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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Green, White and Gold

Every Tuesday I take Miranda to her Irish Dance class. She attends The Celtic Gold Academy, in Garden Grove. Miranda has been dancing there for almost a year now and the owner, Doireann O' Maoileidigh (pronounced Deeran O Ma lady), has been Irish dancing since she was also Miranda's age. Her father, Maitiu O' Maoileidigh, was responsible for founding the original school back in Dublin 50 years ago along with his associate teacher, who is now the choreographer for Lord of the Dance. The family name is well respected in the dancing world.
Anyway, Doireann has very strict rules stating that parents must wait in a front room so as not to distract the children. This is fine with me except that I'm always wondering how Miranda is doing and is she any good? These are the exact opposite rules from her last ballet class where hordes of googly-eyed moms and grandma's, and the odd dad or two (OK, one dad and it was me) would watch their kids through a window which looked onto the dance floor. Children would constantly be in and out of the room, thus making it hard for the teacher to keep the dancers focused.
It turns out I have nothing to worry about in regards to Miranda's Irish dancing. We have watched her at home and I think she is actually pretty good at it and I'm not just saying that as a proud dad, she really can do a great slip jig. This coming December she will be in a Christmas Feis (Fesh) which is a traditional Gaelic celebration and I know she'll do just great.
Having her in an Irish dance class is just another Celtic connection in my life. There are a few more such connections as the Scots are very close to the Irish, only being separated by 212 miles of the Irish Sea, a mere 45-minute plane trip. Being this close to such a beautiful place does have its benefits such as my birthday falling on the day before St Patrick's Day. This meant that almost every year myself and my boys would combine my day and Patrick's special day and make it last for a week. Ahh, the memories. Here is where another Celtic connection comes upon me. Whilst celebrating one night in the place known as Templebar, an area of Dublin which is solely bars and restaurants I stumbled upon my future wife. Kisses, numbers and addresses were all swapped and here I am, eleven years later in California. It's interesting to note that as our two worlds collided we were watching a group of Irish dancers perform on stage....











2 comments:

  1. that picture of her waving is so cute!

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  2. Truly a great thought and interesting link between now and then. I always feel itchy when talking about Ireland only because I am linked by blood there but have never been. The photos are super! Miranda is so cute - you are going to have to watch her carefully when she starts dating - but knowing you that might be around 30. :)

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