Irish dance All Ireland Dancing Championships coming soon to Dublin - PHOTOS

A look back at the 2011 North American competition results

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Overall, there were 36 North Americans in the Top Five at the 2011 All-Irelands, with an astounding seven clinching the top podium spot in their age group: Nathan Dale, Jason Hays, Michaela Hinds, Drew Lovejoy, Emily Penner, Ann Paige Turilli and Melanie Valdes.  These talented Irish dancers hail from all seven regions of North America: from Eastern Canada (Nicholas Andison, Emily Babyn, Lorcan Balfe, Corinne Gallibois, Patrick Grant, Michaela Hinds and Emily Penner); Mid-America (Nathan Dale, Maggie Eileen Doyle, Peter Dziak, Michael Holland, Drew Lovejoy, Brendan Mullane, Margaret Nowakowski, Michael Putman, Tyler Schwartz); Mid-Atlantic (Sean Crosby, Kevinah Dargan, Farran Dougherty, Sydney Foley-Klyczek, Owen Luebbers, Sarah Oldam, Nicholas Paulson, Ann Paige Turilli, Melanie Valdes); New England (Anna Sulger, Melissa McCarthy, Kelly McCourt), Southern United States (Jason Hays); Western Canada (Fred Nguyen); and, Western United States (Alanna Callaghan, Brian Perry-Carrera, Maggie Darlington, Olivia Griffin, Melanie Kane, Ann Maire Kenny).

Ten of the North American “Top Five” dance with Butler-Fearon-O’Connor, four from Western U.S. and six from Eastern Canada.  Trinity Academy had four, Broesler had three, while Claddagh Western U.S., Mullane Healy Godley and Rince na Tiarna each had two.  North American schools with a single Top Five dancer were Scoil Rince de Danaan, Dennehy, Gray Gillan Owens, Hagen, Harney, Inishfree, McGing, McTeggart, Ni Fhearraigh O’Ceallaigh, Pender-Keady, Peter Smith, and Petri.  Notably, the Tri-State area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York) had eleven Top Five placements.

It is an expensive proposition for North American Irish dance teams to travel to international competitions.  Teams from Clarkson, Harney, Cashel-Dennehy, O’Sullivan, and Trinity all placed.

Harney and Cashel-Dennehy, respectively, took the top two positions for Junior Girls (13-16) Ceili, and Trinity claimed second place in the Junior Figure (13-16) Dance event.  Three schools – Clarkson, Cashel-Dennehy and Trinity – are from the Middle America region; Harney is New England and O’Sullivan is New York.

The 2012 All-Ireland Dancing Championships will take place February 11-18 at CityWest Resort Limited in Saggart, South County Dublin.  Follow the daily updates on competitions and awards, and blog posts especially relevant to All-Irelands on Irish Central’s Irish dance page.

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