‘Eat, sleep and breathe dancing’

“The ultimate goal is always to get a globe so to come home with three of them was even better so we were just astonished at the talent and everything that they did on the day.”

“Fantastic,” was how Dance Teacher Siobhán Boylan described the performance of the Smith Boylan Academy of Dancing students at this year’s World Irish Dancing Championships.

Two teams of eight dancers in the U11 category placed third in the world; meanwhile Oliver Smith placed fifth in the senior men’s category.

“To get to the worlds, to get to that stage with so many kids as well is an achievement in itself because not every school or child gets that far,” Siobhán told the Celt.

She explained how the students must go through qualifiers the year before in order to progress through to this level.

In total, there was six solo dancers and three teams of eight dancing at the competition.

“Plenty going on,” Siobhán recalled.

While each dancer pulled off flawless, award-winning sets, such standards are not reached overnight.

“It was seven days a week really,” she said, describing how each dance teacher was taking classes daily before the competition, with rehearsals sometimes going on until 10pm at night.

“For themselves as well, they’re making sacrifices from their football and different things like that. It all goes on hold in the run up to the worlds. It’s just eat, sleep and breathe dancing for two or three months just to get them ready.”

Thankfully their efforts paid off on the day.

“We were just delighted,” she said, adding how the dancers are “great teammates.”

“They’re supporting each other. Some kids came up just to see Oliver because he was the last day and one of the last ones dancing.”

“It makes the excitement even better.”

The school is based in Oldcastle.