rehearsal

Our dance school is pretty lax on scheduling and show prep.  Which means that the 3 or 4 days leading up to the show are non-stop rehearsal, preps, run-throughs, etc. For example, Thursday's regular class time was used for number run-throughs. Stace and I got there at 5:15...and left around 8:30. Friday was a scheduled rehearsal. We started at 6. I walked in the door at home at 10:00pm. Saturday... same thing. Dress rehearsal. Started at 3pm and finally left around 7:30. On Sunday, the day of the show, we had run-throughs on the stage...starting at 1pm. The show was at 3pm and lasted 2 hours. By the time we actually started the show... I just wanted to be curled up on the couch with my man and a beer.

running through a number. See the badge around my neck? That gave me permission to yell at people if needed

In the end, the show went incredibly well. We had some great choreographed pieces that looked great and were a bit different from the normal traditional Irish dance. My family was there to watch (mom, bro and grandma) and of course my ever-supportive boyfriend and his friend. There was a lot of people in the audience and everyone seemed to enjoy the diversity of talents and music. The non-profit foundation associated with our school (that benefits all the Colorado dance schools) raised a lot of money through a silent auction held during intermission.

12-hand choreography

So, 4 days of rehearsal, dancing in 8 numbers + the finale and encore, wrangling kids, teenagers and adults alike, fixing last minute hair issues, runs in tights, missing socks, shoe changes and all the other bits...made me exhausted. I am glad we're done with the big show... until next year.