Notes from the meeting of ACLRG March 26,27 2011

Hello everyone/Bonjour à tous/Dia duit gach duine.

As a regional representative to An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha for Eastern Canada, it is my duty to convey important details of Coimisiun meetings to members of my region who should, in turn, pass such information on to their dance families. Understanding that occasionally, a breakdown in communication beyond my efforts occurs, I began posting my relevant notes online for all ECR teachers and families to see, to ensure that everyone in our region gets the information they (may) need. There is nothing confidential being published, however please do not copy and paste any of this to the message boards; instead, copy the link to this page to encourage the direction of traffic here. These are my own personal notes, not the official notes of ACLRG so these notes are meant only as a guideline. Most, if not all of this information should follow in an official capacity when made available.

My last blog post (to the Eastern Canadian regional blog) featured the announcement of adjudicators selected for the 2011 ECR Oireachtas and it was brought to my attention that the discussions on the ECR message board were livelier than ever with thoughts and opinions of the quality and integrity of judges selected. It was appalling actually, and if this is how the information I provide is appreciated, then I will have to decide if posting these updates is in every one's best interests.

-------------- Having said that, I am very happy to get info out there quickly so here is a lheap of notes pertaining to many issues - most notably the upcoming World Championships to be held in City West Resorts ltd, Dublin Ireland. ---------------

City West is technically OUT of receivership and is also sold out of accommodation for Worlds. The gala Ball is sold out too. There are still rooms in a few of the overflow hotels and there will be shuttles between them and CW for guests who are registered as a part of the Irish Dance block. If you are staying in an overflow hotel, you MUST register yourself as being a part of the block in order to take advantage of the shuttle to/from CW or you will not be allowed to use the shuttle.

*****The opening ceremony (approximately 2.5 hrs) will occur mid-Monday morning and feature an appearance by the Irish President, which for many of us will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be visited by a World leader. It is a very prestigious honour which took months of negotiations and everyone involved is delighted at such an opportunity. A such, the competitions will stop in all three rooms and everyone will be directed to one room for the ceremony and presentation. Further news is forthcoming and will appear on the official CLRG website. *****

All award ceremonies will occur at the end of each day with one exception; the final schedule will reveal which day. Boys competitions will be awarded before girls/teams where possible to ensure they have a sufficiently sized audience. All efforts will be made without guarantees. We can't stress enough the importance of going back stage with PLENTY of time before performing. No side-stage manager or anyone connected to the event wants to tell a child they cannot perform if they miss their rotation but that is the rule and as such, it must be followed. PLEASE, don't disappear - go backstage when you are called. You never know if a bunch are entries are no-shows, and all of a sudden, you are due to be up next.

Listening to requests from teachers and parents, multi-day discounts for wristbands have been added this year – fees are: 1 day is €15, 4 days are €50, 7 days are €90. The fee to enjoy the evening of dance dramas is €20 (tickets available only via Ticketmaster) and is not part of the daily admission. Beoga is performing on Wednesday night; information is on the CLRG website.

The JIG documentary crew will be on-site distributing promo materials, goodie bags and showing new clips. An exhibit depicting the history of Irish dancing will be on display and A Taste Of Dublin will be on offer that week too, allowing those who can't get into Dublin a chance to still experience Irish food, drink and souvenir shopping.

City West will not permit costumes on display in public areas for sale. A costume re-sale room will run for the whole time for a fee of €25 per costume– this is run by “Second Time Around”. There is a flat-rate fee for all registrations. If your costume sells in ten minutes (lucky you) then there is no recourse for a partial refund. This is standard practice with all (or at least most) of the other enterprises.

Dancers MUST collect their number in the hall where they will compete (also, mentioned at a previous meeting, all three rounds will occur in the same hall).

A coach from Dublin Airport to City West will leave every 15 minutes at a reduce rate of around €15 per person (taxis are between €75 & €90 one way), a coach will run from City West to downtown Dublin – (times and fees not yet disclosed). Info will be on the CLRG website when ready.

(This paragraph was amended on March 31st as my original posting was incorrect.) Finally, a ruling was passed enabling any traditional version of the four main traditional set dances to be accepted for use in their teaching or dancing sections. There are a variety of versions of these dances and we wish to ensure candidates do not worry if their version doesn't match that of another candidate. 

Info for upcoming examinations is on the CLRG website. Eastern Canada is discussing running an exam in 2012. 

END