Dancers ZOOMing through the Pandemic
Irish Dancing has a vast competition circuit which runs from local competitions to global championships. Dancers on the circuit often form strong bonds over the years at these competitions.
There are stories of dancers who formed friendships at the young age of 5 at a beginner competition and later became college roommates. Or the two friends who went head to head in competitions that now are the best of friends on the professional show circuit. And, then there are the stories of friendships that have lasted decades which all began at a "feis" pronounced "fesh," which is an Irish word commonly used to refer to Irish Dance competitions. Competitive dance provides participants an outlet to form friendships that often last for decades.
For dancers on the competition circuit, the pandemic may have temporarily sidelined seeing each other in person, but it certainly did not sideline the ability to keep friendships growing. Last summer, a group of 11 and 12 year old Champion dancers from nine schools on the East Coast of the USA launched a ZOOM group to keep up with each other's pandemic lives. From the beginning, ZOOM proved an important lifeline for their friendship.
Over the months, their many conversations focused on the ups and downs associated with the pandemic, from how much they missed regular dance class to the frustrations of "lockdown" and regular tween issues. The dancers not only missed competing, they truly missed seeing each other at competitions. The ZOOM group included dancers:
Cian Woff, Brady Campbell Academy
Coco Ward, Kavanagh Porter Warren Academy
Cooper Lake, The Academy
Harrison Davey, Legacy Irish Dance
Garet Zagorski, Kristin Butke Irish Dance
Kayleigh MacLeod, Brady Campbell Academy
Linden Gawronski, Rochester Academy
Maggie Murphy Choquette, Boland School
Mairéad Raley, McHugh School
Payge Merritt, Rochester Academy
With local stay at home orders varying from state to state, some were able to see each other in Pennsylvania last November at the McGough Feis (which was very exciting), while the others anxiously awaited their next ZOOM call to hear all about the competition!
To celebrate the Christmas season, the group held a "Secret Santa" exchange. Each dancer was given a name and mailed a gift to another in the group. On New Year's Day the group all joined in on a Zoom party to open their gifts and play games.
Maggie (the Boland School) loved her gift!
While 2020 had its challenges, it also provided many life lessons. In this case, it proved that it takes effort to keep friendships going but, with a little dedication and creativity, anything is possible!
Dance schools ALL OVER THE WORLD are teaching in person classes as well as ZOOM classes. Get your child involved with Irish Dancing. Find a dance school at this link on our website!
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