Adults vs. & Overs: an op-ed on the various pros and cons

This was the first week this term that I missed class. I will let you guys be my judges - I had to skip cause the house we are in the process of buying was being inspected and we kind of needed to be there for it. Valid excuse?

So, to give you an equal break from my class updates, of which I have none, and I am sure you were sick of them anyway, I decided to write about something else this week. After a conversation with one of my besties (who also happens to dance), I was inspired to do this little opinion piece of the various pros and cons of both Adults and &Overs.

For the sake of clarity, I am referring both to the obvious (competitions) but also to classes. I've danced both with the littles and other adults, and while by no means consider myself expert on the subject, I at least have a little knowledge I can share with you, rather then waxing philosophic for another week about my struggling through class. PLEASE, keep in mind these are all just from my personal experience and do not represent all, or even MOST dance classes. All schools and classes are unique

Without further ado:

• Conversation/personal interactions during class/competitions
• "Adults" Pro: 
• peer group
• easier to talk to 
• more shared interests and life experience
•  ability to swear without feeling bad
• "Adults" con; 
• sometimes you end up shooting the shit more and dancing less
• "&Overs" Pro: 
• get to form relationships with youngers, 
• maybe provide a good influence
• show them it's never to late to go after dreams
• "&Overs" con: 
• You have to listen to conversations about Disney Chanel, homework and such statements as "my life is OVER (insert tweeny drama here)" and NOT laugh at how trivial it sounds compared to grown up problems
• kids might look at you like you are weird
• "Aren't you too old for this class" (see some of my previous experiences)
• Practice/Drill time/Class time
• "Adults" Pro: 
• People mainly learning at the same pace as you, 
• people able to focus as long as you, 
• needing the same amount of water breaks as you
• people who understand the aches and pains of being an older dancer
• classes tend to be little less structured, a lot more independent practice and personal input into what you want to work on (this also depends on class size) 
• "Adults" con; 
• If one person needs to sit down for a minute it's tempting for everyone to sit down for a minute (see above, both about being able to converse, and about spending too much time talking lol!)
• "&Overs" Pro: 
• CHALLENGE! 
• Keep up with the kids half your age
• high energy class 
• more strident drilling
•  more repetition of steps (kids with short attention spans need to have the 'learning' part of their steps repeated), 
• usually very structured classes
• "&Overs" con: 
• more repetition of steps (kids with short attention spans need to have the 'learning' part of their steps repeated) - it's both a blessing and a curse. 
• Kids can sometimes just do more then you can, 
• everyone looks at you weird when your trick ankle flares up and you are limping across the room
• Feiseanna
• "Adults" Pro: 
• camaraderie 
• sense of team work 
• get to know everyone in your competition really well 
• less stress/pressure 
• competing against people with similar ages and strength/weakness brackets 
• focus more on competing against your previous best, rather then against the other dancers
• don't have to worry about the blingy outfits and wigs 
• "Adults" con: 
• Smaller competition sizes (depending on region/feis/phase of the moon - some regions have more in adults then in the highest age &overs), 
• Restrictions; must wear tights, can't dance non-trad speeds, can't wear blingy stuff if you want to
• adult catagories at competitions are usually very small, if they exist at all  
• will have to drop down to &overs if you want to go further then prizewinner
• "&Over" pros:
• Bigger competitions (usually)
• varied competition
• If you can beat someone half your age, you know you've earned it
• Can wear the fun dresses - or not. Same for tights (TC usually does have opinions that need to be taken into a consideration no matter where you go though) *Bonus; If you wear a wig, guarantee it will take between 4-10 years off of you!*
• Can keep rising through levels without having to change catagories and re-acclimate yourself to a new competition "set"
• "&Overs Cons:" 
• You are literally competing against 15-20 people who are half your age - ARE YOU CRAZY?
• Younger, sprier bodies mean high jumps, bouncer steps and better stamina with less effort
• More competitors means harder competition
• less people to "hang out" with - you aren't part of the "adults" club to hang out with them between dances, but you are to old to hang out with the teens you dance against.

So .. . there it is. Again, these are just my observations, and there are a lot of variables that need to be taken into consideration. Some teachers are adamant about not wanting the adults to dance with the kids, some prefer it. Some regions have a SUPER active Adults category, while other have none. Some kids classes are super laid back, some adults classes are super competitive. There are no right or wrong answers here. If you are an adult considering a class, take EVERYTHING into consideration and decide what feels right for you. Like I said, I've done both. I've loved doing both. What's right for me now is slogging alongside the kiddos - doesn't mean that down the road kicking butt with fellow adults isn't in the cards for me.

There is only ONE thing for certain - if you are considering taking a class or competing as an Adult, not only CAN YOU . . .but you have OPTIONS. So do it!!!

Feis Results and Cardiac Freak-outs

So - My first Feis, as I am sure you know by now, was on Sunday. I won't flatter myself that you have all been sitting around on tenter-hooks waiting for my results, so I will keep this brief. . . . . I tanked.

My nervous breakdown the night before seemed to have had cleared up nicely by the crack of dawn - which I saw, incidentally, having to wake up as early as I did. I felt well rested, despite having been up til midnight trying to finish learning my second slip jig step. The trip was smooth and we arrived early. Got the wig on, did a little make up, then piled inside and quickly gloamed onto the first people from school that I knew, who were incidentally, dancing in my comps. We all got ready, and compared stage schedules.

We'll put it this way, nerves didn't hit until I was lining up for the Reel competition. I managed to keep my knees from buckling out from under me, but according to the darling Boy, you could see my wig vibrating, even if you couldn't tell I was shaking! I managed to get through first step, then realized that I was right in front of the judge and freaked out, and totally forgot my second step.

Slip jigs didn't go much better. In fact, kind of the same. First step went flawlessly, second . . .not so much. I totally did great on my Light Jig. Not that I placed. Or that I needed to place..

So all in all, I was disappointed, but not surprised. I went,  I got up, I danced and I had fun! I learned what to expect and have a better idea of what to push myself on before next Feis in June. I also found consolation in my scores from the Judges. I was literally only a point away from 3rd place in Light Jig, and the judge said I had nice lifts! Reels, I needed to be on my toes more, but again, was only like 2 points away from third. Slip jigs were further behind, four points from third, but considering less then 14 hours previous to competing I didn't even KNOW the step, I won't complain about a fourth out of nine!



So first class post-competition was tonight, right? And I was going over my scores with my TC, and she agreed, considering how nervous I was, my scores weren't bad. However, I also expressed the fact that I REFUSE to do as badly at the next Feis.

With this determination, and a few encouraging words from the teacher, I start pushing hard through my treble reel. I mean, pushing HARD. And about half way through I started having that old familiar wheezy painful feeling in my chest that I haven't felt in like five years. Since before my heart surgery. Like I seriously had to walk out of class. Now before we all start panicking about my cardiological state, calm down! Don't PANIC! It wasn't as nearly as bad as it used to get. Like, not even a fraction of what it used to be. But the fact that I felt it freaked me out a bit and it took me a little while to get it together again. And then there was the whole brief explanation to my poor teacher who I literally walked out on right while she was talking to me. I forgot how shocked people get when I drop the "I had heart surgery five years ago" bomb. It just shook me up a bit. Medically speaking, my heart just can't handle going from 0-60 in 8 bars of music. I need to warm up. Build up slowly.

Anyhoo. . .  class kicked my butt tonight. But I am glad it did. I felt I worked hard, and despite the MASSIVE pain I'm in now (legs, feet, shoulder, knees . . .) I think and feel like it was worth it. And the best part is that I know that this is one thing that wouldn't have been any easier as a kid. My stage fright would have been a THOUSAND times worse. I was socially awkward and shy. And before my surgery, I wouldn't have made it through a class like that without collapsing. So . . . perks to being a adult. YAH!