Welcome backkkkk
It’s been an exciting past few weeks here in Dublin, with the sun beginning to shine, some spring break travel, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations kicking off this weekend! However, one of the most exciting events thus far has been something I had been rehearsing for and working towards for awhile: Intervarsities!
Intervarsities occur across multiple societies, and it’s a type of competition in which a bunch of other teams from other Irish universities come together and compete against each other. Back in October of last year, I decided to try out for the Contemporary Dance Intervarsities Team for DUDance (Trinity’s dance society), and luckily enough I made the team! So ever since October, the girls and I had been practicing weekly to learn the choreography for our piece, which we got to compete with a few weeks ago!
This year, Dance Intervarsities was hosted by DCU, one of the other colleges located in Dublin. They have this beautiful complex dedicated to the performing arts called the Helix, with multiple stages, practice rooms, and studios. The day before the competition, we all made our way to DCU to embark in a dress rehearsal, which was so organized and run on a very tight schedule. We got to rehearse on the stage for ten minutes total, with some rehearsal time in the practice rooms after. Shout out to the contemporary captains Sarah and Cora for running those practices with such little time, it was super impressive. We were at DCU from 10am to 1pm, and then had to rush back to Trinity’s campus to grab a quick lunch before our on campus performance!
Since the competition wasn’t being held on Trinity’s campus, the only way for our friends and family to come watch was through a performance that the DU Dance Society put together for everyone. Although there’s no performance space on Trinity’s campus, we made do with what we had and held it in the debating chamber. It was super nice to see everyone’s friends and family coming out to support them, and my friends came to support me which was so kind of them.
Anywho, the next day, we had to be back at DCU by 8:30am for the start of what would be a very long, but fun Intervarsities day. Hair and makeup had to be ready, so we used the two hours before the competition to stretch and get nerves out. Contemporary was the first category of the day, so we really had to be up and ready to go as early as possible. When it came to our time, the energy in the auditorium was spectacular. One of the best parts about being on a Trinity dance team was the amount of support every team gave one another, so the cheers we heard when we entered the stage were electric. This was also my first time back at a dance competition since sophomore year of high school, so I was feeling so much excitement that I hadn’t felt in a while.
After our spectacular performance (if I do say so myself), we ran back to rest before greeting those who were able to come and support us. Once the contemporary category was over, we spent the rest of the day cheering on all of the other Trinity teams in their respective categories, shaking the walls with our foot stomps. At around 6:30pm, it was awards time. Unfortunately, our team did not place in the top three for Contemporary, however our overall score was an 80/100, which is pretty phenomenal in my books. However, the Trinity Irish Team placed first in their category, and the Trinity Hip-Hop Team placed third in their category, with one of their dancers receiving an award for her performance.
After a long, yet electric two days, we had such a fun time bonding with one another and cheering on the respective teams. It was so much fun to be back in a competition environment, doing the thing that I love most. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, which is all due to the wonderful Captain, Co-Captain, and teammates I had the pleasure of dancing with. Feel free to watch our performance here!
Until Next Time,
Emilee
