Dancing at the North American Irish Dance Championships

by Sarah Ann
for Thursday, July 4th


Editor’s note: Sarah Ann switched days with Christian (yesterday) so she could write about today.

I woke up today at 5:30. Although I was sort of tired, I was excited. Today was my big day—my very first Nationals! For those of you who don’t know Irish dance, for a few years, it has been my dream to compete at the North American Irish Dance Championships (referred to as Nationals). This February, I qualified for Open Championships, the highest level at a normal competition, which qualified me to dance at Nationals. I got ready, which included getting my wig and make-up done, and then headed to my stage where my teacher warmed me and my dance-mates up.

With my tanned legs, wig, and make-up, some of you might not recognize me!

I had a lot of cheerleaders at the competition. My parents, sister, aunts, grandparents, and cousin came to watch. Everyone else drove some of the Sea to Sky Highway in the morning and then walked around downtown Vancouver in the afternoon. We figured it was better for everyone if we didn’t bring the whole family—and besides, you have to have an armband, which you only get from staying at a Nationals hotel. My parents, Rachel and I as well as my grandparents stayed at the Nationals hotel, but everyone else stayed at a big rented house in nearby Burnaby.

Here are some of my cheerleaders!

After my teacher warmed me up, I still had a while until I danced my first dance, which was the hornpipe in hard shoes. I watched my friends, poked at my wig which hurt, and stayed warm. Everyone at the competition was a really good dancer and had been training really hard just like I had been. Then it was time for me to head backstage. Although I was nervous, I was excited. It was finally my turn to dance. I felt okay about how I had danced—not my best, not my worse.

A “number check” is when the dancers go on stage for the judges to review their notes. It is also the only time parents are allowed to take photos of dancers on stage!

I had several hours before my second dance because there were 150 girls in my competition. It was fun to have my family there to hang out with. My second dance was the reel, a soft shoe dance. I felt pretty good about my dancing in this round. Most of my family left to join the rest of the group, and I hung around my competition until they called recalls. This is where they announce the top half of the competition, so that those people can compete in a third dance. I was not expecting a recall, since this is my first Nationals and I didn’t recall. Although I felt a little disappointed at first, I was just happy to be there.

After showering in my friend’s hotel room (we had checked out of ours), my mom and I headed to Chinatown to meet up with the rest of my relatives. My cousins walked and saw someone shooting up heroine on the way there so we decided to drive our car. We ate in this cute little restaurant. We ordered a side of chicken feet and I took a little nibble. Then we headed back to the house. It had been an awesome day, but very long and tiring. I was ready for some sleep!

Eating dinner in Chinatown