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Fayetteville, Irish Dance

Prepping for St. Patrick’s Day

Hello everyone! St. Patrick’s Day is only a month away, so I thought I would make a quick post to get everyone on the same page when it comes to our big performances, as well as fundraising efforts by OMIAC.

So far, it looks like we are booked for seven performances, and have a couple more locations in the works! All dancers are highly encouraged to attend as many performances as they are able, and we will be putting out sign-up links as they get closer. Click here for the link to the official list, that we update as we book!

OMIAC just finished up a successful St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt fundraiser, and we plan on selling more of those T-shirts at our performances at Crisis Brewery and Bentonville Brewery! If you would like to buy one and missed out on the presale, click here to get yours ordered! We only did adult sizes this time around, but if you’d like to order one for your child, just order an adult small, and they’ll definitely grow into it!

As part of the St. Patrick’s Day hype, I’m planning on posting some seasonal recipes for the community to give a try! If you have any recipes you’d like to share, feel free to send them over and I can include them in a blog post!

The next month will likely be hectic as we get prepared for all of the various performances, so please keep your eyes on all of the different social media pages, and don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re confused about any of the performances. For costuming, please jump over to our costume links page to make sure you have everything you need for the upcoming outings! Looking forward to a great next month of preparation!

Fayetteville

Welcome back, and special announcements

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a restful holiday break, and are ready to hit the ground dancing this year! We have a big year ahead, and are excited for all of the upcoming performances and competitions! If it’s been a little while since you’ve explored our website, please take a moment to do so; you’ll notice we have updated our personnel sections and added a page where all of our costumes are linked (including for the boys!)

I’ll be periodically updating this blog to keep you aware of the big happenings in the school, and will hopefully keep it separate from the newsletter, which will be going out monthly!

To get us started, I wanted to include some special beginning of term announcements.

  • Please check out our updated Dress Code before the first class
  • I will be sending out reminder emails for tuition each month
    • Friendly reminder: our payment structure is like a gym membership. You pay a flat rate, and how much you come to class that month is up to you. You will still pay the same amount each month, unless we are the ones to cancel.
    • Accepted forms of payment: Cash, Check, Venmo
  • The OMIAC meeting that I listed in the first newsletter is going to be taking place at 5:30 on January 26th. All parents are encouraged to attend!
  • The AmyMae Youtube challenge that I listed in the newsletter has been hidden behind a paywall on Instagram, but her 30-day challenge from last year is still available to all on Youtube, so I highly encourage you to check that out!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us and we will try to get back to you as soon as we can!

Fayetteville, Irish Dance

A whirlwind 15 months!

It’s hard to believe that it has been 15 months since the first class as Rince Arkansas. This post is loooooong over due, but I wanted to post it now anyway. I started this post in March 2017, and I am finally getting around to publishing! Looking back over the last 14 years since I joined the McCafferty School takes me through a world of fond memories. From the many dance classes, to the many people that have passed through the doors of the dance studio in these many years, (Once a McCafferty, always a McCafferty!) let’s reminisce for a moment!

People always ask me, “how did you get into Irish dance? Are you even Irish?” I’ll address the second question first. According to my ancestry.com DNA test, I am in fact 5% Irish. For the first question, well it’s a simple story really, and this is how I remember it. Once upon a time, Ms. Ana was in 8th (maybe 7th) grade at Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith, Arkansas. TJH held an annual “Multi-cultural Day” which included a lovely performance representing various countries. That was the first time Ms. Ana watched Leslie and Valerie perform the Downfall of Paris. After the performance, their mom announced that they were starting a dance class and interested people should give them a call. That was it, the moment that practically changed Ms. Ana’s life forever.

I am forever in debt to Leslie and Valerie for introducing me to this crazy, and incredible community of Irish dancing. We had so much fun in the early years performing around town as the Fort Smith Irish dancers. My first feis was definitely a defining moment. It felt good to get gold medals, and I wanted more! Flash forward 18 years, and there you have it, now a TCRG and achieving milestones — my very own dance school.

FortSmithIrishdancers

I am so thankful to the McCafferty School of Irish Dance for the support and instruction that I received for the past fourteen years. It was with bittersweet feelings that we bid farewell to Judy and PJ McCafferty in January 2017. I am so grateful to them for their mentorship, and their incredible support and growth of Irish dance in Arkansas and I am lucky to count them as family. I am so honored to be continuing their legacy in a great new era. McCafferty will remain in our origin, and in our history. We will forever be in their debt for pioneering Irish dance to the many corners of Arkansas, and for their incredible leadership in the Southern Region.

If you know me, then you already know that Irish dance is my life, my passion, and my biggest joy. Opening up my own dance school has been a dream that I have been dreaming for some time, and I still find myself in disbelief that I am actually living it. This past year as Rince Arkansas Academy of Irish Dance has been an incredible journey — not to mention the little addition to our family with the birth of Isabel this past November. I am so grateful for the support of the Rince Arkansas family, and for the privilege to work with their children, and become a part of their lives.

We have had quite the year!

Look for more of these as we reflect on this past year, and look forward and onward!

Thanks,

Ana