The Triubhas News is pleased to present it's 30th issue with whatsupcupcake aka Christine
Username: whatsupcupcake
Why did you choose your username? I had a bakery for a couple of years by that name - it’s always just stuck with me. 
[b]Name: Christine
Member since: March 2007
Years Dancing: 4 Irish, 1.5 Highland
Age: 28
Board: BATD
What tartan do you wear for your kilt, and is there a specific reason why you chose it? Special Dress Scott, Burgundy. My maiden name was Scott so I wanted my kilt to represent my heritage.
Tell us a bit about your other costumes.
Do you wear a white dress or an Aboyne for nationals? I have an Aboyne for nationals. My tartan is Special Dress MacDonald of Glencoe with a purple vest. All of my costumes were made by one of my teachers, Tierney de la Lama (Mo Cridhe Costumes) and my kilt was made by Susanne MacDougall.
What colour is your jig dress? I don’t have one yet but I can’t wait!
What colour is your hornpipe outfit? Same as the Jig
What brand of Ghillies do you wear? Toe and Heel Gold Ghillies are my new competition shoe of choice!
What is the name of your school and teacher? I attend the San Jose School of Highland Dancing and my teachers are Fred deMarse and Tierney de la Lama.
How/when did you know you wanted to be a dancer? In high school I fell in love with Irish and Scottish dancing, but always thought I was too old to start. I let that be my excuse for so long... until I went to college. I started taking classes in so many different things (ballroom dancing, archery, etc) that I realized that it doesn’t matter what age you are as long as your heart is in it.
Why did you choose highland? I’ve wanted to do Highland for years but when I first started dancing I had a hard time finding a teacher in my area. So while I was in college I started Irish dancing as it was easier to find a teacher in San Francisco. After a trip to Scotland in the summer of 07, I knew I had to find a Highland teacher. I went to the Highland Games at Glenfinnan and wanted to know so much more about Highland dancing. So as soon as we returned to the states I was lucky enough to find the San Jose School almost immediately. I’ve been hooked ever since!
Do you take, or have you taken, any other forms of dance? I also do Irish dancing where I compete in the adult level. I’m Prizewinner in all of my soft shoe and Novice in my hard shoe.
What makes you love Highland dance? There’s so much, I could go on and on! I love the combination of strength and grace that the dances require. The histories and stories behind the dances are amazing, and the competitions, camaraderie, and friendships are wonderful.
If you could describe your dancing in only 1 word, what would it be? Happiness!
Do you compete? If so, what level are you in? I do compete as I think it makes you push yourself to improve. And it’s fun! I’m currently a beginner. I just got my fourth stamp at the Redwood Empire (Sonoma, CA) competition.
When is your next competition (if applicable)? Queen Mary in Long Beach in February. I can’t wait!
How do you think you'll do there? I’m going to push myself in the next month to build my stamina and technique, so hopefully I’ll perform well.
What has been your most memorable competition moment? I have so many! I traveled to Southern California for my first long distance competition but I was the only member from my school there. My best friend came with me and we had a great time while she distracted me from my out of control nerves. My teacher showed up just before my Lilt and totally calmed me down and got me ready for my last dance. I ended up getting my first stamp at that competition - you could see my smile from the back of the room! And it happened because of my placing in the lilt!
What has been your most memorable non-competitive achievement? Laughing in class every week with the Wednesday night adult class. We have such a great time! And performing in our holiday performances this past year. I attended the following year as an observer so it was great to finally be on that stage!
Do you remember your first competition and how you did there? My first competition at Modesto will always be in my memory. I was so terrified but all of my classmates at the San Jose School were so supportive. I didn’t place high enough to get a stamp, but I did win the ‘Most Promising Beginner Over 21’ trophy.
What do you enjoy most about competitions? Hanging out with all of the dancers from the school. Our school is so large now (about 30 dancers) that it’s great seeing everyone when we are able to get together for competitions. Everyone is very supportive of one another and everyone is focused on doing their best while having fun.
Do you have any superstitions? Not really. Everyone so often I get super nervous if I do something differently than I usually do, but overall as long as I get to a competition early I feel that I have enough time to stay calm and prepare. If I feel rushed I’m a mess.
What is the most difficult thing for you about Highland? Everything’s difficult!
But I would say the most difficult thing for me is the turnout from Irish to Highland. Keeping my knees pulled back is always a challenge. In Irish, my teacher is now constantly telling me to pull my knees in and cross over. So I’m working on those things constantly.
What's the easiest? I don’t think any one thing is the easiest, but as I practice more, certain moves do become easier, even though you’re always striving to improve every aspect of your dancing.
What are your best and favourite steps? The lilt is my best and favourite! My teacher keeps telling me that’s ‘my dance,’ lol, I think it’s because of the similarities to the Irish slip jig.
What are your worst and least favourite? I love watching the sword dance, but it’s the hardest for me to dance because I need to keep working on my stamina.
Anything you are still working on? I’m constantly working on all of my dances, but I’ve been trying to solve the smaller technical problems so that I can place higher in competitions.
Do you ever feel the pressure to quit? In the beginning I thought that I would never get better as it was so different than Irish and what I was used to. The technical aspect of everything still amazes me. But now I could never even imagine quitting - much to my physical therapists chagrin.
What are your favourite dances? The lilt and the Seann Triubhas
How often do you take class? I take Highland twice a week and Irish once a week.
How frequently do you practice? I practice 3-5 times a week. We just built a dance floor in my garage so I plan on increasing my dance schedule. My New Year’s resolution was to practice more at home so we built a dance floor the first week in January.
What do you generally work on when you practice on your own? Turnout! Extending my seconds, tight slides around the leg, and jumping higher.
Do your friends and family support your dancing? Yes! My close friends are very supportive. They make fun of me occasionally as I am usually the oldest in my competitions by 10 years, but after going to competitions and seeing my performances they think it’s great that I’m doing it. My family is amazed that I’m so devoted to it and they’ve been super supportive too. My husband even started doing Irish dance with me so that we could see more of each other -- though he keeps threatening to retire whenever I sign him up for a competition.
Do you hang out with your dance friends outside the studio? Yes.
We try to get together to practice but we also meet up for special occasions or just to get together.
Approximately how many times per year does your dance school perform? At least half a dozen times though we’re called to a lot of smaller events and last minute performances, so it could be more like a dozen.
Does your school hold a recital? Yes, we have a Holiday Extravaganza every year.
If so, what does it generally consist of? Performances by all of the dancers including choreography by the premiere’s and the teachers. This year the McIntosh Pipe Band also performed with us. We had a full house!
Would you rather have a strict or an easy-going teacher? I’ve had both and I prefer a teacher who is in between those two traits. Someone who is willing to push me but also get me excited to dance.
How would you describe YOUR teacher? My teacher is great. He started dancing as an adult so he understands the trials of the adult dancer, but he also knows that we take it seriously and want to improve.
Who are your dance idols? My dance teachers! Rosemary Turco, Fred deMarse and Tierney de la Lama. I love watching the premier’s dance though and hope to one day be at that level.
What has been your most embarrassing dance moment? Nothing too embarrassing thankfully! My petticoat fell down when I was dancing the Flora MacDonald at a competition, but luckily it waited until the last step to do so.
If someone completely unfamiliar with Highland dancing asked you why you did it, what would you tell them? Because it’s fun, and challenging, and a beautiful sport.
May we have a peek inside your dance bag? My class bag has Highland and Irish dance shoes, lots of tape to tape my foot, and moleskin for my Irish hardshoes. My competition has cans of hairspray, bobby pins, kilt hose, tons of nylons, lots of safety pins (I never seem to have enough), and instant ice packs.
What other activities do you have besides dancing? Learning to play the accordion is my newest out-of-dance hobby. I don’t have time for too much else! Lol! But my husband and I are training to do the 39 mile Avon Walk this summer. I did it last year and it was an amazing experience.
Have you ever taken a break from dancing? I initially took a 6 year break after I first started Irish. But I missed it so much I had to get back. So I started Irish and shortly after took up Highland.
Have you ever had to overcome any problems to get to where you are today? Yes. About 8 months after starting Highland I developed plantar fasciitis. I started seeing a physical therapist and have to tape my foot to keep my arches supported, but it’s slowly been getting better.
Describe your ideal dance class. In my ideal dance class I get a balance of criticism and compliments for my dance steps. The compliments because I have fixed the critiques that have been called out (easier said than done as we all know). Also, I don’t have pain from my foot which is now occurring less and less as I have been taping it and following my physical therapists exercises. And most of all, my classmates and I have fun! We’re constantly laughing, learning new things and enjoying our lessons.
Do any of your dance friends/class mates go on DDN? My teachers surf it occasionally and some of my classmates from both Highland and Irish are on it.
What’s your biggest regret? I try not to have too many regrets about dancing, but I do wish that I had started younger. Now I find that you can do anything you want at any age if you put your mind to it, however I wish I had believed that when I originally wanted to dance in high school.
If you were told you could no longer dance after today, what would you do? I would be devastated! I’d have to really think about who was telling me though lol. My physical therapist asks me all the time if I would be willing to quit for a while and I tell her that’s not an option, I need to dance! So luckily she’s come up with exercises and alternatives for me, and my teacher is very understanding of all of the injuries in his class. We all move at our own pace.
And how would you spend this last day? I would dance with all my Irish and Highland friends until I really could dance no more!
Thanks to Christine for being interviewed! Look for the next issue soon!
Catherine
