News - Courtney McMahon School of Irish Dance


Sponsored by: Registered with:	John Flanagan Memorial Feis, Oxford, 29/30th Nov. '08 Hannah Cragg (U8) 2nd Light Jig (Primary) 2nd Hornpipe (Intermediate) 5th Reel (intermediate) Beliz Aygin (U9) 5th Reel (Primary) 3rd Hop Jig (Primary) 1st Hornpipe (Primary) Megan Slamaker (U9) 5th Reel (Beginner) 3rd Hornpipe (Beginner) 2nd Heavy Jig (Primary) Emma Freeman (U10) 2nd Reel (Primary) 2nd Hop Jig (Primary) 2nd Heavy Jig (Primary) 2nd Hornpipe (Intermediate) Amy Underwood (U10) 1st Heavy Jig (Primary) 1st Hornpipe (Primary) 3rd Hop Jig (Primary) Jemma Selves (U13) 2nd Round 1 of Preliminary Championship 1st Reel (Intermediate) 1st Hornpipe (Intermediate) 3rd Slip Jig (Intermediate) Selina Patel (U14) 1st Light Jig (Intermediate) 3rd Reel (Intermediate) 3rd Slip Jig (Intermediate) Well done girls! You all advanced a grade in at least one dance. Emma and Amy look as though they will both reach the Open grade by the end of the year, just nine months from when they took their first Irish dance class. Fantastic! Deegan Feis, Welwyn Garden City, 15th November '08 Niamh McGlynn (U5) 4th Reel Beginner Levi Redworth (U6) 1st Reel (Intermediate) 3rd Light Jig (Open) 3rd Hop Jig (Open) 3rd Premier Championship Isabel Eden (U7) 3rd Light Jig (Beginner) Poppy O'Connor (U8) 1st Light Jig (Beginner) 3rd Hop Jig (Beginner) 5th Heavy Jig (Beginner) Hannah Cragg (U8) 5th Heavy Jig (Intermediate) 4th Hornpipe (Intermediate) Megan Slamaker (U9) 4th Light Jig (Beginner) 3rd Heavy Jig (Beginner) Bridget Redworth (U10) 4th Light Jig (Open) 3rd Hop Jig (Intermediate) 4th Hornpipe (Intermediate) Recalled and placed 3rd in the Preliminary Championship Leia Walker (U10) 5th Reel (Beginner) Amy Underwood (U10) 3rd Hornpipe (Primary) Caitlin Casey (U10) 3rd Light Jig (Primary) 2nd Reel (Primary) 2nd Hornpipe (Primary) 4th Heavy Jig (Intermediate) Harley Wooler (U10) 5th Heavy Jig (Intermediate) Eleanor Hobbs (U11) Recalled and placed 4th in the Preliminary Championship Sophie Stevens (U12) 2nd Reel (Intermediate) 2nd Light Jig (Primary) Michelle McKenzie (U14) 1st Reel (Intermediate) - Congratulations on reaching the Open grade! 5th Light Jig (Intermediate) 4th Hop Jig (Intermediate) 5th Heavy Jig (Intermediate) 3rd Hornpipe (Intermediate) Selina Patel (U14) Recalled and placed 5th in the Preliminary Championship Levi charms audience of 5,500 at the Royal Albert Hall Click image to view gallery Levi Redworth, aged 6, made a big impression with his solo Irish dance performance at the world's biggest 'Alternative Hair Show' at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday October 19th. The agency that booked Levi was thrilled with his performance, not surprising given that he received the biggest applauds of the evening. Dancer of the month, November 2008 Chloe Flynn Congratulations to Chloe on her performance upgrade, and her mum Lorraine, for her superb support. Chloe is eligible for a free one hour's tuition, with a dancer of her choice. The contenders were... Amy Underwood, Olivia Moore, Leia Walker Doherty Feis, Wolverhampton, 1st & 2nd November, '08 Chloe Flynn (U15) - Championship winner! Chloe was the unanimous winner of the U15 Preliminary Championship, securing the maximum possible 300 grid marks, 1st place with each of the three adjudicators. Selina Patel (U14) Recalled, 5th overall in the U14 Preliminary Championship. Selina was judged the best overall dancer in Round 3, securing two first and one second place for her set dance. Michelle McKenzie (U14) Recalled, 8th in the U14 Preliminary Championship. 2nd Reel (Intermediate) 2nd Heavy Jig (Intermediate) 3rd Trophy Heavy Jig (Intermediate) 2nd Light Jig (Intermediate) 3rd Trophy Light (Intermediate) Jemma Selves (U13) Recalled, 5th in the U13 Preliminary Championship. Jemma performed an excellent Round 3, securing one first and two second places. Eleanor Hobbs (U11) 6th place, Round 1 of Preliminary Championship Irish gig @ The Mick Jagger Centre, Oct. 29th & 30th Click image to view galllery Two stunning, fun packed evenings of entertainment. The music was first-rate. Tim Edey led a magical line-up that inlcuded Jon Sanders (Guitar and ulelele), Lucy Randall (bodhran) and Isabel Crowe (fiddle and vocals). Dancers had a brilliant time, both on stage and backstage, and everyone was delighted to see the young performers presented with Certificates of Achievement, courtesy of Youth Dance England's 'U.Dance' initiative. Bring on the next event! East of England Feis 2008 Congratulations to Jemma & Chloe! Runners-up in the U13 and U15 Open Preliminary Championships. Jemma Selves (U13) Recalled & 2nd overall in Open Preliminary Championship 1st, 1st and 2nd with the three adjudicators in the Set Dance. Chloe Flynn (U15) Recalled & 2nd overall in Open Preliminary Championship 1st, 1st and 3rd with the three adjudicators in the Set Dance. Go girls! Click image to view gallery Emma Freeman (U10) 2nd Light Jig (Beginner) 2nd Hornpipe (Primary) 5th Heavy Jig (Primary) Emma has only been dancing for six months, and she has reached the Intermediate grade. Thomas Freeman (U8) 6th Light Jig (Beginner) Joseph Loughlin Memorial Feis 2008 Joe looking chuffed with his 1st place wins in the Reel and Heavy Jig Click image to view gallery from Saturday Click here to view gallery from Sunday 33 top-five places, click here to view (pdf) Bexley's civic celebration of Irish culture: St. Patrick's Day 2009 We are honoured to have been invited again to co-host, with the Mayor of Bexley, Cllr. Nick O'Hare, Bexley's 2009 St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Saturday 14th March will be the date for our gala evening of Irish entertainment. Class Feis - 14th September '08 What a great day! Our championship winners were: Levi Redworth Jamie Roostan Bridget Redworth Selina Patel Eleanor Hobbs Click to view results (pdf) Click image to view gallery Click here to view second gallery Dancer of the Month, Sep. '08 Congratulations to Caitlin Morris our dancer o the month for September. Read more... Dancer of the month, Aug. '08 Chloe Flynn is our first dancer of the month. Read more... Levi Triumphs Levi Redworth has advanced from the 'Beginner' to the 'Open' grade in record time. Read more... Bexleyheath School's Arts Festival 2008 15th - 22nd July 2008 We were delighted to be invited to showcase Irish dancing as part of Bexleyheath School's 2008 Arts Festival. Dance workshops are being held over a five day period to give pupils in years 7, 8 & 9 a flavour of Irish dance. In this brief introduction to Irish dance, pupils work on postural alignment, balance and basic movement drills, as well as learn and perform a traditional ceili dance. Click here to view feedback from pupils and teachers. Chatsworth Infant School Sidcup, Monday, July 7th, 2008 Chloe Flynn, Jemma Selves, Siobhan Hansbury and Sophie Stevens performed at a special assembley as part of Chatsworth's multi-cultural week. The girls enjoyed the very hospitable reception given to them by Chatsworth teachers and pupils, and they were delighted to receive a lovely thank you card and gifts. Solent Feis 2008 Twenty one top five places, of which eight were accounted for by Beliz. Read more... Danson Festival Saturday, July 5th 2008 Thankfully the clouds cleared and Courtney McMahon dancers put on a fine performance of Irish dance at the Danson festival, Bexley's largest outdoor annual event, in blazing sunshine. Click image to view gallery Bedonwell Summer Fete: Saturday, June 28th Dancers performed both hard and light shoe steps to the delight of adults and children at Bedonwell Junior School's summer fete. Seamus & Marie Moore Memorial Feis June 7th & 8th, 2008 Twenty-five top-five places Read more... Feis Glendarragh Megan Slamaker (U9) 4th Reel (Beginner) Costello Feis Results, 17th May 2008 Atlanta Dairinn Lucas (U8) 4th Reel (Open) 4th Hop Jig (Open) 6th Open Championship Beliz Aygin (U8) 3rd Hornpipe (Primary) Emma Freeman (U10) 1st Reel (Beginner) 5th Hop Jig (Beginner) Alice Topping (U14) 5th Reel (Primary) 4th Hop Jig (Intermediate) Special mention to Emma Freeman who only started Irish dancing 11 weeks ago. Kinsella Feis, 26 & 27th April, 2008 Twenty-four 'top five places' - well done! Levi Redworth (U6) 1st Light Jig, 5th Reel & 4th Hop Jig Francesca O'Connor (U7), 3rd Hop Jig Hannah Cragg (U8) 1st Hornpipe, 1st Heavy Jig, 2nd Reel Atlanta Dairinn Lucas (U8) 4th Open Reel, 5th Heavy Jig, 4th Open Championship Grace Quirk (U8), 3rd Hop Jig, 3rd Heavy Jig Beliz Aygin (U9) 4th Light Jig Bridget Redworth (U10) 5th Reel, 4th Light Jig, 3rd Hop jig, 4th Hornpipe Casey Ovenell (U12) 2nd Reel, 2nd Heavy Jig Sheridan Casey (U13) 5th Reel, 2nd Hornpipe Alice Topping (U14) 4th Reel and Michelle McKenzie (U14) 5th Reel, 4th Light Jig Special mention to: Levi, Emma, Amy and Francesca who were all placed in the top ten at their first feis and to Sheridan and Hannah who moved up to the Intermediate grade. Conway Lally Feis, 12th & 13th April, 2008 Twenty-four 'top five' places from just 12 dancers that attended this competition. Read more... Courtney McMahon Dancers On-Tour On St. Patrick’s Day, 20 dancers will tour the borough of Bexley, Kent in a chauffeured coach, staging Irish dance performances at five primary schools. link to Dancing in Kent article (pdf format) link to THIS IS LOCAL LONDON article (40 local newspapers online) St. Patrick’s Day, 2008 We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in style at the civic offices of Bexley council in Kent. The borough’s Mayor, Cllr. Nigel Betts, acted as host for an evening of music, song, and dance. Read more... Old Colfeians, RFC club Some of the school’s dancers performed at an Irish evening at The Old Colfeians Rugby Football Club on Saturday 15th March. Feedback from the organisers has been effusive: “Many thanks for coming to the club on Saturday evening and for bringing your amazing dancers down for the display. Everyone was extremely complimentary on your team and certainly went to making the night a real success. Please pass all our thanks to all involved, dancers, and parents alike for their time. From the clubs point of view they feel it was one of the best club nights that they had in a long time, so well done!” Dara Lynch link to Dancing in Kent article (pdf format) We are thrilled to announce the musical top billing for our event at the Mick Jagger Centre - the world renowned Tim Edey band. An awesome talent, Tim is a master of more than ten instruments. Regarded by many as one of the finest melodeon and guitar players in the Celtic music folk scene worldwide, Tim has worked with most of this scene’s biggest stars including Sharon Shannon, Michael McGoldrick, Steve Cooney, Seamus Begley, Mary Black, Altan, Capercaillie members Donald Shaw and Charlie McKerron, Lunasa and Flook. Tim has an original composition on Sharon Shannon’s huge selling worldwide release ‘The Sharon Shannon’ collection released in 2005, and is much in demand as a session musician, composer and producer. Link to the Tim Edey band Listen to a track from 'Tim Edey - Irish Music from the Dingle Peninsula and Beyond' album. Copyright Tim Edey mcps/prs This text will be replaced by the flash music player.	Behind the scenes at the Mick Jagger Centre Photography by Grace Roostan Click image to view gallery Christmas Party Our School Christmas Party Friday December 19th, 6.30pm to midnight Click image to view flyer Click image to view article (pdf) An official letter from the Mayor of Dartford, Cllr. Ian Armitt. J.P. Click image to view letter (pdf) We have been invited to take part in 'Dance for Life' by the British Red Cross. This event is one of the largest youth dance events in south-east England, and is a fun and exciting opportunity for young people to perform on stage in front of their family and friends, while raising money for the largest humanitarian network in the world. The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We have been successful in securing a coveted place on Dance Links latest professional training programme for dance practitioners. Training focuses on best practice in the planning, delivery and evaluation of dance projects within the curriculum and after school. Dance links is funded by the Physical Education School Sports and Young People (PESSYP) through the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). Click here to view Nov.'08 Dancing in Kent article (pdf) Youth Dance England has included our evenings of Irish music, song and dance at the Mick Jagger Centre on Oct. 29th & 30th within the U.Dance network of events. This means that we can take advantage of being part of a national programme which aims to provide every child and young person with the opportunity to take part in a dance performance each year. U.Dance have provided us with impressive branded Certificates of Achievement, to be presented to all performers by the Mayor of Dartford on the evening of the 30th October. Click image to view article (pdf) Click here to view web article Dancer of the Month October '08 Congratulations to Sheridan Casey ((U13) and Emma Freeman (U10), our joint winners. Sheridan is starting to transform into a very fine dancer, with a very sharp style. Her focus and work ethic has vastly improved, and is paying dividends. Emma's attitude is first class. She is a fearless, incredibly hard working dancer whose rate of progress is astounding. Emma is a superb role model for all the Open class. Focus, determination, hard work and listening to your teachers pays off. Both girls are entitled to a free hour's private tutition with a dancer of their choice. The dancer needs to have the same steps Levi selected to dance at the Royal Albert Hall on October 19th The talent scouts shortlisted five dancers and the agency's choreographer attended our classes on Tuesday October 7th. Their final choice on this occasion is Levi Redworth. Class Feis media coverage Click here to view Bexley Chronicle article (pdf) Click here to view News Shopper article (pdf) Ladies night - Southend-on-Sea "I’ve had so many comments from all who attended and how impressed everyone was with the performance, the girls and boys should be very proud of themselves. It’s the first time at one of our functions that the performers have received a standing ovation, so please pass on our thanks and best wishes to all". Duncan R. Major Festival Organiser for Priory Lodges 1000 Our website makes the Easily top 10 Easily.co.uk, the UK's leading domain name and wesbite hosting company has listed us in their top 10 customer websites. Link to top ten listing Levi makes the No. 1 Spot Click here to view Bexley Chronicle, September 2008 article (pdf) A message from the Mayor Dear Nick, It was a pleasure that you invited us to be part of your special day. Maria and I, were very impressed with all the young girls and boys, they certainly work very hard to achieve their goals in Irish dancing and a credit to you and your brother and your staff for being such good teachers, and brilliant role models for the kids. Our thanks to all the parents for making the day so special and for their hard work in encouraging their children to learn something worthwhile. Once again, thanks and best wishes. Cllr. Nick O'Hare Mayor for the London Borough of Bexley Two dancing divas - Poppy O'Connor (on the right) and Jamie Roostan We raised over four hundered pounds. Enormous thanks to the many incredible parents that lent their support. Thank you! Click image to view gallery Summer fundraiser The evevening was great fun and we raised £301.70, after costs, towards the school fund. Read more... Dancers win talent contest Two dancers from the Courtney McMahon School of Irish Dance took 1st and 2nd place in Brampton Primary School's 2008 Talent Contest. The contest was open to all 420 pupils and finalists had to perform in front of the whole school. Caitlin Morris was the overall winner, and Taylor Steele was runner-up. Congratulations to both girls on their fine performances. Maguire O'Shea Feis, London E2 Thirty top-five places. Congratulations to Levi Redworth on reaching the 'Open' grade, the day before his sixth birthday. Read more... Siopa Rince Teoranta A fund has been set up to assist parents of Open grade dancers. Read more... Coventry Celtic Championships Saturday June 14th Sophie Stevens (U11) 1st Heavy Jig (Round 1 of Preliminary Championship) 4th Set Dance (Round 3) 6th overall in Preliminary Championship Very well done to Sophie on placing 6th in her first preliminary open championship, and on winning the hard shoe round. Saturday, June 7th: Dancers delight! Dancers from the Courtney McMahon School were contracted to perform at a private party held in the grounds of a Surrey country house. Hosted by the owners of an international events company, guests were delighted with the dynamic hard shoe routines. Link to press article (pdf) Click image to view gallery Congratulations to Nathan Probert Nathan plays football for Welling Utd, winners of the final in the U8s London Playing Fields, summer festival at the Marathon Ground this weekend. Murchu-Duiginn Feis Results, 10th & 11th May, 2008 Some stunning results from our dancers, 29 top-five places. Read more... Supporting 'Friends of Brampton Primary School' We are happy to continue supporting local primary schools in their fundraising activities. Dancers will stage performances at these schools' summer fetes. We will, whenever possible, happily lend support to Bexley schools in their fundraising efforts. For further information, call 020 8305 0605 Link to press article (pdf) Supporting the charity, the Irish in Greenwich On Friday 14th March, young dancers from the Courtney McMahon school will perform at a special lunch organised by the Irish in Greenwich at Falconwood Community Centre. The Mayor of Bexley, Cllr. Nigel Betts will be attending the lunch. link to Dancing in Kent article (pdf format) link to THIS IS LOCAL LONDON article (40 local newspapers online) McGahan Lees Feis, Chelmsford, 8th & 9th March, 2008 Some fantastic results from this competition. Just 14 dancers took part, and of these eight placed in the top five of their competitions. For two dancers, it was their very first feis – Romy Hares (under 7) and Lauren Jones (under 8) – both girls coped superbly. Some particularly notable successes: Francesca O’Connor – who won the primary Hop Jig at her first attempt; Bridget Redworth – a double 1st; Michelle McKenzie – 1st place in the primary Hornpipe, and just one place off moving up a grade in the heavy jig; Beliz Aygin - 2nd place in the Hornpipe. Pictured above, Sophie Stevens, aged under 12, gets her first heavy dance into the open grade at only her second attempt. Trainor Feis 2008 Eleanor Hobbs, aged under 11, gets her second heavy dance into the open grade. Congratulations!