Shovlin Dancers Place Ninth at World Championship

Dancers from Shovlin Academy of Irish Dance took their talents last weekend from a studio in Western Pennsylvania to the world stage last weekend

The troupe, which draws dancers from around the region, performed at the 2013 World Irish Dance Championship in Boston, where it placed ninth out of 13 groups.

Instructor Liz Shovlin Grinko said considering the level of competition, ninth place is not bad at all. The troupe is based at the Dormont Municipal Center in Dormont.

"They were very happy with that," she said. "We were competing with dancers from higher brackets who were there for solos as well, so you had that caliber of dancer in other groups. They felt very good and very glad to finish where they were. They danced really well. Really, really well."

The dancers, ranging in age from 10 to 18, are mainly from the South Hills area, but the troupe includes dancers from around the region and as far away as Steubenville, Ohio.

Before the troupe left for Boston last Thursday, Grinko said her biggest concern was just getting everyone safely to the competition on time. Fortunately, the trip went smoothly, she said, and there were just a few butterflies before the dance.

"[The dancers] need to be proud of the fact that this was the world stage and things are judged pretty intensely," she said. "They handled themselves really well."

Grinko said the troupe is now focused on the upcoming regional competion in November. There are local competitions in the meantime, but the Shovlin dancers have their sights set high.

"I think we'll be there again at some point," she said. "Right now, November is our next big one. That's a regional competition, so we're focused on that."

The following students competed as a group in the 2013 World Irish Dance Championship: Caroline Byrne; Morgan Collavo; Megan Hixon; Delaney McMahon; Reilly O’Connor; Kayleigh O’Hara; Lauren Shovlin; Marley Shovlin; Shea Shovlin; Maggie Smith; Stephanie Stoessel; Brogan Victor; Teresa Grinko.

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