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SHELBY TOWNSHIP/UTICA/STERLING HEIGHTS — Five Utica Community Schools students took the stage in Ireland in April for an international competition with their dance studio, Shannon Irish Dance Academy & Company.
At the 2023 World Irish Dance Association International and World Championships, dancers from around the world gathered for the annual competition to compete in solo and team events at different levels.
Taylor Patterson, a freshman at the Gene L. Klida Utica Academy for International Studies, said there was a lot of work leading up to the event.
“We have been preparing for a really long time and it was really hard to balance school and dance,” she said in a press release.
Patterson said she loved the experience of it.
“It was amazing to see all these people from around the world who love Irish Dancing and see them on stage. I really loved going to the competition with my family. They have been amazing in supporting me and getting me to where I am today. Winning for them was an amazing feeling — it was like wow,” she said in an email to C & G Newspapers.
Patterson said that she trains six to seven days a week for four hours each day, but the hard work paid off as she was named the 2023 U15 Champion.
“It was amazing — going into it, I really wanted to win. I knew how much effort I put into it, so by winning I accomplished something that I worked really hard for,” she stated in the press release.
“The dancers are all my best friends; they are like a second family. Watching them succeed made me even happier than winning myself,” Patterson said in the release.
The five UCS students who competed at the 2023 WIDA International and World Championships were Emma Mullett, a second grader from Morgan Elementary; Hailey Jacobs, a fourth grader from Graebner Elementary; Meagan Mullett, a seventh grader from Malow Junior High; Kaylee Wallace, a ninth grader from Eppler Junior High; and Patterson.
Jacobs, who is now going into fifth grade at Graebner Elementary, said it was cool having the opportunity to dance on a huge stage in Killarney, Ireland. Also, she said it was fun competing against dancers from different countries.
“I got to Irish dance in Ireland and I’m Irish,” she said.
Autumn Jacobs, Hailey Jacobs’ mom, said via email that her daughter worked really hard leading up to the competition and has not slowed down after the event.
“It takes a lot of practice, determination and the ability to not let your nerves get the best of you once those bright lights are shining just on you. She was able to stay poised, perform her choreography and have fun. The Shannon Irish Dance Academy team camaraderie was exceptional. They all encouraged each other and helped each other whether they thought they did their best or not. For her to be awarded second place International Champion U10 brought me to tears,” she said.
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