Local Irish Dance School Claims National Champion
National Champion at Dillon-Gavin School of Irish Dance
The Dillon-Gavin School of Irish Dance, Des Plaines, recently sent several dancers to compete at the North American Irish Dance Championships 2013, in Anaheim, Calif. Irish dancers from all over North America and many other countries including Ireland and as far away as Australia, spend hours perfecting their steps in preparation for major competitions like this one.
Patrick Holbrook, 12, Niles, placed 5th in the same group. Kristjan Gudmundsen 12, Niles, placed 4th in the boys U12 division. Claudia Morrison, 10, Des Plaines, placed 11th in the girls U11 division. All four of these dancers won the distinction of being World Qualifiers. In the world of Irish dance, qualifying for Worlds is like qualifying for the Olympics. The 2014 World Championships are to be held next April in London, England. Also competing for the Dillon-Gavin School, Kevin Foreman, 9, Palatine, who placed 3rd in the U9 boys division, but is too young to qualify for the World Championships. Sarah Conneelly, 10, Arlington Heights, placed 25th in the girls U11 division and Lindsey Kelly, 19, Niles, placed 33rd in the girls U20 division.
At major competitions like these, the competition is fierce and the dancers need to be in top form with perfect timing and foot placement. All competitors dance two rounds. First they dance in their hard shoes to either a hornpipe or treble jig. The second round is either a reel or slip jig in soft shoes, or ghillies. Dancers from the top half of the combined scores, from those first two rounds, are invited back to dance a third round, their set dance in hard shoes, which is intended to show judges the dancers' excellent rhythm and timing. By the time a dancer has danced all three rounds, they have been scrutinized by a total of nine judges from all over the world, with many of the competitions have up to 150 competitors.
The Dillon-Gavin School of Irish Dance is located in downtown Des Plaines. For over 18 years, sisters Bernadette Dillon-Gavin, ADCRG and Maureen Dillon-Yawger, TCRG, have taught Irish dance classes. Both studied the art of Irish dance at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance Chicago, where they also studied with Michael Flatley of Riverdance fame. Please visit www.Dillon-Gavin.com for more information.