Flashdancer's blog..

If you are already there or are planning on going to the CRN Irish Open 2009, we would love to see any pictures you take and they might just be featured in the July issue of IDM! All you have to do is email your pictures to lucy@irishdancing.com

IDM couldn't make it this year but we wish all the competitors the best of luck and can't wait to hear from you.

Have a great weekend!

Lucy x

The countdown is now on for the Elevation Video Competition as we near the closing date for the chance to win a dress worth £1000! To be in with a chance of winning, this years competition gives you the chance to make your very own Irish dancing video. Create a video of no more than three minutes in length that shows the world: What Irish Dancing means to me! It could be of you and your friends dancing, a puppet show, play...whatever you want! It can be funny, silly, or serious as long as it is dance related and includes the word Elevation...You could shout it, sing it, hold up a sign...anything! All you have to do is...Film your routine on your phone, webcam or video recorder. You can either upload your video to YouTube and send the link to lucy@irishdancing.com or posted on CD to: Elevation Video Competition, IDM, Unit 2.4 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol, BS4 3EH by June 1st 2009. Deadline: June 1st 2009 The best 10 videos will be showcased on both IDM's and Elevation Design's website.
Closing date is June 1st 2009

Were you lucky enough to compete at the Worlds this year? If so, IDM thinks you deserve a medal for doing so well for competing in one of the BIGGEST Irish dancing competitions in the world!
The medal is worth 800 profile points and all you have to do is: Send a message to me with the following information:
Your real name, age and ranking.

Congratulations to everyone who competed this year and for those of you who didn't make it - remember there is always next year and plenty of time to practice!

Love, Lucy x

IDM's Easter Treasure Hunt begins tomorrow so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a piece of hidden treasure and could get 500 profile points! Remember to message me the details of what the treasure is and where you found it. Good luck! Lucy x

IDM is excited to announce the eagerly awaited news of an Easter Treasure Hunt on www.irishdancing.com. Starting on Good Friday (10th April) and finishing on Easter Monday (13th April), there will be treasure hidden somewhere on IDM.com each day. Will it be a cute Easter bunny or a delicious looking Easter egg? Search high and low for the special Easter treasure and send a message to me telling me what it is and where you found it and you will get an Easter medal and.... 500 profile points! Keep your eyes peeled and Good Luck! Lucy x

Back in February, IDM interviewed Maggie McCarthy, a traditional Irish dancer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from Cork. She had just submitted a song for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest called One-On-One and although she didn’t get picked to represent Ireland, she has since achieved success beyond her wildest dreams. Maggie was chosen to fly the Irish flag alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon from Northern Ireland and the vocal group Celtic Thunder as they entertained Barack Obama at the White House on St Patrick’s Day. Can you imagine how excited Maggie must have been and what an achievement it is to perform in front of the President! All of us at IDM headquarters say a big congratulations to her. Check out the video for her song ‘One-on One’ below and you can see how talented she is. Lucy x

Back in February we told all IDMers about a St Patrick's Day competition and just in case any of you have forgotten, here's a quick reminder! We would love to see how you celebrate St Patrick’s day on March 17th so please send your videos in for some great prizes! The person who receives the most votes will win a fantastic medal, a grand total of 5000 profile points and an IDM goody bag, packed full of exciting gifts! Videos must be no longer than three minutes long and the top five will be displayed on the IDM website so you can all vote for your favourite one.
Everyone who submits a video will receive a medal and 100 points. 2nd place will receive a medal and 4000 points, 3rd place will receive a medal and 3000 points, 4th place will receive a medal and 2000 points, 5th place will receive a medal and 1000 points.
All you have to do is send your footage, along with your IDM username, on a DVD to Lucy Reeves, IDM, Wildfire Communications, Unit 2.4, Paintworks, Arnos Vale, BS4 3EH OR upload your footage to YouTube and personal message me the video link. Deadline for entries is: 31st March. Voting will commence throughout April.

We are experiencing a few problems on IDM.com which we are working on at the moment so please don't worry. You may have problems contacting myself and the Admin team so please be patient! We are also having problems on the Daily Prize entries but please don't worry and we will get it sorted asap! Love Lucy x

All of us at IDM headquarters would love to hear from anyone who is in preparation for the 2009 World Championships in Philadelphia. Tell us about your school, which categories you are competing in, how you are preparing for one of the biggest events in the Irish dancing world and whether you have got any tips you can share. I will try and post them on the IDM blog in the lead up to the Worlds. Send all the information to lucy@irishdancing.com along with any photo's you have. Here's the first one:

Sixty dancers from the McDade School of Irish Dance are off to the 2009 World Championships in their hometown, Philadelphia. There are eight solo dancers that have qualified to compete at this prestigious, international competition. In addition to these soloists, there is one eight hand and three dance drama teams-Leaving for America, Ireland's fight for Freedom, and The Princess and the Rooster.

McDade's 8 World Qualifiers let us know why they are excited for the 2009 World Championships.

Fiona Fay-"It's in my hometown, Philadelphia, and my friends and family will be there to support me".

Bridget Egan-"Both my sisters and I qualified this year-it was a very happy Oireachtas for us".

Katie Rosyk-"This will be my first time competing at Worlds-I never thought that I would be a world qualifier!"

Sinead Egan-"Last time I didn't dance my best, and I'm glad to have another opportunity to dance better".

Siobhan Dougherty-"This is the first time I've qualified as a soloist, and I will be dancing on the same drama team with both of my sisters".

Fiona Egan-"For the past three years I've been so close to qualifying, and I am so excited to have finally made it!"

Ali Doughty-"I will get to dance my favorite dances, slip jig and jig, on the Worlds stage".

Alex Reichl-"I finally made it to Worlds as a soloist".

5 Commitments for the 5 Weeks Leading up to Worlds:

Practice 6 days a week
Eat healthy
Get enough rest
Support each other Alwayour hardest s try

Hello! As you all know, IDM launched a Valentines day poetry competition a couple of weeks ago and we have had some fantastic entries so far. Some of you who were lucky enough to be at the All Irelands and were able to hand me your poems in person and I have received a great number of entries by email/post. The competition deadline is March 16th 2009 so there is still plenty of time to put pen to paper. Email your entries to lucy@wildfirecomms.co.uk or send them to the following address: IDM Valentines Day Competition, Unit 2.4, Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bath Road, Bristol, UK, BS4 3EH.
Each person who enters will receive 500 points and a cute badge and the winner will get a badge and 5000 points.

To add to the excitement, I am pleased to announce that we have got an All Irelands 2009 badge for all of you who competed in the competition this year. The badge is worth 800 profile points and all you have to do is message me directly and tell me which category you competed in and how you did. Can't wait to hear from you! Love Lucy x
P.S I hope you are enjoying the March issue of IDM