@Assisted Living performs at Ballard Green in Ridgefield for a wonderful performance on Sunday, May 16th. With numbers from irish and jazz dances, a string duet, a flute soloist, and a ukulele player. Despite a thunderstorm warning, the performance ran smoothly with clear weather.

Alex Dillulio and Coleman Hoffner began the festival with a "Eyeglass Duet for Viola & Cello" by Beethoven. Alex is a senior at Ridgefield High School, with eight years of cello experience. She is also the principal cellist of the RHS orchestra and the WCYO Symphony Orchestra. Coleman is a junior at RHS, playing piano, violin, and cello for years. This beautiful string performance was full of music passion and got the attention of passersby.

Next, Caroline Pickett and Deirdre Smith performed "The Fairy Reel", an irish dance that got the audience clapping. Caroline is a junior at RHS and is the founder of @Assisted Living. She has done Irish dance and competitions for ten years. Some of her accomplishments include placing second and third at the New England Regional Oireachtas. Deirdre is a freshman at Newtown High School with eight years of dancing experience. She has placed first in the New England Regional Oireachtas.

Lauren Brooks is a junior at RHS. Coming from a musical family, she plays guitar, piano, and flute. Lauren is the Newsletter Journalist for @Assisted Living. Lauren played a flute sonata, "Sérénade" by Georges Hue, with fast runs, high range, and an intense tone.

Caroline and Deirdre performed a two-hand reel, incorporating synchronized dancing and partnership. A two-hand reel is a rare type of ceili dance. Ceilis stemmed from fun party dances. These were popular at weddings in ancient Ireland, but they are now performed at competitions.

Lexi Koelzer is a junior at RHS, and she has been dancing all different genres since she was four years old. Lexi danced to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", by The Andrews Sisters, a jazz piece. This jazz boogie brought smiles to everyone who watched, and was performed in honor of National Armed Forces Day.

Caroline and Deirdre performed the "Stolen Kiss Slip Jig", from Lord Of The Dance. A Slip Jig is a beautiful and graceful dance, sometimes called the “ladies’ dance” because it is only performed by girls.

Ella Brown sang and played the ukulele to "You Are My Sunshine", a classic, getting the audience to sing with her. She also played "Falling in Love with You" by Elvis Presley, with the audience singing along. Ella is a junior at RHS and has been playing ukulele for three years and playing the flute for seven years.

Lauren performed another sonata, "Pan" by Johannes Donjon. "Pan" is Donjon’s most well-known romantic piece.

Caroline and Deirdre ended the festival with a fun dance called a treble reel, which was a favorite of many. The treble reel requires heavy shoes to make loud noises, similarly to tap shoes, but different in that tap shoes have metal tips, while hard shoes have fiberglass tips. Please enjoy this video clip below of the treble reel from the live performance!

Thank you to all of our performers and audience members. A special thank you to Caroline Picket and Debra Fanceschini-Gatje for organizing this event! We hope to see you at our next festival!

To learn more about @ Assisted Living's performances, please refer to the "Gallery" tab where you can find photos, videos, and so much more, as well as the "Performances" tab.

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