MONTHLY UPDATES

FEBRUARY 2021

SCHOOL NEWS OPEN FOR PRIVATE LESSONS DATES TO REMEMBER COMPETITIVE UPDATE FOLKLORAMA NEWS NEW COSTUME ORDERS 2ND HAND SHOES & COSTUMES
SOCIAL MEDIA LEAVE US A REVIEW

SCHOOL NEWS

We delayed release of our February newsletter to wait for the most recent updates to Mantioba Public Heath Orders. As of February 12th, we will be able to open the studio for Private Lessons and individual video taping session for Digital Competitions. We are excited to welcome our students back into the studio, even if it is one at a time!

Private Lesson options have been added in the Student Portal for Wednesday and Saturdays. If you would like to schedule a private lesson at another time, please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate.

We are hopeful the next update to Public Health Orders will allow dance schools to safely open with 25% capacity which will have little or no changes to our current schedule. In the meantime, the dancers are making great progress with Zoom classes and we appreciate their hard work and dedication to Irish dance in the face of a many obstacles this year.

Normally this time of year we would be in the midst of our CRN North American Championships and no doubt our competitive dancers and their families are missing the event. Last year our school was honoured to receive the Celtic Spirit Award at Nationals in Minneapolis and our dancers brought home armfuls of medals, trophies and most importantly great memories!

NOW OFFERED IN-PERSON OR ZOOM!

Looking for an activity for your Irish Dancer?

Instructors and Assistants are available to work one-on-one with dancers to help improve technique, work on current dances, and learn new material.

Private lessons are highly recommended for dancers;

ADVANCING LEVELS

LEARNING NEW DANCES

STRUGGLING WITH ON-LINE LEARNING

Family members from the same household may combine lessons for a semi-private class.

SIGN UP IN THE STUDENT PORTAL - CLICK HERE

OR

EMAIL info@mcconnelldancers.com to schedule a private lesson

DATES TO REMEMBER

Feb 15th, 2021 - Louis Riel Day - No Classes

Mar 17th, 2021 - St. Patrick's Day - No Classes
Mar 28th - Apr 4th - Spring Break - No Classes
Apr 5th, 2021 - Easter - No Classes
May 23rd, 2021- Victoria Long Weekend - No Classes
May 24th, 2021 - Victoria Day - No Classes

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

CRN - CUMANN RINCE NÁISIÚNTA

DIGITAL COMPETITIONS

FEBRUARY 23rd, 2021 - CRN Liffey Digital Feis
MARCH 18th, 2021 - CRN Barrow Digital Feis
APRIL 6th, 2021 - CRN Slaney Digital Feis
MAY (TBD) - Irish Open Championships
North American Nationals 2021 TBD

Congratulations to our dancers who competed in the CRN Boyne Digital Feile in January!

3 DANCERS MOVED UP!

Vera Protopopova - BunGhrád Single Jig
Vera Protopopova - Ullmhúchán Single Jig
Sydney McGinn - Meánghrád Treble Jig U13

6 FIRST PLACE 6 SECOND PLACE 9 THIRD PLACE 5 FOURTH PLACE 12 HIGHLY COMMENDED

CRN BOYNE DIGITAL FEILE RESULTS

FOLKLORAMA UPDATE

Folklorama will be launching a NEW "Virtual Folklorama At Home" program where they will feature 10 Folklorama member groups in a professional filmed, 45 minute interview and workshop. McConnell Irish Dance is pleased to have been selected as the group to represent Irish culture in the program. The segments will be aired on Folklorama's Youtube and Social Media platforms beginning at the end of January until the spring. McConnell Irish dance segments was taped January 30th and aired on Friday, March 19th, 2021.

Well done to our dancers and teaching assistants Annika Magee and Kiera Legault for their great work taping the episode. Be sure to tune in to Folklorama's Youtbue for the LIVE airing on March 19th, 2021

FOLKLORAMA 2021
In other Folklorama news, the 1st Coordinator and Planning Meeting for Folklorama 2021 will be held next week via zoom. Folklorama will be releasing their plans for this years "revised" festival. We know Folklorama 2021 will not be a return to the typical festival we know and love, however we are looking forward to hearing what plans are for the summer!

We will keep you posted as soon as we are able!

NEW COSTUME ORDERS

Due to the uncertainty of performance dates for 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, new costume orders which would typically take place at this time of year will be delayed until the new year. Once we have ascertained future performance dates we will proceed with costume orders. Recognising young dancers grow quickly, we feel it's best for us to wait until dates are conformed before we ask families to invest in new costumes.

For more information on McConnell Irish Dance Costumes for Recreational, Performance, and Competitive dancers, please visit the members area of our website

CLICK HERE FOR COSTUME INFORMATION

SECOND HAND SHOES & COSTUMES

Due to Covid-19 MSDSA (McConnell School of Dance Student's Association) will not be holding an in-person 2nd Hand Shoe & Costume Sale at the studio. Instead, we have created a private group on Facebook where dancers and parents are encouraged to post their 2nd hand shoes and costumes for sale.

MCCONNELL IRISH DANCE BUY & SELL

A private group intended for current and former McConnell Irish Dance pupils to sell new and used dance items.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN GROUP

SOCIAL MEDIA

We have an active social media presence and we encourage dancers and dance families to follow us and keep up to date with school activities.