Isabel Brady Placed Fourth Western Region Oireachtas!!
Image by Isabel Brady.
On November 22, freshman Isabel Brady competed in the Western US Oireachtas for Irish step dancing against 11 states, 127 girls in her age group, and finished in 4th place! The Western US Oireachtas is the CLRG (An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha- to promote Irish step dancing globally) world qualifiers for Irish dancers; this year’s competition took place in Denver, Colorado. With this placement she earned invitations to the 2020 North American Irish Dance Championships held in Nashville, TN and the 2020 World Championship of Irish Dance held in Dublin, Ireland.
I interviewed Isabel to express what she had to say about her remarkable accomplishment.
Image by Isabel Brady.
Q: How long have you been dancing?
A: I have been dancing for nearly 10 years.
Q: How did you prepare for this event?
A: This event took about four months of training. We had practice anywhere from 3-6 days a week and practices ranged from 3-8 hours. We did a lot of stamina training to prepare for the high Denver altitude, and did many drills to improve our footwork skill and speed.
Q: What was one piece you danced to?
A: One of my dances was called the Planxty Hugh O’Donell.
Q: How did you feel when you found out that you were 4th place out of 127 girls?
A: When they called my name, I was so excited and shocked. It was truly amazing to hear my friends screaming for me, and I was overwhelmed with joy when the cameras were flashing everywhere. It was truly one of the best moments of my life.
Q: What are your goals in the future for Irish step dancing?
A: In the future, I hope to stay updated with the dance community, and I will use the ability that I learned from dance to work hard in my future careers as well.
Q: How do you feel being invited to the 2020 North American Irish Dance Championships and the 2020 World Championship of Irish Dance?
A: I am thrilled to have the invite because it is a goal so hard to achieve, and I am happy my work was enough to exceed my goal.
A huge congratulations to Isabel, and thank you for sharing your roots in Irish step dancing. Hopefully we’ll get to see her again in the 2020 North American Irish Dance Championships and the 2020 World Championship of Irish Dance. Good Luck Isabel!
