World Irish Dancer Site, Blog and Podcast has MOVED!

All World Irish Dancer news, blogs, podcasts and updates are now being posted at shellyhathaway.com/irishdance/.

Go to the new site

DIDDLYI MAGAZINE FEATURE: Two Weeks of Run-thru Practice to Prepare for Longs Peak Feis

4th in a series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my progress from Preliminary to Open Championship.

Click here to read it

Riverdance 2009

DIDDLYI MAGAZINE FEATURE: Shelley Irish Dance Company Provides More Stage Experience

3rd in a series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my progress from Preliminary to Open Championship.

Click here to read it

Shelley Irish Dance Company Auditions

We had auditions for Shelley Irish Dance Company Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We have a lot of new girls trying out this year. I'm excited to see who makes the group!

Normally I don't do well with auditions. It's sort of a curse. I get that stage fright freeze-up thing. This time I didn't and had probably the best tryout of my life! No kidding. When I used to play on my high school volleyball team I would have horribly dreadful tryouts...

read full blog

World Irish Dancer Podcast | Episode 17 (Featuring ‘Ghillies Island’ Part 1)

For this episode we didn't have any new info to discuss and I don't have a feis for 3 weeks. So... we tried something new. This episode includes the first part of a new silly audio dramatization series, Ghillies Island. LOL! Get ready for some major dorky cheese-ball fun. :)

Not every WID podcast will have a Ghillies Island episode. We'll just be throwing them in now and then. Let us know what you think!

listen now

DIDDLYI MAGAZINE FEATURE: New Dances For Oireachtas Means Twice As Much Practice

2nd in a series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my progress from Preliminary to Open Championship.

Click here to read it

Irish Dance Switch Leap Step

Tina Shelley just choreographed a switch leap into my Reel for the Oireachtas. Way excited. I love this move!

DIDDLYI MAGAZINE FEATURE: Shelly Hathaway, From Preliminary to Open Championship

Read my first of a series of posts being featured in Diddlyi Magazine. The series will cover my progress from Preliminary to Open Championship. I'm very excited to be featured on Diddlyi!

Click here to read it

Book now for Western Region Irish Dance Oireachtas

I just booked my flight and hotel for the Oireachtas being held next November in Denver, CO. I was so surprised that after only a week the headquarters and overflow hotel were fully booked.

So I did some searching and found that The Crown Plaza is just as close to The Denver Convention Center as the 2 fully booked hotels. I was even more pleased to find that the room rate per night is nearly half the price. $76.00 for a standard room with king/double bed. The headquarters/overflow are charging $139.00 per night for the same type of rooms...

read full blog

World Irish Dancer Podcast (Triple FEISCAST: Utah, Seattle, & So. Calif Review 09) | Episode 16

Three FeisCASTS in one! 2nd place at the Utah feis, and 3rd place at the Southern California Feis in Orange County and the Dance for Life Feis in Seattle, Wa. This podcast has quick review of all three.

Also we talk a little about the 2 new feiseanna starting in Utah this year. The Crossroads Feis has been officially announced on Feisworx for this October. Yay! And… the Shelley School will be throwing a new feis next February. Hope to see everyone there...

listen now

Mind over Muscle

It never fails. Today while trying to perfect my Treble Jig I found I was dancing it too tight and a bit clumsy. I couldn't get it right and as I kept trying I would get more and more tired. I only have so much energy to go all out in one day. So obviously as I got more tired, I got more clumsy and less precise.

Then I remembered that in my mind I dance far better that I do in real life. I closed my eyes and just focused on the music...

read full blog