Literature
Short Story: "Switching With Style"
By Colleen
My name is Colleen, I’ve been dancing for three years, I’m the Novice/Open (Prizewinner) level and I’ve never switched schools. I dance in Illinois, so the information here is true for a Midwest dancer. This is for my cousins, who have switched twice.
“Switch one two step hop hop hold knee two three back to front butterfly scissor click step knee switch - CAITIE! Turn your feet out! You weren’t even in place for the next switch because of that non-existant cross over!” My dance teacher, Eileen Leary broke in to my Slip Jig. She wasn’t in a lovely mood. She was the ‘drill sergeant’ of our school. The TCRG. Kathleen and Kelly helped, but Eileen was the main teacher.
I was doing my Slip Jig alone. That was my second step. My first step was easy. So was my third. I was supposed to wow the judges during the beginning of the left foot of the second step. Not that it was impossible. But you try doing that step. Try to get enough height on a scissor click after doing a butterfly. Try it - I dare you. I had to do it for Eileen before I could do it during a feis or Oireachtas - no surprise there, but Eileen scared me, so it was harder in front of her.
As a Preliminary Championship dancer with one first this year, I needed one more to move up to Open Championships. There was a feis in two weeks. I was to do my Slip Jig and Treble Jig, and Garden of Daisies. And Treble Reel, and Single Jig. I love Single Jig and Treble Reel. The Specials were the most fun, and the least nerve wracking of any feis. No wonder they were my favorite part. I could get away with not having the nicest solo dress, or the best wig, or the hardest steps. They were less stressful. If I didn’t place in them, I could still go to Oireachtas. If I didn’t get first in my PC Competition, I didn’t qualify automatically for Nationals, so there was more stress during Oireachtas to make the top five. Plus, I wouldn’t get to go to the harder class. But I love to dance, and I love to compete. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I have been Irish dancing since I was five. I knew I would be great from the first class. I loved to dance, and to please my teachers. I spent a year in Beginner, went to a feis, placed, and moved up to Advanced Beginner for the next year. I spent two years in Advanced Beginner, and two feiseanna. I moved up to Novice. I started going to more feiseanna, and I got an actual school dress. I was eight.
I spent three long years breaking out from Novice. When I entered Prizewinner, I got a used solo dress. I loved it. I spent two years there, then moved into Prelims. I’ve been there for a year. I’m fourteen years old, and I got a new solo dress from Ireland last year. My goal is to get to Worlds. I love to Irish dance.
What other sports are there that you can do to music besides gymnastics, other dances, and ice-skating? What sport is there where fourteen-year-olds can be friends and allies with ten-year-olds?
I like hard-shoe over soft-shoe, Treble Jig over Hornpipe, Reel over Slip Jig and Blackbird over St. Patrick’s Day. I like wigs over curlers, because I go to way too many feiseanna to curl my hair (Soft Spike Curlers, please), and I am against make-up on girls who dance U12. Over that, it’s okay. I think self-tanner is horrible, and poodle socks are better than tights. Tan tights look worse than black tights, but think of the hard shoe blisters!
But I have a problem. I want to play soccer, and the games are at the same time as my Choreography classes. We’re going to the Midwest Oireachtas. I’ve wanted to play competitive soccer since I was eight! But I also really want to dance competitively. I’m thinking about not telling Eileen - she’d kill me - but just going to the games. Our school says you have to be doing a choreography or ceili to do solos at the Oireachtas.
So what should I do? I’ve considered not going to the Oireachtas. I’ve considered asking to be in the ceili. But I think I’ll just skip soccer as I did with indoor soccer.
Or I could give up dance…
I’m at my little sisters dance class to help. Then I’m going to go practice with my friend Molly - she dances with O’Malley.
Eileen’s voice broke into my thoughts, “Caitie, some help here would be nice. Do you mind teaching these girls (she motions to the Beginner 2’s) the Advanced Beginner Slip Jig?”
“No, not at all. That’s step in, knee two three, right?” I answered.
“Yes, then the second step is point hop back two three,” Eileen said.
I led the girls into the other corner. They were good girls, paying attention and really attempting to learn the step. It helped that my sister was still a Beginner. She was hell to teach to. She didn’t listen. They got to be able to do the two steps not to speed, but right and left feet. The speed was Homework. I wrote in the ones who couldn’t read log books, to practice the Beginner 2 Slip Jig, and to practice all other dances. I initialed the books, and brought the girls back to Eileen. She sent them home.
My mom came for my little sister, dropping me off at Molly’s on the way home. I walked into Molly’s basement, with floor length mirrors and a wooden floor. She also had a barre, for her sister who takes ballet. She has a chin-up bar for rocks, flutters, butterflies, and other impossible maneuvers. I practice there all the time. Molly isn’t rich; her mom gives private dance lessons in the basement.
I started my Treble Reel as Molly tied on her shoes. Molly and I were hard on each other, criticizing, complementing, and we always told the truth.
We weren’t wimpy; we pounded that Treble Reel into the floor. We told each other our favorite steps, our favorite dances, and the fancy elements that we were having trouble with, and the new steps/elements we had learned. We were discussing what we liked about our schools when it hit me - I could SWITCH SCHOOLS!
O’Malley could be fun. Really fun. Molly showed me her new Reel, and I showed her my Slip Jig. We taught each other them. Molly also dances PC. We’re the same age. We’ve been competing since we started dancing. The competitive nature that we have makes us better.
As I walked home, I thought of how to ask my mom if I could switch to O’Malley. I walked into the door of my house. I called out, “Hello? Mom, anybody home?”
My mom answered, “Is that you, Caitie? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mom. Well…You know how I was asked to be in that Choreography?”
“Yes…”
“But I want to play indoor soccer, and I want to go to the Oireachtas,” I said. “So I was wondering if…I was wondering if I could switch to O’Malley. You know Molly’s school? There’s still six months before Oireachtas, my suspension time. And Molly would love it!”
My mother was speechless. I’d spent so much time being a Leary Girl. To give it all up now would be so sad. “Caitie, is that what you really want?”
“Yes, mom, can we do it?” I asked.
“Are you volunteering to tell Eileen, or will you want me to?” My mom asked the question that had been on my mind.
“I’ll tell her,” I said, “I’ll tell her that although I love Leary, the schedule isn’t working out for me. So I’ll try O’Malley.”
As I walked to class twenty minutes earlier then usual, I thought in my head about how to tell Molly, and my sister, and my friends at class. I was with my sister, “Um, Moira?” I said, “I’m going to dance with O’Malley after today.” She burst into tears.
That went well. Not.
Now Eileen, “Eileen, I’m not going to dance with Leary anymore. Sorry. The schedule isn’t working out for me. I know I’ll miss Leary.”
She didn’t cry, but she said, with a sad look on her face and a hopeful tone in her voice, “April Fool’s?”
“No, Eileen, its May. I’m going to try O’Malley,” I said.
I took class, told my friends, and tried not to look too sad. I would miss Leary, my first dancing school.
Later, Midwest Oireachtas
Molly and I were about here the recalls. “Numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, 14,16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 49, 52, 54, 57, 59, 62, 65, 69, 72, 77, 78, 79, 82, 85, 87, 92, and 95 need to come to this stage to do their Sets. I was number 22. Molly was 54. We had both been recalled. We screamed!
I danced a flawless Three Sea Captains, and Molly did a GREAT Garden of Daisies. I knew that without hearing the results, we had done great. But if I were reading this I would want to actually know how the people placed. I got 32nd. Molly got 31st. We were going to Nationals!!!