Two students from a local dance school will represent Chatham and eastern Canada at the World Championships of Irish Dance.
Cornell School of Irish Dance students Andrea Dick and Emma Howitt both qualified a week ago at a competition called the Oireachtas in Montreal, Quebec. The two girls will travel to Glasgow, Scotland in March for the world championship.
Devin Cornell, the owner and instructor at the dance school, says he is delighted to have two of his students attending the international competition.
"They practice for 12 plus hours a week, for four months, just leading up to this one thing and their entire goal is to qualify for worlds," he says. "You sit there with the families and the coaches, and they call out the numbers of the kids who qualify. So you're just waiting to hear your number, and when you hear it, it's a very good feeling."
Other dancers from the Cornell School of Irish Dance also had great results during the qualifier in Montreal. Graham Vandernaalt and Iain Attewell both qualified for the North American Championship. As well, Katelyn DeBrouwer won first place out of a field of 30 and Olivia Taylor placed seventh in the premier division.
