McGovern Ceili Dancer of the Month!

Each month the McGovern Ceili Dancers will be recognizing a special dancer that captures the spirit and essence of a good team mate and fellow dancer.

The requirements and qualifications to be considered for this demanding but honored award are as follows:

1. A positive attitude

2. Good attendance

3. Motivation/Willingness to learn

4. Regular practice

5. Dance progress/Accomplishments

6. Wearing dance attire/hair back

7. How the student relates to other students Congratulations to Vivien Holmes from MCD Ohio and Ella Carpenter from MCD Indiana!

Vivien Holmes will be 8 years old in November and has been dancing for almost 3 years now. She was inspired to take up Irish dance when she saw a group performing at her school on St. Patrick's Day. A friend of her mother's recommended that they join the McGovern Ceili Dancers. Lucky for us she did!

Vivien says she likes to learn new dances, her current favorite being the hornpipe, because that is the newest one and it is in HARD SHOES. She enjoys performing for audiences she thinks that it is "fun and exciting. She also gets the opportunity to compete at many Irish dance competitions called feisanna or feile. She says she gets a little nervous when she competes but it energizes her. When asked if she thought participating in Irish dance classes has helped her in other areas of your school or social life, her reply was "Sort of, it expanded my circle of friends. I like hanging out with all the dancers." Congratulations Vivi! You are a joy to have in class! And from our Indiana Tribe, please congratuate Ella Carpenter!

Ella is 8 years old and has been dancing for almost a full year now. She had spent some time

studying Jazz dancing but Irish dancing really captured her interest. We were lucky to have her join us from another dance school that had discontinued their Irish dance class offering.

Some of her favorite things about Irish dance is the variety of different dances that you can do, the music and the costumes

Her favorite dance is the Slip Jig. She enjoys performing in front of audiences although it makes her a little nervous. She also enjoys the fun atmosphere she has experienced at Cumann Rince Naisunta Irish Dance Competitions, or Feile.

When asked if she thought participating in Irish dance classes has helped her in other areas of your school or social life, her reply was "It has helped me become more confident and has showed me that hard work is important." Congratulations to Ella! We wish you much more success!