Dream place achieved at prestigious school

19 March 2015

Irish dancer, Grace, got to know she had achieved her dream of a place at the prestigious River Dance School as she hobbled out of A&E with a broken ankle.

The Holy Cross student, 14, had fulfilled her ambitions of securing a limited place on the first ever River Dance Summer School in Dublin in July.

However, she got the notification as she sat in Chorley A&E following a freak accident when sprinting.

“I have Irish ancestry and have competed in Irish dancing for nearly 10 years, since I was five,” said Grace. “I have competed in the all-Ireland Championships, the Open Championships and the World Championships in Dublin two years ago.

“I hoped to go to the World Championships in Canada this year but the day before the qualifiers, in Manchester, I sprained my ankle – talk about accident prone!”

Grace says she has dreamed about taking part in a River Dance tour since she first saw the show aged three.

“I was mesmorised the moment I saw it and decided that’s what I wanted to be part of,” said Grace.

“It was a tough application for the River Dance Summer School as they were accepting entries from all over the world.

“I had to email over shots of me carrying out two dances – a hard shoe dance and a soft shoe dance – and also write an essay of 500 words about my dancing experience.

“I also had to write about my inspiration in dance, which is Siobhan Joyce, who runs the Whelan Dance School in Preston where I have trained for 10 years.”

Grace sent her application off but was preparing for all the St Patrick’s Day shows she was going to be in – she calls it ‘Irish dancing’s Christmas.’

However she was just doing an innocuous sprint session in early March, fell awkwardly and has chipped a bone and damaged a ligament in her left ankle.

“I couldn’t believe it. I broke my right ankle last year so I know I have fragile ankles while I am still growing but thankfully all is not lost.

“The River Dance Sumer School is at the end of July and my cast is now off and, even though I am on crutches, I can begin intense physio and be back dancing by the end of April and ready for July.

“The River Dance Summer School is a step in the right direction to fulfilling my ultimate dream as I want to go on tour with the main River Dance show.”

Once her ankle is healed, Grace – whose outfits can cost £1,500 – admits she is excited about the summer opportunity.

“Only around 30-40 pupils have got into the school and we will be based at Trinity College and get the best tuition under nine times Irish Dancing World Champion Kiera Sexton.

“It will be a week of intense training, working with the cast of River Dance and being advised about what to eat and how to train and, at the end of the week, we will all be in a River Dance show so it’s massive.

“I think my parents want to wrap me up in bubble wrap before the summer though!”