Last week, 4 of our champion dancers traveled to Killarney, Ireland to compete in the All Irelands Championships. Two came home with medals in competitions of over 200 dancers (Imani receiving 25th Place & 51st Place in her solo rounds, and Eva 50th Place in a solo round). Hear what they have to say below!
Oireachtas Rince h'Eireann! (All Irelands)
Did you know?
Oireachtas Rince h'Eireann is the oldest Irish dancing competition, established in 1932.
Competitiors from all over the world attended, including:
Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, USA, Austria, Germany, Russia, Australia, Argentina, South Africa, & the Netherlands
3000 competitors participated
Competitors could win prizes by speaking Gaelic to the vendors and were encouraged to ask for their number in Gaelic.
Hear from our dancers!
Imani on Stage at the All Irelands
IMANI
1. What was you favorite thing/experience in
Ireland? -I really like how everywhere you go everything is really green and fresh looking. I also really like when I went to the Book of Kells and saw a piece of history of Ireland.
2. What was something you learned while in Ireland? - I learned from the Book of Kells that the book has it own alphabet. I thought that was really cool.
3. What skill/technique did the dancers have there that you would like to incorporate into your dancing? -In some of my competitors steps the had a lot of spins and birds. They also had some slices in treble jig and more rhythmic fancy footwork pieces. In some of their lead-a-rounds they had lots of slides and glided across the stage.
4. What was your favorite thing about the All Irelands Competition? -I really liked how you can recall in just an individual round so you get more opportunities to go home with a medal.
Eva performing her final move in her first Round at the All Irelands
EVA:
1. What was you favorite thing/experience in Ireland? -I had so many incredible experiences in Ireland, but I think my favorite part
of the trip was getting a day before the dancing started to just explore and enjoy the fact that we were in Ireland. We went to the Muckross House and got to go hiking through this amazing forest near a beautiful lake, and the entire experience seemed so surreal.
I love hikes and to be able to do that in a place like Ireland was just incredible and made me so grateful for the opportunity.
2. What was something you learned while in Ireland? –I actually learned a lot of random things like how to count to ten in Gaelic,
that house pets in Ireland are not typically kept inside, and probably some other unrelated facts that aren't relevant at all. Other than that, the most useful thing I learned was that before I dance, I need to put myself in a different mentality than I do
now because for me, when I think about how badly I need a certain placement and how good I need to dance, I think about all that could go wrong and start to put myself in a bad position. Rather, I learned to put myself in a mentality that makes me feel like
I need to show off because when I know I'm with a lot of amazing dancers, I feel like I need to prove myself and dance the best I can. Obviously, that's not the best advice for everyone, but I think I dance the best when I'm trying to show off or prove myself,
so that works for me!
3. What skill/technique did the dancers have there that you would like to incorporate into your dancing? - I think that overall the dancers there had amazing overs, birds, and other jumps like that, so that is definitely something I will be working on this year because they look so beautiful and I think my dancing would really benefit from having better jumps.
4. What was your favorite thing about the All Irelands Competition? - I think my favorite thing about the competition itself was, oddly enough, the practice room. It was really interesting to watch all of the amazing dancers and it really helped me to try to imitate some of their techniques I really liked on stage. Like I said, I dance best when I'm trying to show off, so being in a room like that really helped me to try and practice my hardest.
As far as additional comments, I really want to thank Ms.Emma and Ms.Erin for encouraging me both at the competition and in the weeks leading up to it. I didn't get the placement I wanted, but because of them, I was able to dance my best, and I can't wait for Nationals.
Nora mid-Jump in her first round at the All Irelands
NORA:
1. What was you favorite thing/experience in Ireland? – The size of the competition was a big thing for Nora. She liked that
2. What was something you learned while in Ireland? – Nora learned to count to 10 in Gaelic and to learn that the most important thing at a big competition like that is to do your very best
3. What skill/technique did the dancers have there that you would like to incorporate into your dancing? -Higher on the toes
4. What was your favorite thing about the All Irelands Competition? - The fact that there was SO many dancers, you can actually take the time to watch the competition and see all the different choreography and styles.
Anna Kate Celebrating with a “CurlyWurly” chocolate bar after her 1st round - a much sought after treat for our dancers :)
ANNA KATE
1. What was you favorite thing/experience in Ireland? - I loved seeing all the mountains and fields going on for miles- I loved running around our family farm. One of my favorite times was meeting and spending time with my relatives from Ireland
2. What was something you learned while in Ireland? -I learned that there are a lot of amazing dancers in Ireland and that the time difference is so confusing.
3. What skill/technique did the dancers have there that you would like to incorporate into your dancing? -They had REALLY good turnout and their front clicks and kicks were really high.
4. What was your favorite thing about the All Irelands Competition? -Performing on a big stage with World Qualifying dancers.
