Welcome to Reel Treble # 42!
In this issue we meet Alicia, a.k.a. Luv2jig, a prelim dancer with the McDade-Cara School.
Name: Alicia
Dance.net Name: Luv2jig
Member since: August 7, 2007...whoa that's a long time.
Years Doing Irish Dance: 12 years...that's a long time, too.
Age: 25
Dance School: McDade-Cara School of Irish Dance
Organization: CLRG
Competition Level: Prelims
Region: Mid-Atlantic (USA)
What is the story behind your DDN name?
It was my AIM name since high school and I use it for everything!
How old were you when you started Irish Dance and how did you get started?
I am a proud member of the Riverdance generation! We watched the movie in music class at school and I knew that I wanted to be able to do that stuff. Unfortunately, I grew up in an Irish dance deficient part of Pennsylvania so it took a few years for my Mom to find a dance school. Eventually, with the help of a local Irish band, we found a school based out of Pittsburgh that held classes at a branch studio on Sundays about 45 minutes from home. I only competed in 3 or 4 feisanna as a "child" and then danced with Kieran Jordan in Boston as well as Step About Boston at Boston University. I danced with the adult group Crossroads for 1.5 years and then switched to a competitive children's school.
How many classes do you have a week?
I could go to a dance class every day of the week if I wanted, but I usually get there 2-3 times per week for 2-3 hours at a time.
How often do you practice at home?
I never do. We live in an apartment and 1) there is no room, and 2) our landlord lives below us.
Did Irish Dancing come naturally to you or did you have to work at it?
It came to me naturally until I got to prelims. I'm athletically inclined in general so I think it took me 3 feisanna to get everything in novice and at the 4th one I got all firsts to move to prizewinner.
Does Irish Dancing get in the way of your school work or social life?
I think my work and social life get in the way of my Irish dancing!
What do your friends think of your dancing? Do they support it?
They love it an always want me to teach them things. I've also been very lucky to have opportunities to teach mini-workshops to theater groups and history classes.
Do you do figure dances?
I did a figure at one class with the little kids and I almost got run over. Literally. The Morris Reel is not for me. I do the low-key ones in parades, though.
What does your dress look like and who made it?
Purple and gold, made my Laurie Westphal of Seattle, WA.
What brand of softshoes and hardshoes do you wear?
Hullachan softshoes and Rutherford hard shoes.
What is the farthest you've traveled for a feis?
Probably from Philly to Pittsburgh last Christmas. But I cheated and stopped at my parents' house halfway there.
What is your favorite feis and why?
I love the ones that my friends go to! I'm the oldest in my school so I like to make sure I will know some people in my comp before I sign up. It's much more fun when you have big group to hang out with.
Have you ever been to a major championship?
I went to the Oireachtas last year for the first time...and probably the last time (as a dancer), because I'm having a baby in June
Do you get nervous before you compete?
I always have a moment of "Why did I sign up for this again?" but it goes away pretty quickly. It took me a long long time in prizewinner to dance at a feis and not feel like my legs were disconnected from my body.
Do you have any rituals you do before you dance?
I must put on my right shoe first and my husband has to kiss me.
We had a workshop teacher that told us we should have one word that we say to ourselves before we go onstage. Mine is "fearless" because even though it's a scary thing to dance in front of all those people I still do it and that itself is quite an accomplishment. --luv2jig
What is your greatest accomplishment in Irish Dancing?
Making it to prelims. When you're 25 years old and a med student, competing with 15 and 16 year olds is pretty difficult. I knew that if I made it to prelims I could be happy with what I accomplished with the time and resources I had.
What was your greatest disappointment in Irish Dancing and how did you overcome it?
I'm only disappointed when I feel I haven't danced my best. At the Oireachtas I know I danced the best I ever have in competition even though I came in 3rd to last. When I feel like I danced well I honestly don't care if I place or not. I know it sounds cheesy but it is sooooo true.
What are some of your short term goals?
Stay in shape so maybe I can do adult figures someday in the future.
What are some of your long term goals?
Stay involved in some way, hopefully through my kids!
What is your favorite dance and why?
Slip jig because it's so sing-song-y. Also why I like hornpipe.
What is your least favorite dance and why?
Treble jig because it goes on forever and it's so fast there's no time to make big dramatic moves.
What move took you forever to master?
Bicycles! A girl I danced with in college was doing them back before they were common and about 3 years later I was confident enough to do them in my steps!
What is your favorite move?
I love the old school "side to side" movement that looks like skiing. It's easy but looks different.
Do you ever want to take the TCRG exam and teach?
I would love to! If I ever have spare time it would be great.
Who do you admire the most in Irish Dancing?
Each and every senior lady. I have so much respect for how hard it is to go to school/work while keeping up the caliber of dancing that they do. It's amazing to me how so many of them are wildly successful in dance and life.
If you could take a free workshop with any dancer as your teacher, who would you pick and why?
I think I would just like to be able to dance with my college group again. We learned so much from each other.
Tell us one of your funniest or most interesting feis stories.
At the Nation's Cap feis last year I was in prizewinner and we were dancing on these horrible parquet floors in a hotel. It was so slippery and my hornpipe was not the greatest, to say the least. But at the end I gave Niall O'Leary an big goofy smile and he gave me 1st! My first prizewinner 1st, no less!
...I cried when I was done!
What was your most embarrassing moment in dancing?
Falling flat on my butt at the Celtic Fling feis this summer. I sprained my right ankle at a feis a few weeks before and then I fell and sprained my left one at Celtic Fling. I redanced on it, though, and I was so proud of myself for going back out there I cried when I was done!
Are you close with fellow Irish Dancers?
Just a few, but I don't get to seem the often because they live a few hours away. That's why feising is so much fun!
What's in your dance bag?
Hard shoes, soft shoes, poodle socks, sock glue, shoe polish, duct tape, at least 3 empty water bottles, deodorant, leg warmers, and extra pony tail elastics.
Do you do any other types of dance?
I've taken ballet, hip hop, and break dancing classes in college which were all enormously fun. Tap was not so fun.
Do any of your family members Irish Dance as well?
My mom can to the basic jig step! But otherwise I'm the only one.
What other hobbies do you have?
Irish dancing is pretty much the only hobby I have! I don't have time for much else, but I do love to read and travel, travel, and travel.
Tell us something your friends would find surprising about you.
My friends already know this, but in June I will become a doctor AND a mom!
Quick Fire Questions:
Hardshoe or softshoe: Softshoe
Reel or Slip Jig: Slip jig
Hornpipe or Treble Jig: Hornpipe
Wig or Bun: Wig
Feis or Show: Show
School Dress or Solo Dress: Solo dress
Alicia, thank you for taking time to chat with us today. Congrats on your upcoming achievements!! --Reel Treble
