Little Bouncing Girls with Lots of Bouncing Curls (and Some Boys)

Over the weekend of December 5 and 6 we were in Dallas for a very special event (to be described in a separate posting).  We ventured into the Dallas Hilton Anatole Hotel and Convention Center looking for a place to eat and found ourselves in a strange new world.  We were surrounded  by HUNDREDS, if not thousands, of contestants in the Regional Irish Dancing Competition.  The region runs from Mexico, up through Texas, then along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard all the way to Maryland.  Winners, by age group, will compete next at the national level and those winners will go to the world championship.  There is a lot of money going into this endeavor.

Not sure why, but curly wigs were all the thing.  Someone's ad campaign had definitely paid off. 

 The only way to avoid a blurry photo was to find a group sitting down.  If standing, they were bouncing.

Not all of the wigs bounced.

The atrium outside the ballrooms was packed with nervous dancers waiting for their turn to compete.

This was a competition between two high school-aged teams having to do the compulsories, meaning each team was having to do the same dance.

I shot some videos of these competitions but have failed at successfully downloading them.  If anyone can give me some instructions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Sunday morning we had breakfast with Linda Gantt before her flight back to Pittsburgh and a two hour drive to her lakeside home in the hills of West Virginia.

Next we were fortunate to have lunch with the Dunn's and their two adorable grandchildren.  We appreciated their willingness to drive into Dallas from their home in the burbs.

Lucille holding Colin with big sister, Sophie, standing by.

I think Sophie would be the perfect Irish dancer - she's Irish and wouldn't have to wear a wig.  She's definitely got the bouncing curls.  I regret that she informed in no uncertain terms that she couldn't possibly take on another after-school activity.  She's already studying ballet and must practice all the time.

Proud granddad Bill

It was wonderful to get to visit with them, even if briefly, and to see both of them so happy in their retirement.