Irish Dancer's Devotion Leads Her To Dublin

When Elyse Smith was a tot, her mother would sit her in front of the TV and put on Riverdance.

While some children may have been fascinated with Barney, the purple dinosaur, Elyse couldn’t get enough of Riverdance and would sit transfixed for hours.

No wonder that at the age of 4, she told her mother she wanted to learn how to Irish dance and her mother enrolled her at the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance.

Since then, Elyse, now 15 and a sophomore at , has remained passionate and devoted to the dance.

For the fifth consecutive year, she will compete in World Irish Dancing Championships as a solo dancer and as a member of her team. She leaves April 15 for Dublin, Ireland, where she will be until April 23.

Over the years, she has tried many other activities and she does participate in a number of extracurricular activities including student council, track and field and the Orchesis Dance Company, but her focus and priority has always been Irish dancing.

“I just remember it was so much fun and the teachers made it fun and we looked up to the teachers,” Elyse said about what motivated her as a child. “I was just really interested in it and I began progressing and doing more. And, I wanted to be like Riverdance.”

To be like Riverdance, even as a child Elyse said she realized the dedication required.

“I never didn’t want to go to Irish dance class because all my friends were there,” she said.

Before a major competition she attends classes about six days a week. Because of her skill level she travels for classes with her mom up to the north side of Chicago to the Irish American Heritage Center. For some classes she must travel all the way to Milwaukee.

Homework gets completed during the long drives, Elyse's mom, Julie Smith said.

“It’s been a commitment and has really taught me that you have to put in the hard work and effort,” she said. “You have to have respect for the art form; respect for other people and respect for yourself.”

The awards she has won over the years line a ledge in the family’s basement. Her mom said there are more to be found throughout the home.

Dancing has allowed Elyse to travel, one of her loves. Last year she performed for two weeks in Toulon, France during a summer festival.

“They were so well received. They were like rock stars,” said Julie Smith.

Elyse even received a standing ovation from the French audience, her mom said, adding, “It made me cry.”

This summer she will travel to Spain for another summer festival, she said.

The drive to do well in Irish dance has helped Elyse learn to be very focused, her mom said.

“She has so much discipline,” her mom said. “She comes home and does her homework, I don’t have to tell her.”

And, through competition her mother said she has learned about fairness and equity.

“She may have done the best job, but not won,” Julie Smith said.

She has also learned not to be afraid of people, having performed at White Sox and Bulls games, and even on television and at concerts. Her list of credits fills a resume.

Along with her Irish dancing and school activities, she also enjoys rock climbing and is learning to fly a plane.

“She has the thrill gene,” her mother said.

While Elyse is passionate about dancing, she is also passionate about science, planning to pursue a career as a broadcast meteorologist. She wants to attend Ohio State University.

Her mother said Elyse might take a year off before attending college, allowing her to dance while she can. But, those decisions are still a few years away.

Elyse knows that the time she has to dance is limited, both by its sheer physicality, the legs get quite a workout, and by life taking her in different directions. Most dancers stop after high school, unless they get hired on with a touring company, like Riverdance, which is one of Elyse’s goals.

Through all of the years, Elyse has managed to find balance in her life between school, extracurricular activities, dancing and flying, her mom said.

“She does it because she really loves it,” Julie Smith said. “It is more than just the medals and awards. For me, it’s the value beyond the stuff. The discipline and the friends she’s made and how well she’s done.”

When those brief moments arise when she lacks the motivation, Elyse said she looks at the big picture of what she has to do. If she has a competition, she goes out and does the best she can possibly do.

“I always think of what I’d be doing if I wasn’t in Irish dance or involved in Trinity,” she said. “I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done."