Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDY — Twenty-four dancers from Utah are preparing to compete at what many consider to be the "Olympics" of Irish dance.
For the first time, Utah's Scariff School of Irish Dance will be sending teams of dancers to the World Irish Dancing Championships in addition to its soloists. The 2016 event is slated to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of March.
"The kids work really hard and they're doing very well," said coach Alan Scariff.
The dancers from the Scariff School, who range in age from 11 to 27, all qualified for the world competition at the Western U.S. Regional Oireachtas held at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City back in November. They will perform one larger choreography with 16 dancers and three 8-hand reel dances. Eight soloists will also compete in their age groups.
Elizabeth Baldwin, a single mother of three from Wellsville, is one of the dancers on the team. When she first tried Irish dancing eight years ago at the recommendation of a friend it was harder than she expected, but the sport quickly drew her in.
"It's taken a lot of sacrifice on (my father's) part and my part to do this, but it's kind of like a once in a lifetime opportunity that I was given," Baldwin said. "(Worlds is) the highest level you can get to in Irish dancing, like the Olympics. This is what you strive to get to."
Most of the dancers headed to the competition are training six days a week at Scariff's studio in Sandy. Their dedication appears to be paying off. In October, two of the girls placed at the All-Ireland championships, which Scariff said is a first for Utah.
Prior to teaching, Scariff had a successful dance career of his own that included taking first place at the world Irish dance championships and other competitions multiple times. He also spent eight years with Riverdance, which is what brought him to Utah in the first place.
Wasatch Winter Feis!
Posted by Scariff School of Irish Dancing on Saturday, February 6, 2016
While lead dancer for Riverdance about six years ago, Scariff performed at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City. He remembers meeting with a lot of dancers outside of the side stage door, including some kids who had him sign their shoes. Soon after, he returned to Utah to help with the Crawford School of Irish Dance, which he ended up deciding to take over to help the dancers grow faster and stronger.
"It was kind of a battle to start, but when the kids knew I was on their side and the parents knew I was on their side we all pulled together as a school and started pushing forward big time," he said.
Now, the school is home to about 150 dancers. Scariff said the sport is great for both physical fitness and other skills, like socializing and discipline.
"I've had numerous kids come up to me that weren't doing that great in school and with the discipline of Irish dance and the focus that's required for it, it's also improved school work," he said.
Those interested in learning more about dance classes can visit the Scariff School's website.
