Irish dancers dazzle in London

SCOTLAND’S Irish dance schools celebrated another successful set of performances recently at the Great Britain Championships in London.

The event—held this year in the Millenium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre—saw a host of trophies and medals making their way back across the border, while for some others, their strong dancing meant they secured their place at next year’s World Championships in Illinois, USA.

The Sharon Taylor Dance Academy enjoyed success from its youngest to its most senior dancers in London. There was a second-place finish for young Saoirse Kane in the Under-5 Mixed group, a fourth-place finish for Orlagh Sprunt in the Under-7 Mixed group, as well as Kyle McCue taking top spot in the Under-9 Boys competition. In the Under-10 Boys category, Fraser Cross was third overall, while Lucy Brownlie took fourth spot in the Under-13 Girls competition. Oscar Donnelly continued his strong performances by finishing in the gold medal position in the Under-14 Boys category (above with Kyle McCue), while a third-place finish was the reward for Matthew Hughes in the Under-19 Men category, rounding off some notable achievements for the school.

“It was a very long but brilliant Great Britain Championships for us,” teacher Sharon Taylor said. “Massive congratulations must go to every single one of our dancers. We are so proud of you all.”

As is usually the case, the McLaughlin School of Irish Dancing was also witnessed some fantastic performances from its dancers such as Zara Gibb, who took second spot in the Under-12 Girls category, Anya Maguire who did likewise in the Under-19 Ladies competition and Caoimhe Mosson who also finished second in the Under-20 Ladies

category.

“We are so proud of these young ladies, managing school, university and dancing to such a high level,” the McLaughlin teachers said. “You are all a fantastic example to our younger dancers, so a huge congratulations on your results.

“Zara danced three exquisite rounds and her dancing is an inspiration. She was simply incredible. The consistency of her results is a credit to how hard she works and how much she believes. Keep lighting up the stage our little green machine! Anya’s focus and hard work is paying off and we’re excited for the year ahead. And it was another fabulous result for our stunning Caoimhe. She is a joy to watch on stage and we received so many compliments on her dancing. She’s trained extremely hard to push to the next level and it’s showing. The sky is the limit with her talent.”

Meanwhile it was a young man who has featured in the pages of The Irish Voice quite a bit in the recent past—Andrew Nelson—who wowed the crowds with his winning performance in the Under-11 Boys competition to take first place.

“It was an incredible achievement in such a beautiful competition,” teacher Jodie Gillespie at the Osborne Academy of Irish Dance, said. “We’re so proud of all his hard work, passion, and love for dance that shines through in his every step.”

There were other fantastic performances at the event from not only the schools

mentioned but also the Boyle School of Irish Dance, the Coyle School of Irish Dance and the Sarah Frances Smith School of Irish Dancing. Well done to all!