LOCAL IRISH DANCERS HEAD TO REGIONALS

Scoil Rince Luimni Irish Dance Academy, based in South Windsor & Farmington Connecticut, will have 31 dancers representing our school at the 2018 New England Regional Oireachtas held from November 16-18, 2018 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Our dancers will be competing against the best of New England across three disciplines for regional ranking, National qualification for the North American Irish Dance Championships in July 2019, and the World Irish Dance Championships in April 2019.

Dancers in the Traditional Set Dance competitions will be competing in the lower-tier competition designed to give up and coming dancers an opportunity to compete on the big stage against all the New England dancers in their age group. SRL is well represented in the traditional set dance competition with dancers hailing from:

• South Windsor: Isabella Robinson (8), Jane Carty (9), Nora Carty (9), Mairi Carchrie-Leigh (10), Irelyn Lash (11), Grace Eaton (17)
• Suffield: Gia Hamilton (7)
• Hebron: Cara Williams (9)
• Windsor: Ciara Doyle (10)
• Somers: Michael Jensen (10)
• Westfield, MA: Paige Miele (11)
• East Granby: Greta Jambard (10)
• Ellington: Cassidy Thompsen (12)
• Manchester: Katelyn Hall (12)
• East Windsor: Elexandra Hall (13)
• Coventry: Cayla Batz (15)
• Farmington: Ellie Diver (15)

The premier event in the solo championship which is for the highest level dancers that have climbed the ranks of competitive Irish dance over many years. These dancers are looking beyond improving their ranking and looking to place in the top 50% to be awarded their ranking on stage or qualify to a higher championship such as the North American Irish Dance Championship or World Championship. SRL will be represented in the solo championships by dancers from:

• Hebron: Colleen Williams (12), Kayla Purcell (15)
• Somers: Isabella Jensen (12)
• Farmington: Gabby Gorman (14)
• East Longmeadow: Mackenzie Richards (15)
• Springfield, MA: Emma Feeley (15), Emma Magnani (15)
• Glastonbury: Emily Messier (15)
• Cheshire: Tara Lynch (18)
• Columbia: Lindsey Hoffman (18)

In the final team discipline, dancers perform standardized group dances called “ceilis.” Team competitions require precision in every movement, pattern, and step as each team is judged solely on execution. We have four 4-member teams that will compete in the 4-Hand Team competition:

• Girls Under 8: Roisin Walsh (Bristol), Natalie Jurczyk (Berlin), Liston Kupec-Kerachsky (South Windsor), and Madeline Lundell (East Granby).
• Girls Under 10: Nora Carty, Jane Carty, and Isabella Robinson (South Windsor) and Cara Williams (Hebron)
• Mixed Under 10: Liston Kupec Kerachsky and Isabella Robinson (South Windsor), Cara Williams (Hebron), and Michael Jensen (Somers)
• Girls Under 12: Isabella Jensen (Somers), Greta Jambard (East Granby), Katelyn Hall (Manchester), and Irelyn Lash (South Windsor)

We also have an 8-member team eyeing a result that would move them forward to the World Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina in April 2019. The girls competing on this team are:
Gabby Gorman & Ellie Diver (Farmington), Emma Magnani & Emma Feeley (Springfield), Paige Miele (Westfield), Emily Messier (Glastonbury), Mackenzie Richards (East Longmeadow), and Cayla Batz (Coventry).

Please keep all of our dancers in your thoughts and sending them positive vibes as they head into competition this weekend. These dancers have been working since the spring to fine tune their dances for their moment on stage and we wish them the very best of luck!

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