Eire Born at the Turkish Children's Festival

Thank you to Jennifer for these photos taken during the Turkish Children's Festival yesterday afternoon in East Vancouver. Thanks also to Diana P on sound for this show.

Dancers (top photo):
Back row: Tomas, Catharine, Mikaela (team captain), Anna and Gemma. Front row: Jadyn and Alannah.

Good Luck Catalina! (*Updated Saturday)

Claudia sent the following update from Berlin on Saturday;
Catalina placed 5th overall. The competition was a lot stronger than expected. Catalina was asked to carry the Canadian flag in the opening ceremonies which was very neat; pictures will follow later. It was a very long day - started at 8:15AM, and finally got the results at 10:00PM. They only had 1 stage and groups from U-8 to Over-30. There was also Ceili dancing, which was surprisingly very strong. We have 2 days left in Berlin, to do some sightseeing. We'll send some photos upon our return.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As mentioned in my April 13 post, Catalina will be competing tomorrow (Friday) at the 2011 European Championships in Berlin. Good luck Catalina and enjoy this experience!  We look forward to hearing about it and seeing some photos!

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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

Coco's Haiti Diary

Supermodel and former NPIDA dancer Coco travelled to Haiti in January/11 to visit some orphanages and follow up on charity efforts following the devastating earthquake of January 12/10. Coco has been involved in several fundraising events in New York during the past year with the aid organization LakayPAM, which provides more than 500 orphans in Haiti with shelter, food, medical care and education.

Coco travelled to Haiti in January with LakayPAM officials, along with her husband James and  friend/model/photographer Behati. Coco's poignant Haiti diary and Behati's photos have been published in a 3-page article Letter From Haiti in the current (May 2011) issue of Flare magazine, on newsstands now. A shorter article is also featured in the current issue of Teen Vogue.

- Flare photo from Coco's website

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!!

Group Photo from The Raven

Many thanks to Nicole for submitting this lovely group photo from the Raven last night. Left to right; Anna, Cara, Rachel, Olivia and Jayne.

Scroll down to the post directly below for an update sent by Nora this morning from Dublin. Jessie, Camryn and Macaela will all be competing tomorrow at the World Championships. Good luck girls!

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

Eire Born at the Raven - April 15

Big thanks to our 5 dancers and sound team (Pat, Vic and Diana) for putting on a great show at the Raven Pub in Deep Cove last night. Thank you Jennifer for submitting these photos!

Dancers: Rachel (team captain), Anna (welcoming speech), Jayne, Cara and Olivia.

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

NPIDA Ceili Tickets: Available Now!

You probably received an e-mail recently from Paula with information about buying tickets for the annual Ceili, which will take place on SATURDAY MAY 21 (long weekend) from 2:00-5:00pm at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver. The Ceili is a year-end showcase for ALL NPIDA dancers - don't miss it! We look forward to seeing you there!

2011 Ceili Tickets are now available. You have several options for buying your tickets:
- from Paula at the North Van NPIDA studio
- from Christine B in Richmond (not this week: she's in Dublin!)
- at the Centennial Theatre box office
- online through the Centennial Theatre website: www.centennialtheatre.com

Ticket prices:
* Adults: $19
* Children (age 5+) and Seniors (age 60+): $15
* NPIDA dancers and children under age 5 do not need a ticket.

Photo: North Van dancers at the 2010 Ceili

Catalina: Dancing in Berlin

In addition to our 5 dancers travelling to Dublin this week to attend the 2011 World Championships, Catalina G is heading to Berlin, Germany on Friday to compete at the 2011 European Championships. Her age group will compete on Easter Friday, April 22. This competition is open to any dancer and is smaller in scale than the World Championships. We're sure it will be an exciting and interesting experience! Catalina is travelling with her family and will also be visiting relatives in Germany during her trip.
Good luck Catalina and enjoy Berlin!

More Riverdance Photos

Here are a few more weekend photos from Riverdance, submitted by Sue (photo #1) and Jennifer (photos #2-5).

1. Jadyn, Julia and Angela
2. Anna, Cara and Shelby
3. Gemma C and Anna
4 & 5: Our NPIDA dancers were able to go backstage after the show on Sunday for a "Meet and Greet" with some of the Riverdance cast members. Left to right, photo #5:  Sydney, Emma, Olivia, Anna, Jessie, Leila, Emma, Mackenzie, Kyla, Laurel, Avery, Camryn, Catalina, Rhiannon, Shannon, Julia, Cara and Morgan.

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!

More From Riverdance

Thanks to Krista L for this lovely photo of Sage and Mckenna at the Thursday evening performance of Riverdance!

Familiar Faces at Riverdance

There were a few familiar NPIDA faces at the Riverdance matinee at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre this afternoon;

1. Anna, Mary and Megan
2. Megan, Hanna, Mary and Anna
3. Hanna and Kimberly

Riverdance Is In Town

Are you going to Riverdance this weekend? Send your photos to the blog! Of course photos are not pemitted during the show; take a photo of you and your NPIDA friends or family outside the theatre or in the lobby. Riverdance is performing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre downtown from Thursday-Sunday, including matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the show!

Photo from Google Images

Sue's Emerald City Feis Photos

Thank you to Sue M, who submitted these photos from the Emerald City Feis (March 26-27).

1. Jadyn and Morgan; both in U-10 Prelim. Morgan placed 5th overall
2. U-13 Prelim competitors: Cara (3rd place) and Gemma (5th place)
3. Jadyn and Pixie
4. Jadyn and Morgan; feis friends!

Acoustic Upgrades at the North Van Studio

Nora has submitted these 3 photos and the following update:

"Marcel and his friend Glenn A just finished our 1st acoustic upgrade to the North Shore dance studio. We installed sound barrier curtains on the ceiling and our main entrance wall to improve the sound quality in the studio. We are very excited to now be able to lower the volume of our music in the studio and to be able to hear our dancers, general conversation and instruction when everyone is talking! Thanks a million Glenn and Marcel for all your help! I hope the dancers enjoy the improvement!"

More Saturday POD Feis Photos from Cheryl

Cheryl has now posted her photos from the Saturday (Championship) awards on her website. Thanks Cheryl! Click here for a direct link: www.cherylgaldertphotography.ca

Here are a few;
1. Emma: 4th place in U-16 Prelim
2. Caitlin: 1st place in U-10 Open
3. Macaela: 2nd place in U-12 Open
4. Mackenzie: 3rd in the U-15 Open Hornpipe Trophy Dance 

2 More POD Feis Photos From Cheryl

Here are 2 more of Cheyl's photos, taken Sunday during the trophy awards at the POD Feis in Surrey. Thank you Cheryl, and congratulations Amalie and Sara!

1. Amalie W - she placed 1st in the U-9 Beginner/Advanced Beginner Reel Trophy Dance, and 6th in the Beginner Slip Jig Trophy
2. Sara Q - she placed 3rd in the U-13 First Feis Reel Trophy Dance.

New Red Dress Qualifiers

We have 3 new red dress qualifiers following the POD Feis last weekend. Congratulations to (Photos #1-3) Sabine A (Richmond), Sydney B (Richmond) and Claire A (North Van)!

- Sabine won 4 solo medals including a 1st in her Novice Reel
- Sydney won 3 solo medals and placed 2nd in the U-9 Beginner/Advanced Beginner Light Jig Trophy Dance
- Claire won 5 solo medals and placed 4th in the U-7 Beginner/Advanced Beginner Reel Trophy Dance.

Photo credits:
Sabine: Cheryl G
Sydney: Josee B
Claire: Laura A 

Saturday POD Feis Photos

Here are a few more of my photos from Saturday at the POD Feis.

1. Jessie on the podium - 1st place in U-12 Prelim
2. Jadyn and Alannah on the podium - 2nd and 1st in U-10 Prelim
3. Anna receiving her trophy - 6th place in U-12 Prelim
When we were taking group photos outdoors, unfortunately the sun was shining directly in the dancers' eyes. While Courtney was getting the dancers lined up, I snapped these photos of some of the girls squinting.
4. Julia, Caitlin, Macaela and Anna
5. Julia, Caitlin, Macaela, Anna and Stephanie
6. Camryn, Julia, Caitlin and Macaela
7. JUMP! Julia, Caitlin, Macaela and Camryn
8 & 9. During the lunch break, Malia was happily clomping around in Nora's high heels - much to the amusement of the onlookers!