This past November, Kelsie Donovan was a little too busy to enjoy her Thanksgiving leftovers.
The Moorestown High School sophomore spent Nov. 28 through 30 competing at the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Regional Oireachtas, a qualifier for the 2015 World Irish Dancing Championship, at the Philadelphia Marriott.
The World Irish Dancing Championship is Irish dancing’s premier event. It is an eight-day competition typically held around Easter. Dancers come from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, all over Europe, South Africa, Australia, the U.S. and Canada to try to win a world title. For an Irish dancer to make it to the World Championship stage even once is a feat.
Donovan placed 17th out of 130 girls in her competition group, qualifying her for the 2015 World Irish Dancing Championship, which will be held at the Palais des Congres de Montreal in Montreal, Canada, from March 29 through April 5.
Donovan grew up dancing for the O’Shea Chaplin School of Irish dance in Boston from the age of 5. She got into Irish dancing when she saw a river dance and thought it was something she really wanted to do. Her mother then signed her up for classes and she stuck with it ever since.
“It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work. You have to really want it to start it. Once you get into it, you get to meet a lot of people and it’s really exciting. It’s really rewarding when you do well,” Donovan said.
When the Donovan family moved to South Jersey two years ago, she changed schools and now dances for Broesler. She dances in Haddonfield, Westwood, Delaware and once in awhile in Baltimore.
“It’s an indescribable feeling, when dancing. It’s a great feeling, but at the same time you can get nervous on stage,” Donovan said.
In Irish dance in North America, every year around Thanksgiving, the top dancers in each region compete in their regional Oireachtas. To qualify for the World Championships, a dancer must qualify in a Regional Oireachtas or at the North American National Championships. Competing against 130 girls, it is understandable that Donovan was nervous.
The goal of Oireachtas is to recall and then place high enough to be able to go to Nationals or Worlds. To “recall” means after the dancer has danced a hard shoe and a soft shoe round, their score was among the highest of their age group. Once recalled, the dancer will dance their set dance, alone, in front of a panel of judges. The set dance will be the deciding factor in their total score. A certain small percentage of the recalled dancers will then qualify for either Nationals or the World Championships.
Donovan is a part of that small percentage.
“I was so happy because everything I worked for finally paid off. I accomplished my dream and overall goal. It was just overall exciting,” Donovan said.
For the 2015 World Irish Dance Championships, it is the third time in its 45-year history that it is being held outside Ireland or Scotland. Approximately 25,000 attendees will watch 5,000 of the world’s top Irish dancers compete in this weeklong event.
Donovan will have to compete against approximately 150 girls in her competition group at the World Championships.
Donovan hopes to do well, but she is also looking forward to meeting new people and going to a new place.
