Go A Little Crazy on St. Patrick's Day!

To all the wonderful Eire Born dancers, team leaders, sound crews, teachers and parents: Have a blast at the St. Patrick's shows today! Our 7 troupes will be doing 31 shows today; have fun!

As you can see, Gemma, Hanna, Catalina, Lauren, Shannon, Morgan, Jessie, Jadyn and Catharine got a head start on the festive spirit at the Buck & Ear last night! (Click to enlarge).

Please scroll down to see lots of photos from 4 Eire Born shows yesterday!

Dancers: Don't Forget Your Cameras!

Jessie has been taking photos backstage at the St. Pat's shows this week - have you?!? Don't forget to bring along your camera today! Submit up to 5 of your best shots to the Pickett Line Blog and you could win a $25. iPOD gift card and have your photo(s) included in the 2011 Ceili slide show! See the March 7 post for full details.

Eire Born at The Buck & Ear - March 16

A lively combined group of dancers from the Richmond Shamrock and Pipers troupes performed at the Buck & Ear last night, along with Gemma from North Van. Thanks to the sound crew of Vic, Pat and Connie, and team captain Catalina!

Dancers for this show were (top photo, left to right): Back row: Gemma, Hanna, Catalina, Lauren and Shannon. Front row: Morgan, Jessie, Jadyn and Catharine.

Eire Born at Rosewood Manor - March 16

The Shamrock Troupe + guests performed at Rosewood Manor in Richmond yesterday afternoon. Thank you to Diana P on sound. Dancers at this show were (top photo, left to right, answering questions from the audience after the show): Mikaela, Hanna, Emma, Josie, Jadyn, Morgan, Lauren, Shannon and Jessie.

Eire Born at Broadway Pentecostal - March 16

Gillian S took these great photos during the Eire Born show at the Broadway Pentecostal Lodge this afternoon. Thanks to Nora on sound crew duty! Dancers at this show from the Jolly Jiggers troupe were (top photo, left to right): Jessi B, Megan S, Julia R and Jessi B. Cake eaters (photo #5) were Angela R and Leila K. Special little leprechaun was Malia K, who delighted the elderly guests by handing out candy!

Nora adds "This was Julia and Megan's first show together and Julia's first show ever! Kiera and Jessi were pros to hold together the Eire Born routines with just the 2 of them! Yay team!"

Eire Born at St Jude's - March 16

Thank you to Nicole (photos #1-2) and Jennifer (photos # 3-5) for submitting these photos from the Eire Born show at St. Jude's Anglican House this afternoon! Thanks also to the Emeralds Troupe team captain Cara, and sound crew Kelly-Erin, Sheryl, and Emma M!

Dancers at this show were (top photo): Back row, left to right: Rhiannon, Esme, Cara, Gemma and Anna. Front row: Jane and guest dancers Katelyn, Shaun and Pixie.

Check back later tonight for more photos from today's shows, including Rosewood Manor in Richmond and the Buck & Ear.

Eire Born at Augustine House - March 15

Last night Richmond Eire Born dancers performed in two shows; the Piper Troupe was at Augustine House in Ladner and the Shamrock Troupe was at the Buck & Ear (scroll down to the post directly below this one). Thank you to Sue M (photos # 1-3) and Krista L (photo #4) for these photos from Augustine House. Thanks also to Connie (sound crew) and Catalina (Piper team captain).

Dancers at the Augustine House performance were (top photo): Back row: Catharine, Morgan, Catalina, Emma and Aishlin. Front row: Mckenna, Sage and Jadyn. This was Sage's first-ever show as an Eire Born guest dancer. Note in the last photo, she is covering her ears during the hard shoe portion of the show :)

Eire Born at The Buck - March 15

Last night the Shamrock Troupe from Richmond performed at the Buck & Ear in Steveston. Thanks to the sound team (Pat, Vic and Diana) and the dancers (left to right in the top photo): Jessie, Lauren, Hanna, Emma and Mikaela. This was Emma's first-ever show as an Eire Born guest dancer.

St. Patrick's Shows: Then and Now

A little reminiscing about St. Patrick's shows during the early years of NPIDA... quite a difference compared to now!

2000: 1 troupe

2011: 7 troupes

2000: 8-10 St. Pat's dancers (all from Richmond)

2011: 55 St. Pat's dancers (Richmond: 24, North Van: 31)

2000: Sound Crew: Nora!

2011: Sound Crews: 12 parents + Nora and Courtney

2000: Nora's CD player!

2011: Expensive professional-quality sound and lighting

2000: 1 Eire Born outfit (red dresses)

2011: 3 Eire Born outfits (red dresses, summer dresses, black outfits)

2000: 7-10 St. Patrick's Shows

2011: 65+ St. Patrick's shows

Photo: Natalie P (age 9), Hanna S (age 8) and Nora at Dentry's Pub in Point Grey during St. Patrick's week - 11 years ago; 2000. Natalie and Hanna are wearing the first two NPIDA red dresses.

Eire Born at the Buck & Ear - March 14

Updated Tuesday with 3 photos from Sue M - thanks!

Thank you Jennifer for these photos from the show at the Buck & Ear last night. Dancers at this show were Catalina (team captain), Shannon, Morgan, Jadyn, Catharine, Jessie and Mikaela.

Dancers; don't forget to bring your cameras along to the shows this week so that you can take a few photos to submit to the NPIDA St. Patrick's Photo Contest! (See the blog post of March 7 for full details). All dancers who submit a photo(s) will be entered in a draw for a $25. iPOD gift card!

Special Guests at the Adult Class!

Photos and note submitted by Nora:

On Saturday morning NPIDA had 4 special male guests attend our adult class in North Vancouver! We had 6 men and 4 women attend the fun class, which represented a record attendance for the most men ever at an NPIDA class in our 15-year history!

We had lots of great family support during this fun class! Marcel (my husband), Bruce (Courtney's boyfriend), Nick (Courtney's brother) and Mark (Michelle K's husband) were attending their first Irish dance class ever! Everyone had loads of fun with smiles and laughter while the festive spirit was high with St. Patrick's Day in just a few days!

Thanks guys for being such great sports, and thank you ladies (Christina, Emma, Jennifer, and Sharon) and gents (Alexey and Brian) for welcoming our 4 special guests!

1. The adult class and guests: Sharon, Marcel, Jennifer, Mark, Emma, Brian, Thea, Christina, Alexey, Bruce and Nick.

2. Nick, Bruce and Courtney

3. Nora and Marcel