To stay around in the scene and because I know that a competition can give me quite a lot of energy, I decide to pay a visit to this Feis. Out of 'precautionary measures', the Feis is now held 2 months later compared to last year, to exclude the possibility that the weather takes a turn for the worse, with all it's related consequences.

This seems to be a good choice. The sky is clear, it almost feels like it's summer with 22 degrees and Leiden/Voorburg appears much more lively.
The Feis is now far busier with people and the number of contestants is far greater.

There is no 'dancing to the bell' this year. Each dancer performs a full routine and than takes a bow.
I get into a chat with one of my fellow students from Haarlem, who still has to take on a few dances.
The dresses the women wear look extraordinary heavy. I noticed that, the first time I saw them, some parts of the dress were hardly flexible and stayed in shape far to good to be starched, especially with all the movement the dresses had to endure.

My suspicion is right: there are plates of plastic in them, which greatly increase the weight of the dress, besides the very thick fabric the dress itself is made off.
Besides my classmate and the teacher I don't know anyone and so I get into a conversation with some adults, including some contestant' parents.
Eventually, the question, how I know about the Feis and why I'm here, follows. Though it's far more busy now, I wouldn't be too surprised if everyone knows eachother and I quickly stand out as a stranger.
They are surprised and admired when I tell them I took classes myself. As I wrote: don't be surprised to be the only male in class and expect only a handful of men at a local Feis.

Irish dance-vibe...

Slowly, the energy returns. The live music the musician plays is very energetic and especially a traditional version of Riverdance's 'Reel around the Sun' gets to me in a positive manner.
Something I notice are two pieces of music the musician starts to play. With a copy of the competitions at hand, I know at which point in the Feis we are, but I feel like I'm caught completely off-guard at some competitions when it comes to the point the dancer has to start dancing away.
I'm completely surprised if the dancer in question suddenly starts to slam her way across the stage on her heavies with no apparent starting-point. Where I thought I was in the right with counting down, I seem to be far too late. Thankfully, I do hear this in the other dances.

There are a few 'Two Hand Reels' as well, a dance done by 2 people, where the hands from the other dancer are held throughout almost all the steps.

A completely different part of dancing gets to me. Well, to my nose to be exact. If you think that only men have their smelly shoes...
Besides me, a contestant takes off her heavy shoes because she still has a round to go on her soft shoes, and swings her heavies on the chair next to me. Within seconds, a 'distinctive' smell rises up to my nose...

Go out with your wig on...

When I head back to the trainstation, 2 contestants accompany me as they don't know the way to it. Because of the many luggage many females carry with them, most of them come by car. One of the females decides to keep on her wig and tiara and walk out in that manner. In my opinion, this shows you have quite some guts, because you become the center of attention automatically.

Some teenagers that are play-fighting outside the building, immediately stop pulling and pushing eachother when the door to the outside world opens. They look at us jawdropped and remain doing so as we walk along.
When we board the train, I can see people looking and thinking: 'Where the hell did she come from?'

• Summer 2012 - beginning of 2013
• Lesson 22. August 31, 2013: First class in almost 18 months...

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