Local Irish dancer heads to world championships

STANHOPE — With St. Patrick's Day celebrations just behind us, you're sure to have seen Irish dancers performing in parades and at the many St. Paddy's Day events. It's a busy season for these dancers and they enjoy sharing their love and passion for Irish dance with everyone.
However there is another aspect to this sport and art that everyone else doesn't see and that is competition. Irish dancers compete at many levels year round. The most prestigious competition, the World Championships is always held just before Easter. Ainsley Clinton from An Clar School of Irish Dance will be traveling to the World Championships held this year in Dublin, Ireland. She qualified to compete by placing in the top 10 percent of the dancers in her age group at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.
She has been training at the gym and in the studio several days a week to prepare herself to compete against the most accomplished Irish dancers from around the world. Lexa Hickey, TCRG, her teacher, who herself competed at the World Championships and placed in the top 5 knows how competitive the Worlds can be.
"Only the top 50 dancers, out of a group of up to 175, are even recalled to dance in the third & final round," Hickey said. "To achieve that, a dancer must be physically and mentally at the top of their game! I am very proud of Ainsley for achieving her goal of becoming a World qualifier and for how hard she has prepared for the 2017 Irish Dance World Championships. I look forward to seeing her shine up on that stage."
An Clar summer schedule is now available and open for registration. Please contact Lexa at (973) 347-0523 or via email anclarschoolofirishdance@gmail.com and please visit An Clar website www.anclarschool.com