It all began in 2004 when I met a fellow high school alumnus at an Early Years Child Care Centre where we were playing with our young sons. I said I was thinking of joining an adult Irish Dance class because I did Irish dancing for a few years when I was seven or eight years old. She recommended that I check out the Goggin-Carroll School of Irish Dance in Oakville. I had to wait another year because shortly afterwards I found out that I was expecting my second child. When he was seven weeks old, I went to my first class.
That led to ten years of weekly laughs, jigs and memories. Our adult team earned a few first place medals over a number of years at the Eastern Canadian Oireachtas and a second place at the North American Championships in Montreal. It was quite the ride.
During those same years my three children started Irish dancing. First my oldest son Jack at age 6, then my middle son Jameson at age 5 and finally my daughter Maggie at age 4. They are now 13, 11 and 8 and they all competed in solos and teams at the Oireachtas this year. The boys’ 8-hand team came first in the Under 15 category and in my daughter’s first team experience, her 8-hand team came third in
Under 10.
People tell me I’m crazy. How do I keep such a schedule? How can we afford the time and money to do Irish dance most week nights?
The thing is, I’m not paying for Irish dance. I’m paying for the life skills that are learned in the process. Handling pressure. Standing up in front of a handful of international judges and dancing like there is no one watching. Losing and winning with grace. Confidence and camaraderie. Perseverance and determination. Practicing like you’re in last and dancing like you’ve already won. These lessons are priceless.
The Irish dance adventure has brought us from our home in Mississauga to the North American Championships in Montreal, Rhode Island and Orlando, the Worlds in Montreal and Glasgow, and to many dance competitions, called feises, around Ontario, Buffalo and Ohio.
Being a first generation Canadian daughter of two Irish emigrants from County Mayo and County Cork, I am so proud that my children are carrying on the Irish culture.
As Mikhail Baryshnikov once said, “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.”
I hope my three kids never lose their love for Irish dance, or the understanding that dancing to their own beat and improving on their personal best will always lead them towards the podium in the dance of life.
