Dance Day!

The picture above is of the big stage--the stage on which the dancers competing in All Irelands danced today. All Irelands is like a super feis. We arrived at the INEC (Irish National Event Center) around 9AM and left well after 4:30. All to see Chris dance two dances. It was worth it though! He danced his hornpipes a little before lunch and then his reel later in the afternoon. Although he did not get recalled, Chris looked much more confident on the big stage than he did at Oireachtas in November! He was dancing against boys who have been doing this for years and at least one of them won All Irelands last year as well as North American Championships. Among the kids who did not get recalled were two American kids who won their own regions this past fall. In other words, there were kids who qualified for worlds yet did not get recalled at this event. So Chris was in some good company. This was by far the most competitive group he has danced with yet and we think it will only boost his confidence as he returns home to dance in local feisanna! Here are some more pictures from our day...

First, fueling up for his second dance:

You can imagine that J was getting a little punchy after watching all this dancing and waiting for what seemed like forever for it all to end!

After not knowing anything about the state of the weather outside, I caught a glimpse of this lovely rainbow!

 Chris acquired some cool Oireachtas Rince na hEireanne gear...

 After returning to the hotel, we had a nice cozy dinner at the bar:

 Followed by ice cream at Murphy's!

This was truly an amazing event and experience for all of us. I wrote this on Instagram too but this time last year, Chris had not yet competed in a feis and I couldn't tell you the difference between novice and PC. Today Chris got up on a big international stage with some of the best dancers in the world (one of which will probably be the world champion in a couple months) and showed everyone what he's got. I don't think anyone would imagine that this boy has only danced for 15 months and competed for 10. We are so proud of Chris and can't wait to see what he does in the future!

PS--Like most competitions, we were not allowed to take pictures or video but I ordered a package of pictures from the professional photographer which I will receive in a few days. I'll share those action shots on here when I get them!