Ceili #1

This evening I got a call from my friend Hali asking if I wanted to go check out a ceili in Locust Point (@J.Patrick's bar) with her. This has been something that I've wanted to check out for awhile.

Well, actually I can pinpoint my interest to CCDS'07 when I danced a Kerry set to Jim Morrison calling to the inexperienced among us. That week I danced 2/3 different Kerry sets (Jim and Owen both called for us). I also was excited to see set dancing at the Dandelion Romp that I went to in April (even missing out on making banana bread to go dance them).

Anyways...back to tonight! We made our way down there, and were pleasantly surprised, not only by how easy it was to find, but also to find a good, easy, close parking spot. Always a good start to the evening! We were both nervous about going (which is why we went together) especially since she'd had a rough experience trying to jump into sets in Ireland (she went/is going to art school there). I made the mistake of wearing flip flops. As it turns out, the first set we were there for needed another person. I jumped in, and had a blast. The group seems really friendly and helpful! I was lectured about the dangers of dancing sets in flip flops, at the same time I was given major complements about how they wished I'd worn real shoes so that I could dance more. Several people told me how good I did, as well as offering to bring in shoes for me to borrow if I told them when I would be back.

Hali and I watched a few more sets, and then it was over. :( So... we got food. Wow was I surprised at how good the food was. And the food was a lot more reasonably priced than the drinks were (5.40 for 2 fountain cokes????), but the fish and chips were AWESOME!!

As the dancers were clearing out, we also found out that if we show up on any Friday other than the first, we should be able to dance then too. Yay! I feel like (once I get proper shoes) this would be a really fun group to be a part of.

Overall, the group was really friendly and encouraging, but definitely a crowd for an intermediate/experienced dancer only. Most of the figures are talked through first, but not taught. And the musicians were very willing to work with the dancers to find appropriate tunes, and of course, they were also high energy players.

In case anyone's curious: The ceili at J.Patrick's is held every 2nd Sunday from 4:30 til 8:30. Most of the info I found online was from Set Dancing News and J.Patrick's "page"