Update Re...Feis America: Digitial Edition

On December 11/11 I posted information conveyed by the publisher of Feis America magazine regarding their new digital magazine, Click! Feis America. This new digital magazine was being offered at an introductory price of $20 for all orders received in December 2011, with the first edition due to be sent to subscribers on Christmas Day.

Yesterday I received an update from Kathleen, the publisher, advising that due to disappointing initial sales of Click! Feis America, she has decided not to go ahead with this new digital magazine. Refunds will be issued to anyone who placed an order. Kathleen added "We will continue to accept print subscription renewals and requests until we have determined our course, and will offer an alternative or refund at that time. This will be done as soon as possible".

- Clip art from Google Images

Mahony's - December 17

Back: Mikaela, Cara and Rhiannon. Front: Megan and Mckenna

Cara taping her shoes

1 and 2: Mckenna and Megan; 3. Mikaela; 4. Rhiannon and Mikaela

Cara, Rhiannon, Mckenna, Megan and Mikaela

Back: Mckenna and Cara. Front: Megan, Rhiannon and Mikaela

1. Mckenna; 2. Mikaela and Cara; 3. Megan

Megan, Rhiannon, Cara and Mikaela

Diana and Pat

Many thanks to Gillian for submitting these photos taken at Mahony's in Vancouver last night. Thank you to the dancers, the team co-captains Cara and Mikaela , the sound team of Pat and Diana, and the parents.

Holiday Greetings from Nora

"Happy Holidays from Phuket, Thailand! Cheers from Nora, Marcel, Leila and Malia".

Nora has forwarded this photo and holiday message to NPIDA families.

2012 Seattle Feis Addition

Please note for your 2012 feis planning purposes: the Comerford Seattle School has confirmed yesterday that they will be hosting their annual feis ("PNW Championships") on the weekend of March 3-4 2012. The feis will take place at the Seattle Airport Hilton Hotel.

I have added this feis to the list of 2012 feiseanna in the December 1 blog post "2012 Feis Dates and Majors Dates" (please see the archives under "Feis Dates and Info: 2012").

- Photo of the Seattle Aiport Hilton Hotel from Google Images.

Thank You for your Raffle Support

Connie has advised that the wine raffle draw took place last night in Richmond. The NPIDA 2012 All Irelands and Worlds competitors are raising funds to help offset the costs of their upcoming trips to Ireland (please refer to the December 9/11 post below for full details).

1st prize (12 bottles of wine): Winner: NPIDA parent Andrea C
2nd prize (8 bottles of wine): Winner: NPIDA parent Catherine H
3rd prize (4 bottles of wine): Non-NPIDA winner

Connie says: "We are very thankful for the support and interest that the NPIDA dancers and families have given us so far. Monies raised will definitely help with the travel expenses associated with attending the All Ireland and World Championships this year in Ireland. Even though we are raising money, the build up is equally important as the excitement surrounding fundraising helps build confidence, teamwork and motivates the dancers. It is thrilling to think of how far these dancers have come, and how fortunate we (the collective we) are to be able to expose our children to this whole experience. I hope that this will be a life lesson not only on working hard and focusing on dreams but on daring to try".

The next fundraiser will be a Hockey Raffle: specifically, the winner of the raffle will win tickets to the February 15/12 Canucks game (against the Colorado Avalanche). Also coming up: a Pub Night on March 3/12 at the Buck & Ear in Steveston. More details about these two fundraisers to follow!

Mahony's - December 10

Back: Olivia, Rachel, Rhiannon and Anna. Front: Sabine, Jadyn, Thea and Megan

Jadyn making an introductory speech

1. Rachel and Anna (back); Rhiannon and Thea (front); 2 and 3: Rachel and Anna

1. Megan and Sabine; 2 and 3: Olivia and Jadyn.

Beginning of Riverdance: Olivia, Rhiannon, Rachel, Anna and Jadyn

Solo steps: 1. Thea; 2. Olivia and Anna; 3. Megan; 4. Sabine; 5. Jadyn

Donna, Marion and Sue

Friends Jadyn, Megan and Thea

Pat, Rachel, Jennifer and Vic

Many thanks to Gillian who submitted these photos from the Eire Born show at Mahony's on Saturday night! Dancers were Rachel (team captain), Anna, Megan, Thea, Sabine, Rhiannon, Olivia and Jadyn. Thanks also to the sound team: Pat, Vic and Jennifer.

6 New Red Dress Qualifiers!

Sage L, Kyra G and Cameron I

Cassidy C, Krista R and Megan H

Nora has confirmed that 6 more NPIDA dancers have qualified for a red school dress, based on their results last weekend at the DeDanaan Feis. Congratulations Sage, Kyra, Cameron, Cassidy, Krista and Megan!

All photos by Cheryl G except for the photo of Kyra, submitted by Sean and Anna Maria G (taken at a prior feis).

Feis America Update *Updated

U-9 recallers Mckenna, Jadyn, Megan, Caitlin, Sarah and Kyla - photo by Cheryl G

Updated Sunday afternoon: Cheryl has advised that her DeDanaan Feis photos are now posted on her website; click here: http://www.cherylgaldertphotography.ca/cherylgaldertphotography_gallery/Irish_Dance/Irish_Dance.html

NPIDA parent Cheryl G has 3 sets of 2011 Oireachtas photos posted on the Feis America website, which is now hosted as part of Irish Central.com. Cheryl's photos can be viewed in 3 galleries in the middle of the page; Gallery 1 is "Expressions", Gallery 2 is Friday photos (U-13), and Gallery 3 is Saturday photos (13+). Congratulations Cheryl and thanks for sharing your beautiful photos! Click here for a direct link to the Feis America section at Irish Central: http://www.irishcentral.com/irishdance/

Feis America magazine has also announced a new digital version of the magazine, Click!Feis America. Addressing the skyrocketing costs of printing and mailing, Click!Feis America will be e-mailed directly to digital subscribers on a monthly basis. There is a special introductory price of $20 (USA) for an annual digital subscription - this special offer ends on December 31.

The publisher anticipates delivery of the first digital issue of Click!Feis America to be on Christmas Day, which will feature 50 pages of coverage from all 7 North American Regional Championships.

Click here for a direct link to Click!FeisAmerica: http://blogsgate.com/feisamerica/subscribe

2012 All Irelands and Worlds Fundraisers

On behalf of the NPIDA dancers and parents who will be travelling to Ireland to compete in the 2012 All Irelands (Dublin) and the 2012 World Championships (Belfast), Christine B has provided this information about their upcoming fundraisers:

WINE RAFFLE
The prizes will be evenly mixed between red and white wine, with a variety in types and quality.
1st prize: 12 bottles
2nd prize: 8 bottles
3rd prize: 4 bottles

Tickets are $2 each or 3 tickets for $5. The draw date is next Wednesday, December 14. Tickets will be sold in North Van until Tuesday evening, and in Richmond until 6:00pm on Wednesday (the draw will take place during the Championship class on Wednesday evening).

Wine raffle tickets can be purchased from any dancer/parent travelling to these competitions:
All Irelands: Anna M, Caitlin B, Catalina G, Jadyn M and Olivia A
Worlds: Jessie, Macaela, Shannon, Stephanie and Tomas
You can also purchase tickets at the NPIDA studio and ballroom (in North Van please see Paula; in Richmond please see Christine).

HOCKEY RAFFLE
3 prizes to be confirmed; draw date in early February. Stay tuned for more details!

PUB NIGHT
Saturday March 3 2012 - more information to follow !

Clip art from Google Images.

North Van U-13 Championship Class

Alannah, Anna, Camryn, Julia, Sarah, Thea, Emma H, Taigen and Jayne.

Courtney submitted this photo of the U-13 Championship class in North Van yesterday, doing their stretches. Thank you Courtney!

Secret Santa Next Week

As per Nora's recent e-mail, next week during regular classes is the annual SECRET SANTA event at NPIDA (entirely optional). Students who wish to take part in the Secret Santa should bring a special wrapped gift for any other student worth a maximum of $10.

Feel free to bring a small plate of snacks for students to share during your last class if you wish. Please be aware that we do have a few NPIDA students with peanut allergies.

Clip Art from Google Images.

DeDanaan Photos, and Figure Dance Teams

Anna and Taigen

Anna's first feis as an Open dancer

"NPIDA Parent Paparazzi" !

Morgan and Julia: 3rd and 2nd in U-10 Prelim

Julia and Morgan

Jayne, Catharine, Camryn and Emma

Jayne and Catharine

Nora and Katelyn (2nd in the U-7 Beginner Reel Trophy)

NPIDA dancers on Sunday

Many thanks to Jennifer (photos #1-3 ), Lynn (photos #4-5), Nicole (photos #6-8 ) and Ludmila (photo #9) for these photos taken at the DeDanaan Feis last weekend!

I also want to mention our NPIDA Figure Dance teams, who competed on Saturday. Coincidentally no other schools entered any figure dance teams at this feis, so all of the NPIDA teams placed 1st or 2nd! (in the one instance where we had 2 teams in the same age group). Thank you to Jennifer for providing this list of team members:

3-Hand Team
Claire, Julia R, and Pixie 

4-Hand Teams
Jadyn, Megan, Morgan and Sarah
Jayne, Jessie, Julia M and Thea
Anna, Camryn, Emma H and Taigen (1st place, U-13)
Cara, Gemma, Olivia and Shannon (2nd place, U-13)
Catalina, Emma, Laurel and Mackenzie

8-Hand Teams
Claire, Jadyn, Julia, Megan, Morgan, Pixie, Sarah and Thea
Anna, Camryn, Emma H, Gemma, Jessie, Olivia, Shannon and Taigen
Catalina, Cara, Emma B, Laurel, Mackenzie, Paula, Raven and Shannon

Here is a re-posting of a photo submitted by Leanne of our NPIDA Figure Dance teams:

Cheryl's Photos: DeDanaan Feis (Sunday)

NPIDA dancers on Sunday at the DeDanaan Feis

First-Feis girls: Taylor S, Samantha S, Veronica C and Avery F

Veronica and Taylor (tied for 4th); Avery (2nd)

Lauren G; Megan H; Reese F

Sage L; Cameron I; Cassidy C; Megan H; Krista R

Emma B; Julia R; Sabine A; Josie S and Katelyn D

Julia R: 1st and 4th in her Novice/Prizewinner trophy dances

Katerina S; Mary M, Taigen G and Alison I; Rhiannon M

Taigen: Welcome to Prelim Championships!

Thea: Welcome to Prelim Championships!

Sunday spectators Mckenna, Jadyn and Caitlin

What would we do without dads like Kenny ?!

Many thanks to Cheryl for submitting these photos taken Sunday at the DeDanaan Feis in Surrey! Please scroll down to view the full trophy dance results for our Pre-Beginner to Prizewinner dancers.

Special congratulations to Taigen G and Thea M who have advanced to Preliminary Championships based on their results at this feis! Taigen won 2nd and 4th-place medals in her U-12 Prizewinner solo dances, and placed 2nd in the U-12 Novice/Prizewinner Treble Jig Trophy. Thea placed 1st in 4 of her Prizewinner solo dances and 2nd in one; she also won the U-10 Novice/Prizewinner Treble Jig Trophy, the U-10 Novice/Prizewinner Treble Reel, and the Treble Reel Dance-Off! Welcome to Prelim Taigen and Thea!