Dear Readers,
It’s our season! St. Patrick’s Day is finally here, and while most people see it as just one day – or maybe a weekend – those of us in the Irish Dance and traditional music world know it’s a full month of performances, parades and celebrations. Don’t miss our St. Patrick’s Day special, where I even learned a few surprising facts about St. Patrick himself! Hopefully, you’ll find them just as interesting (p. 20–25).
Dr. Drew is back in this issue with expert advice on building dance stamina. Not everyone has access to a gym, so sometimes you have to get creative with your training. Follow her plan and you’ll be in top shape for all your performances (p. 26–28).
This issue also brings another round of major competition results, highlighting North American Regional World and National Qualifiers, as well as some standout Rising Stars in the younger age groups (p. 30–47). If you would like to see your major event’s results featured in Irish Dancing Magazine, email denise@irishdancing.com to discuss!
And don’t miss your chance to win an entire week at Camp Rince Ceol this summer (p. 19)!
Enjoy every moment of your St. Patrick’s Day parades and performances! And don’t forget to share your photos – email us at mail@ irishdancing.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue.
All the best,
Dancer of the Month
06 DANCING WITH THE STARS
Read about Katelyn Downey’s extraordinary journey, from Irish Dance to Hollywood!
10 BUSINESS NEWS
Specialist Maggie Webber Marketing and Operations Assistant Lizzie Shacklett Consultant Elizabeth Carey Events Specialists Bridget Cunningham, Cameron Carey Social Media
Intern Gabby Lenzmeier, Riley McNaboe, Chelsea Rae Jr Reporter CoCo Ward, Celia Davey Content Creator Kaylee Brown Content Creator Sean Cousland Social Media Specialist Emily Stauffer Junior Social Media Intern Delaney McNaboe, Lily Hudson Noonan IRISH DANCING AND CULTURE MAGAZINE (USPS 016773) is published 11 times annually by Efinish, LLC in the United States with additional bonus content online at www.irishdancing.com. US, UK, Euro costs of at home delivery – 6 months €/£/$39.99, 12 Months, €/£/$69.99, 2 years €/£/$119.99. Distributed in the USA by The Mail House, Inc. Mt Prospect, IL 60056. POSTMASTER: send address
News of an innovative live-streamed competition, Chloe Turner’s training programme, a new sportswear line from Éire Designs, and game-changing socks.
13 DANCER OF THE MONTH
Ireland’s Niamh Fox tells us how she danced her way through several schools on the way to becoming Ulster Champion.
19 WIN A WEEK AT CRC
Enter our Teacher Tribute Competition and you could win a week’s stay at Camp Rince Ceol!
20 ST. PATRICK’S DAY SEASON
The story of Ireland’s patron saint, plus trivia and more!
24 SHAMROCK SHOE BUCKLES
Follow our step-by-step instructions and add some bling to your boots!
26 BUILD STAMINA
Dr. Teresa Drew has some tips to help you build your stamina.
Grant Palardy
Various World Championships are coming up –
Join us in wishing many happy returns to these
They say you can’t tell the future –well they’ve obviously not read their horoscopes! That’s typical Scorpio!
What kind of
