CANADA FEILE 2020 - UPDATE & CANCELLATI

 CANADA FEILE 2020

We wish to inform dancers of the cancellation of our CRN Canada Feile 2020 competition on May 24th, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although we are saddened by the cancellation, we feel this is the best decision to insure the safety of our dancers, instructors, adjudicators, and patrons.

We will be offering all dancers the option for Digital Feis competitions in April, June, August, September, and November and plans are currently underway for the Canadian Open Championship & Qualifiers (3 adjudicators) scheduled for Sunday, December 13th, 2020.

We will continue to keep our dance families updated with any changes as soon as we are able. 

Please stay safe and well.

Shayleen McConnell Finucan (ODCRN)

Digital Feis - April 2020

DIGITAL FEIS - APRIL 2020

A great option for Irish dancers at home!

April Digital Feis will be popular with so many Irish dancers at home.  If you haven't yet tried Digital Feis, this is a great opportunity and something positive to keep Irish dancers motivated and focused while we're not at the studio. For April 2020 Digital Feis, dancers may send videos in from home!

• Recreational levels from  Beginner - Advanced and Adult
• Competitive from Bunghrád to Craobhghrád 

This is a great opportunity for written adjudicator feedback for solo dances, set dances, and treble reels.  Entries are likely to be high in most age categories which increases opportunity for CRN qualifying "move ups"

If you're interested in signing up for April 2020 Digital Feis, please click below.   

Deadline for registration - Friday, April 3rd, 2020 

• Registration is done through the Student Portal

SIGN UP FOR DIGITAL FEIS

WHICH LEVEL, WHICH DANCES?

Digital Feis only permits dancers compete in 1 level, however don't let this stop you from competing with all of your current dances.  Digital Feis does not follow CRN repertoire so in many cases dances from other CRN level can be used for Digital Feis competitions.  If you're uncertain of which dances are best, please don't hesitate to email info@mcconnelldancers.com 

VIDEO SUBMISSION

Due to physical distancing, we are unable to video tape dancers at the studio, however dancers can video tape their dances at home and send them to us for submission.

Deadline for Video Submission - Sunday, April 5th 

Videos can be sent via Dropbox, Google Drive, or emailed to info@mcconnelldancers.com

Video Taping Recommendations

• Submit your 1 best video for each dance you are competing with.  Please do not submit multiple versions of the same dance.  
• Please include the 8 bar music introduction in your video.
• Record horizontally. Please do not take vertical video or switch between vertical and horizontal in the middle of the dance.
• The cameraperson or tripod should stand in for the judge. Dancers should face this position when lining up as they would at a feis.  If you have to video tape yourself, it's fine, just trim the video to the shortest length possible. 
• Adjudicators must be able to hear the music and hardshoes. While silent film would be an interesting artistic choice, it makes timing difficult to judge! 

DIGITAL FEIS INFORMATION

Digital Feis is an on-line organisation offering dancers the opportunity to compete and advance levels without the burden of travel. Videos are submitted by the school and dancers register for private video taping sessions where solo dances are rehearsed, taped, and submitted for adjudication. Digital Feis provides feedback, placement, and medals to competing dancers and all results count towards their CRN Levels or just for fun! 

Digital Feis is open to all dancers, in Recreational, Competitive, and Performance Divisions.  

DIGITAL FEIS - UPCOMING COMPETITION DATES

• March Digital Feis — April 4, 2020 
• May Digital Feis — June 4, 2020 

DIGITAL FEIS FEES

• $25 Entry Fee / family
• Solo Dance Entry - $10 with medal (USD) / per dance 

MORE ON DIGITAL FEIS 

If you have any questions about Digital Feis, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

Shayleen McConnell Finucan (ODCRN)

McConnell School of Dance

MSD UPDATE - APRIL 2020

APRIL 2020 - LESSON UPDATE

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will continue with on-line classes through the month of April and until it is safe for us to return to the studio.  We recognise dancers are looking for activities to keep them active and physical during this time so we have scheduled on-line classes through Spring Break (this week).

We encourage all dancers to enrol in our on-line classes, whether your are a Recreational, Performance, or Competitive student, there are options for all. The goal is to keep our Irish dancers dancing as much as we can during this time and we look forward to seeing as many of you on-line as possible!

• On-line classes are held through ZOOM, a meeting conference service available for all home computers, cell phones, and tablets. 
• In addition to on-line classes, we've created Google Classrooms for each level with helpful at home practice resources including downloadable practice music, dance instructional videos, practice assignments, and more!

We understand on-line classes may not be feasible for all dancers at this time and therefore we will not apply the regular monthly lesson fees for the 2019 - 2020 Fall - Spring Term.  

• All on-line class fees will include the hourly discount rate and multiple family discounts (if applicable).

Dancers who do not register for on-line classes will remain on our circulation list and will continue to have access to the website and all practice resources for the remainder of the season.  We very much hope to see you all back at the studio for regular classes, whenever it is safe for us to do so!

All dancers will need to enrol in on-line classes. Sign up can be done through the STUDENT PORTAL - CLICK HERE

Once enrolled through the STUDENT PORTAL, you will receive an email with login details for your class.

Recreational Division

Recreational dancers are welcome to sign up for any classes listed for their Recreational Division level (please see schedule).  This is a great opportunity to learn new dances and we encourage students to enrol in multiple levels to encompass material they currently know as well as more advanced levels.  We highly recommend Hard Shoe Technique & Traditional Sets for anyone who's interested in more hard shoe dancing!

Competitive Division

Competitive dancers should enrol in every level they are currently competing in dances with.  We've separated most levels into soft shoe and hard shoe classes in order to make it convenient for dancers with spanning multiple levels. 

Performance Division

Performance Division will continue with weekly performance classes and dancers are asked to continue their enrolment in competitive classes for all levels they are currently competing with.

If you're uncertain of which class or classes are best for you, please email info@mcconnelldancers.com and we will assist.

IRISH DANCE AT HOME 

In addition to our on-line classes, we've put together a great deal of resource information for all Irish dancers at home during the break, including practice tips, music information, videos, and teaching tools for younger dancers.  

To learn more, please visit our WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

ON-LINE CLASSES BEGIN!

ON-LINE CLASSES BEGIN

We are please to announce our on-line classes will begin tomorrow!

We have set up an on-line class & private lesson schedule for March 23 - 29th. 2020.  As these are rather uncertain times, we are taking one week at a time.  We encourage all our dancers to join us for on-line classes, whether your are a recreational, performance, or competitive student, there are options for all.   Dancers are encouraged to sign up for as many classes as you are able.  The goal is to keep our Irish dancers dancing as much as we can during these difficult times and we want to see as many of you on-line as possible next week!

• On-line classes will be held using ZOOM, a meeting conference service available for all home computers, cell phones, and tablets. 
• After signing up for the on-line class in the student portal you will receive an email with a URL link to the class "meeting" and password.   You will receive a unique URL & Password for each class you sign up for.  

Sign up can be done through the STUDENT PORTAL - CLICK HERE

If you're uncertain of which class or classes are best for you, please email us and we will assist.

  

IRISH DANCE AT HOME 

In addition to our on-line classes, we've put together a great deal of resource information for all Irish dancers at home during the break, including practice tips, music information, videos, and teaching tools for younger dancers.  

To learn more or sign up for our on-line classes, please visit our WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

DIGITAL FEIS - APRIL 2020

The next Digital Feis deadline is April 4th, 2020 and encourage dancers to send us their videos from home.  As there are a lot of Irish dancers at home right now, April Digital Feis is expected to be very popular.  If you haven't yet tried Digital Feis, this might be a great time and good motivation for all our Irish dancers right now.  We'll be sending more information out next week! 

We hope our all our McConnell Irish Dancers and their families are staying safe and keeping well. 

Our teachers and assistants missing seeing all of you in class and we are looking forward to the day when we can get back to the studio again.  In the meantime, please keep practising at home and we'll look forward to seeing you on-line next week! 

Take care 

Shayleen McConnell Finucan (TMCRN)

ST PATRICKS FEST 2020 - UPDATE

ST PATRICK'S FEST 2020 - UPDATE

Due to the current situation with Covid-19, we are saddened announce the cancellation of this year's St. Patrick's Fest Fundraiser on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at CCFM.

At this time, given the information available, we feel no other option available to insure safety for our dancers, their families, and all of the patrons who support our fundraising event.  

We will be making public announcement very soon with more details. In the meantime we would like our dancers and families to be the first to know St. Patricks' Fest 2020 has been cancelled.

Thank you,

McConnell School of Dance & MSDSA

SUMMER CAMP 2020

Monday July 13th - Friday July 17th, 2020

We are pleased to announce CRN Adjudicator, Trainer, and Dance Master Ms. Ann English along with teacher and 2017 World Champion dancer Deane Shannon will be joining our teaching team for Summer Camp again this year.  We are very excited to have Ann & Deane return for Summer Camp and we hope all of our students are able to take advantage of this unique opportunity to train with some of the best Irish dance teachers in Ireland!

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Summer Camp is offered to all students registered with McConnell School of Dance from Recreational, Performance, Competitive or Brandon Divisions.
• Summer camp is recommended for dancers 6 & up.  All adult students are welcome.
• Dancers who are unable to attend all 5 days of camp may choose to register per day, rather than the full week.

SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE

10:00 am - 4:30 pm 

SUMMER CAMP FEES

Early Bird - By June 1st, 2020

• Full Week - $500 (plus tax)
• Daily Rate - $125 (plus tax)

After June 1st, 2020

• Full Week - $575 (plus tax)
• Daily Rate - $140 (plus tax)

DEADLINE FOR "EARLY BIRD" REGISTRATION - June 1st, 2020

• Due to the logistics of bringing instructors from Ireland, we need to be firm with registration deadline. 
• Space is limited and fees increase after June 1st, 2020.
• No refunds or exchanges.
• Payment processed at the time of registration.

MARCH SCHEDULE UPDATE

MARCH - SCHEDULE UPDATE

As we are coming up for a busy month with "March Madness" we are sending out a schedule update for the next few weeks.  Below we have listed the dates where changes will take place to the schedule.  Classes will continue as schedule for all other dates within the month of March.

Saturday, March 7th 2020 

• Recreational Classes, as schedule (10:00 - 12:00 pm)
• Competitive 1 - 3  as scheduled with Brandon Ardghrád
• Performance Troupe Practise 1:00 - 3:30 PM 

Thursday, March 12th 2020

• Championship Class, as scheduled
• Competitive 1 - 3 as scheduled (no performance dancers)
• Performance Troupe Practise 6:30 - 9:30 PM

Saturday, March 14th, 2020

• Recreational Classes, as scheduled (10 - 12:00 pm)
• No Competitive Classes due to afternoon performances

Monday, March 16th, 2020

• No Brandon classes due to St. Patrick's Fest' set up in Winnipeg and CTV Morning Live at 5:00 am.  Please note, we will be holding a Monday evening class during Spring Break (March 30th) to make up for this missed class.

Tuesday, March 17th, 2020

• No Competitive or Performance Classes - St. Patrick's Day

Thursday, March 19th, 2020

• No Competitive classes due to St. Patrick's Performances (competitive dancers are welcome to attend classes on Wednesday, March 18th to make up for this missed class)

SPRING BREAK REMINDER 

• March 30th - April 5th - No Classes
• Please note there WILL be classes in Brandon on Monday, March 30th.

McConnell School of Dance