Thursday, November 3, 2011

I'm not even Irish! (A Trinity Review)

Over 11 years ago, my husband and I made it a tradition to attend the St. Patrick's Day Parade each year.  We would dress in green, with shamrocks, flags and Aran wool sweaters and fight our way on the "el" to get Downtown to a local spot where all of his family met.  We would bring cookies and sandwiches and hot cocoa of course, Chicago IS the Windy City.  And we had a great time year after year watching the floats pass us by.  But my favorite had to be the Irish Dancers, and I am not even Irish!  The steps that we would see from the tiny girls to the oldest dancers were just amazing.  How their feet could move so fast, and their perfect curls, just beautiful!  I looked forward to seeing them each year. 

As the years went on and we started bringing our children to the parade, my eldest daughter, now 7, said to us at the age of 2, "I want to do that when I am 5" (meaning Irish dance).  And even though we gave her the option to start when she was four, she said, "No, I will wait until I am 5!"  She is now on her 3rd year of Irish dance with the Trinity Irish Dancers and has already been performing with TPT (Trinity Performance Troupe) for 2 years.  Her sister is following in her footsteps and started dancing just before she turned 4 and is in her 2nd year of classes and also has 1 year of performances under her belt.

Taste of Trinity - Field Museum Performance (age 5)
It is amazing what Trinity has brought to our daughter's and to our family.  Not only are they learning about their culture, they are learning confidence and teamwork in an environment which they look forward to going to each week.  My oldest daughter has started competing and she is learning how to win and lose with grace as well as growing into a confident young lady who has a goal.
 
Our Girls prior to a Performance (age 7 & 4)
I have never felt more a part of a community than I do with Trinity, I call them family.  Not only are our kids benefiting from this organization but my husband and I are benefiting as well.  Not only have our girls' made lifelong friends, but we have met many friends that will remain our friends for a lifetime as well.  We look forward to seeing each other while our children are in class as well as outside of the studio, and with the many family activities that Trinity brings to us, we always have the opportunity to make more.

The final thing I would like to share about Trinity is the camaraderie that you find amongst the dancers both big and small.  The younger dancers look up to the older dancers and see them as mentors, they are the big brothers and big sisters of Trinity.  They all are part of one big family and I would trust any one of them with my children.  The older dancers are mature beyond their years, and deserve praise for their commitment and love of Irish dance.
My daughter's big sisters, Trinity II dancers!
If you are looking for a way to honor your Irish Heritage and would like to enroll your child in classes that will inspire them or to book a show and have the Trinity Irish Dancers perform for your next event check out their website:  http://www.trinityirishdancers.com/ 

That's Right, "I'm not even Irish", but I love what Trinity has to give to my family!



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