In May, SRL held our first spring Showcase at the Irish American Home Society in Glastonbury, CT. The Showcase included performances by all SRL dancers, dinner & dessert for our families and friends, some ceili dancing, and fabulous raffle prizes donated by sponsors in our local community and the Irish dance community. The Showcase also served as a major fundraising event for the SRL Parent's Association which supports our dancers by providing stipends for costumes, competition, travel, and equipment. We are already looking forward to next year's event!

After the Showcase, dancers finished the final classes of the year before a well earned summer break. For some of our dancers, these classes were the final push before departing for the North American Irish Dance Championships held in Providence, Rhode Island. The NAIDC is an international major competition that serves as a qualifier for the World Championships in 2016. Dancers compete against the best from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, UK, Australia, and further afield for qualifying positions. Two SRL dancers represented us at the 2015 NAIDC, Brigid Cazzetta and Lindsey Hoffman. Brigid placed 16th and qualified for the World Championships and Lindsey danced beautifully at her first major debut. We are so proud of them and can't wait to see how Team SRL does at the upcoming New England Oireachtas in November.

St. Patrick's Day is our Superbowl of performances! We perform at dozens of locations around Central CT for various audiences to spread our love of Irish dance with our community. A very special performance this year was at Bradley International Airport where dancers performed for arriving and departing passengers and handed out green carnations in the spirit of the day. There to catch all of the action was FOX CT News, the Hartford Courant, and Channel 3. In case you missed it, here are some of our media features:

FOX CT News: http://foxct.com/2015/03/17/on-st-patricks-day-bradley-airport-steps-up-for-the-irish/
HARTFORD COURANT:

For some December is a time to start winding down in time for Christmas, but at SRL we were busy spreading some holiday cheer! Dancers performed at Waxy O'Connor's Restaurant & Pub in Plainville for the launch of weekly Irish nights, held on Tuesday evenings. For many dancers at our Farmington location this was their first ever public performance; while there were confessions of a few nervous butterflies prior to the show all the dancers came off stage buzzing with excitement, adrenaline, and pride! 

Next we headed to the Avon Public Library where we performed a holiday themed finale after a great showcase of talent from our smallest to tallest dancers. We had a large group of dancers performing and their performance skills & confidence continue to grow with each new experience dancing in front of an audience!

We have added a class for new beginners on Fridays from 6:00-7:00pm! This class will begin following our Winter Break and run through June 26. To request more information or register, please contact Courtney at Scoil Rince Luimni.

Dancers at Scoil Rince Luimni have been off to a fabulous start to their 2014-15 year! Here are some highlights from the first 12 weeks of classes:

SRL is so proud of our beginners who danced at their first competitions this fall. Each dancer who danced in the Beginner category this fall won all of their dances for a total of seven firsts over three competitions. We can't wait for the rest of our beginners to dance at their first competitions this winter.

We were all very excited to receive our new SRL merchandise this fall! Students proudly sport their red, white, and black in class and around town in a selection of tops, jackets, & hoodies!

Performance is an integral part of the student experience at Scoil Rince Luimni. Students gain experience and confidence while giving back to their local communities when performing at events, demonstrations, and festivals. If you want to catch our next performance, get on our email list for all of our upcoming appearances!

Summer is over, kids are back in school, and now we're back to dance! The 2014-15 season of Irish dance classes at Scoil Rince Luimni has officially begun! Last week SRL welcomed new students and caught up with returning students to kick off the new year. The year is still young and SRL will allow open enrollment for any of the beginner classes offered in Farmington or South Windsor until we're full. Free trial classes are offered in both locations to new beginners, but please email or call to arrange your trial class prior to your arrival. Prospective students can request an information pack at any time, no strings attached.

SRL hopes to see you soon!

SRL wants boys to give Irish dancing a try to see just how fun and physically demanding it can be! Still not convinced? 

A former Irish dancer has written a great article on his blog about why Irish dancing (or any dancing for that matter!) is a worthwhile activity for boys and men. 

His experience in Irish dance taught him that it's masculine and athletic. Irish dance in particular is very physically demanding, on par with your typical sports, but is also a very manly form of dance. Male Irish dancers must dance with strength, sharpness, and power. The author also learned many skills beyond steps and technique, just as I try to do at SRL. He says that Irish dance taught him chivalry, confidence, cultural awareness, and self-awareness. These are important skills for any young man to discover, and what better way than an artistic sport? He also acknowledges the many opportunities Irish dancing affords young boys and men. Due to the smaller ratio of boys to girls in Irish dancing, boys often move up the competitive ranks faster, have more opportunities to tour with shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, and are always popular with the female dancers later in life! Irish dancing also gives both young men and women the chance to travel the world, the country, or your own backyard and make lifelong friendships. 

So why not give Irish dancing a try this year? Your first semester is free, so you have nothing to lose! I hope to see you soon at SRL!

Article full text: http://theirishatheist.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/ten-reasons-to-let-your-boy-dance/

On July 1, the Avon Library hosted Scoil Rince Luimni's launch event to "Kick Off the Summer in Irish Style!" The event was well attended by library patrons who enjoyed our sounds and steps. This event also coincided with the start of the "Fizz, Boom, Read!" summer reading challenge. All attendees enjoyed a performance featuring Courtney Jay, the owner and teacher of SRL Irish Dance Academy. Our audience members were then invited up to learn a step with us, enter our raffle, and enjoy some SRL strawberry skewers!

Fun was had by all and I hope to see some of you in class this fall!