Local dancers win at competition
The New England Regional Irish Dance Championships, also known as the “Oireachtas,” was held in Hartford the weekend before Thanksgiving. It is the area’s most prestigious event bringing in top dancers from schools in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine and competitions have as many as 100 competitors.
At the event, local dancers, representing the Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance, earned a World Championship qualifying position, three National Championship qualifying positions, as well as numerous additional podium placements and medals including three regional champions: Piper Normand of Canton, Evelyn Anderson of Danbury and Evelyn Savage of Brookfield.
Normand qualified to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships, which is the Olympics of Irish dance and will be held in Montreal, Canada next April. Normand also qualified at the event for the North American Championships to be held in Nashville this July along with medalists Caroline Morneau of Bethel and Trey Ruffles of Danbury.
Additional medals were earned in solos, traditional sets and teams by Emily Delp of Southbury, Deirdre Smith of Newtown, Natalie Anderson of Danbury, Riley McGrath of Danbury, Katie Ruszczyk of Newtown, Amelia Hogrefe of Southbury, Vivian Eaton of Newtown, Samantha Erdman of Derby, Addison Bertholf of Oxford, Alexa Sandor of Southbury, Kiley Foster of Brookfield, Lily Sandor of Southbury, Scarlett Tichy of Newtown, Olivia Lanza of Oxford, Britta Petersen of Newtown, Sofia McKirdy of Newtown and Kylee Dugan of Washington.
The Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance is directed by former Riverdance and Lord of the Dance stars Craig Ashurst and Christina Dolzall-Ashurst of Newtown. Both were highly successful competitive dancers themselves collectively holding many regional, national and international titles.The Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance is enrolling a new beginner program beginning in January 2023. For information, visit: http://www.ashurstirishdance.com or call 203-928-0689.