Hebert Family Dublin and Paris Photos

Rosalie, Jessie and family members in Dublin

Rosalie, Scott and Jessie in Paris

At the Champs Elysees in Paris

Jessie at the Louvre in Paris!

Scott and Jessie sharing a laugh at dinner in Paris

Thank you to Scott and Rosalie (Jessie's parents) for sharing these great photos taken during their family trip to Dublin for the 2011 World Championships, and their subsequent sojourn to Paris.

Andrea's Photos From Worlds

Many thanks to Andrea for submitting these photos from their family trip to Worlds in Dublin (both Mackenzie and Camryn were competing). The family did a bit of touring around the UK after the girls finished in Dublin. The final photo, above, was taken in Hyde Park in London, where the family joined thousands of others to watch the royal wedding. (Nice "fascinators"!) Thanks for sharing these photos!

Nora's Photos from Worlds

Thanks to Nora for submitting these photos from Worlds! She also submitted this note:

Congratulations Jessie, Macaela, Camryn, Mackenzie and Ellen for qualifying for Worlds and competing at Worlds in Dublin!! Congratulations to Michael for his qualification for Worlds too! We had a great time and I was so proud of all 5 of our competing dancers!! I was thrilled to be there to see you on that huge stage among the top 1% of dancers that are your age! Congrats and I hope you all made it home safe and sound! Here are a few of my photos of our dancers getting ready, heading back stage and having fun after they danced!

Christine's Worlds Photos

Thanks to Christine for submitting these photos from the first day of Worlds in Dublin when Macaela, Jessie and Camryn danced. When the other families return, hopefully we'll have some more Worlds photos to post too. Thank you for these great pictures Christine!

Chrstine has also updated her own blog with some more photos from their family trip to Ireland - you can check it out at: www.getjiggywithmac.blogspot.com

Good Luck at Worlds Ellen! *Edited

Edited, 7:15AM: The recall list has just been posted and unfortunately Ellen's name is not on there. We know she danced her very best and did a fantastic job; congratulations Ellen!

Please leave your comments for Ellen below. Meanwhile, I have received the following updates via e-mail from Nora and Ellen this morning:

From Nora (several hours ago, just before Ellen danced):
Ellen has just gone back stage at Worlds after a great warm up with me! She's excited and she'll be dancing within the next 15-20 minutes! 

From Ellen (after completing both rounds, awaiting recall announcement):
Worlds was such an amazing experience! I had so much fun and tried my best although I was a little intimidated in the beginning! Loved every minute of it! Hopefully I will have the opportunity to do this again next year!

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Ellen will be competing at Worlds in Dublin today in the Girls U-17 competition. Good luck Ellen - everyone at NPIDA is rooting for you and sending their best wishes! We know you are going to look awesome on that Worlds stage; enjoy every minute!

Please see the post directly below for a new update that Nora e-mailed from Dublin!

Photo of Ellen at the POD Feis by Cheryl G, April 2/11.

Worlds Update From Nora - Wednesday

I received an update from Nora at midnight Tuesday, which is 8:00AM Wednesday morning in Dublin! Here's what she had to say about Mackenzie's experience at Worlds, and Ellen's upcoming big day today:

Mackenzie had a great day! She looked absolutely beautiful after Rebecca and Fred did her hair and make up for her performance on stage in Dublin at Worlds! She warmed up really well, then she went backstage with the 1st group of ladies aged 14-15. Mackenzie's group was outstanding but she definitely looked like she belonged as she danced an amazing, powerful hornpipe! When she came down from the stage she felt good about it, and then she got very excited to do her reel for her 2nd round.

Her reel was spectacular as she soared across the massive stage with her trademark massive jumps! I felt very proud of her performance today and an Irish dance teacher from Donegal even made a comment to me that she was an amazing dancer on stage for her reel! Mackenzie was thrilled when I passed on the compliments to her! Unfortunately she did not recall despite her effort, great preparation and determination. I am so proud of you Mackenzie and your dancing has clearly improved so much this year!

At 11am Dublin time Ellen arrived on Tuesday and she had a pretty shocked look on her face when she saw the calibre of dancing! She is happy to be here and VERY excited! Stay tuned for an update on Ellen's big day on Wednesday!

Good Luck at Worlds Mackenzie! (*Edited)

Edited, 9:00AM: No recall for Mackenzie today unfortunately, but we know she danced her very best on the Worlds stage! Congratulations Mackenzie; we are so proud of you! Enjoy the rest of your trip with your family!

Mackenzie will be competing at the World Championships in Dublin today (Tuesday), in the Girls U-15 group. Good luck Mackenzie; we're all cheering for you!

Photo of Mackenzie at the POD Feis by Cheryl G, April 2/11.

No Recalls Today

Unfortunately no recalls for Jessie, Camryn or Macaela at Worlds today in Dublin. (The top 33% of the group gets recalled at Worlds, and the competition is very stiff as you can imagine). Girls; we are all so
proud of you, and we know you did an amazing job on stage today! Enjoy the rest of your trip to Ireland with your families!

Sunday Update From Worlds

Nora e-mailed this morning from Worlds, where Jessie, Camryn and Macaela are competing today. Stay tuned later for further updates!

All 3 girls did a great job of their 1st round of hornpipes! They were relieved and much more relaxed when their 1st rounds were done! Time to get ready for their reels with a good warm up at 11:00am. After they warmed up Camryn went backstage first for her reel, then Jessie and Macaela. Macaela and Camryn enjoyed their reel experience much more than their hornpipes and Jessie had more fun during her hornpipe!

Their competition is full of amazing dancers that are fit as can be! WOW!! It's now 12:50pm and we're watching the rest of the reels in their competition with our fingers crossed until the recalls are announced! Good luck Macaela, Jessie and Camryn!! We're all so proud of you and you danced great at your 1st World Championships!!! Stay tuned!!

Nora's Dublin Update

Nora submitted this update from Dublin this morning - thanks Nora!

All is well over here in Dublin! I arrived yesterday to meet the 4 girls that compete first (Macaela, Jessie, Camryn and Mackenzie), and Ellen will arrive on the 19th! We've had 3 hours of practicing over the past 24 hours with some great fine-tuning! We've been shaking off the jet lag too! The girls are very focused right now and they have been working so hard for their big day coming up!

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a REALLY exciting day because our first 3 NPIDA girls compete on the World stage... Macaela, Camryn and Jessie!!! Good luck to everyone and we are so proud of your accomplishments! You are about to compete in the World Championships of Irish Dance in Dublin!!

- Ireland map from Google Images

Worlds Girls

I lifted this photo from Christine and Macaela's blog "Get Jiggy with Mac" - don't forget to check out their blog for daily updates from Ireland! Nora has also now arrived in Dublin, and Camryn, Mackenzie, Jessie and Macaela had a dance practise with her this afternoon.

Camryn, Jessie and Macaela will all be dancing this Sunday, the first day of competition at the 2011 World Championships. Please leave lots of good luck wishes for them here in the comments section, or on Macaela's blog! (Remember, they are 8 hours ahead of BC time).
www.getjiggywithmac.blogspot.com

On another note; registration is now open on Feisworx for these upcoming feiseanna:
* Victoria Feis: May 7-8
* Calgary Wild Rose Feis: June 3-5
* Portland Oregon Feis: June 4-5
* Stewart (Beautiful BC) Feis, Surrey: June 18-19
www.feisworx.com

Heading to Worlds in Dublin This Week

Jessie, Ellen, Mackenzie, Camryn and Macaela are heading to Dublin this week to attend the 2011 World Championships. Nora will also be travelling to Dublin to support the dancers. They have all been training very hard to prepare for this exciting competition - we wish them the best of luck ! Stay tuned to the blog for updates as we hear from the dancers and parents in Ireland during the competitions.

As well, Macaela and Christine will be updating their own blog, "Get Jiggy With Mac", which they originally created when Macaela attended the All Ireland Championships in February 2010. Christine has added 3 news posts in the last few days. There is a permanent direct link to their blog here in the sidebar over on the right - scroll down a bit and look directly underneath the little calendar. Macaela's blog is the first one on the list of "Website Links: Alphabetical List".
www.getjiggywithmac.blogspot.com

Don't forget to leave comments and good luck wishes for the dancers here on the Pickett Line Blog or on Macaela's blog! Good luck girls, and have fun! We're rooting for you!

Heading to Ireland in 2011

NPIDA has 5 dancers planning to head to Dublin Ireland for the 2011 World Championships, which will take place from April 17-23. We had 6 dancers qualify for Worlds at the 2010 Oireachtas, and 5 have decided to attend (Michael has opted not to go); Nora will be accompanying them. Good luck with your training Ellen, Mackenzie, Macaela, Camryn and Jessie !

Also coming up are the 2011 All Ireland Championships, which Shannon will be attending. This event will take place in Killarney Ireland from February 13-21. There are no official qualifying rules for All Ireland competitors, although the calibre of dancing is comparable to Worlds. Nora announced at the 2009 EBIDS AGM that beginning in 2010, she would allow "any serious and hard-working Open Championship dancer to compete at All Irelands". Good luck Shannon !