Showing posts with label michael flatley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael flatley. Show all posts

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Happening around town...




Irish dancers have taken over The City of Brotherly Love.

My hostel is a hearty 20-minute walk from the Kimmel Center, but I seem to run into dancers everywhere around here. Just got out of the shower and was asked by a young woman in the bunk across from mine if I was an Irish dancer. It happens that she saw my program on my bed while I was in the shower. She's a newly-minted TCRG who's here for the dinner this weekend, and she's checking out some of the dancers from her old school back in Canada. Seems like an impressive woman. If I'm correct, she's studying astronomy at Harvard, at the graduate level. Smart cookie and an Irish dancer? Recipe for success. 

Also, for any Macy's shoppers who love the seasonal window displays, you'll be elated to know that Macy's has dedicated a window to the Worlds! The window is sponsored by Siopa Rince, and it showcases two dresses. I'd heard that they're changing the dresses every so often, but I've only seen the two in the photo above the last two days.

Michael Flatley made his slated appearance this afternoon/evening. I'd been waiting for days to get a confirmation on time and location for his press conference. The CLRG folks were helpful, but my understanding is that a second party actually coordinated Flatley's appearance, and they were responsibility of notifying the press. Unfortunate for them, they did not notify ME. So I can't speak too much to Flatley's message or appearance in general :(

And it looks like the only people exempt from the "no video recording whilst dance in progress" rule are the folks over at Philly's NBC affiliate. They have a video here that shows some dancing and an interview with Seamus O'Se who is coordinating press coverage for CLRG at Worlds.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Brushes with ID elite!

Sorry for not getting a post up yesterday. I'll put up a couple today to keep everyone up to speed with what's happening here in Philadelphia.

Besides being glued to my seat for most of the day watching girls u15 and u14, I did conduct a few fascinating interviews with Irish dance elite! First I met up with CLRG chairperson Sean McDonagh to find out a bit about how the worlds came to be in the states.

He explained that a bunch of cities were suggested and that a small CLRG committee was charged with making the final decision based on a number of factors (venues, hotels, cost, etc.). Boston and Philadelphia were top choices for an American venue, but Philly eventually won the showdown, particularly because the Mid-Atlantic region has hosted the Oireachtas here for a number of years, and they city has always managed to accommodate the number of dancers.

Mr. McDonagh and I also talked about the changed face of Irish dance, and how schools are popping up around the world, as far as Tokyo and and Ukraine.

What surprised me was the fact that 60% of Irish dancers come from North America. And, at this year's worlds in particular, 75% of competitors are North American. Wild, right? I just submitted a story for The Irish Times that is scheduled to be printed this weekend that further discusses the significance of this trend in the US.

After that, I spoke to some vendors about the economy's role in buying feis gear. Once that story's done, I'll submit it to Hornpipe Magazine. More on that later :)

Then I met up with the two female Australian world champions, Fiona-Gaye Moore (won in 1980) and Nicole Zepcevski (2006). We talked a lot about Irish dancing in Australia, and the difficulty of traveling to worlds from Australia. Regardless of whether the worlds happen in North America or Europe, these Aussies have to sink a lot of money into traveling for big competitions.

Later I interviewed Dearbhla Lennon of Dundalk, County Louth. That woman is beautiful! And she's a fellow journalist ;) I'd never met a lead dancer from Riverdance AND Lord of the Dance.

It was extremely exciting meeting with such talented and important people. Rumor is Michael Flatley will also be making an appearance. Possibly tomorrow. I'll see if I can't manage to run into him as well :)

Links from Tuesday!
FeisResults.com: Girls 13-14
FeisResults.com: Boys 13-14
FeisResults.com: Girls 14-15
FeisResults.com: Boys 14-15
FeisResults.com: Minor Mixed Ceili
Yet more great pics from Swoose.net including...
....Ally's favourite dress so far, second from left (three guesses why, LOL)