By Kate O’Neill Wosczyna
In the fall of 1974 when I was four, my Mom started me in Irish dancing. Being a first generation Irish American, my Mom felt it was important that I remain close to my Irish heritage. All four of my grandparents were from Ireland–Mayo, Donegal, and Tyrone. Along with the dancing, I attempted playing the accordion, fiddle, piano, and tin whistle. Needless to say (and for the betterment of everyone’s ears), I stuck with the dancing.
I danced for the McDade School of Irish dance for 18 years. I would have to say I did fairly well, finishing in the top three in my region, top ten nationally and I was also a World Championship qualifier. At 14, I started assistant teaching with McDade founder Maureen McDade McGrory and it was at that point I knew I wanted to become a teacher.
In 1994, I passed my TCRG, an acronym for the Gaelic name for teaching accreditation exam, meaning that I was now certified to teach dancers. Over the years, I ran my own successful dance school, Caitrin Academy of Irish Dance, primarily in Skippack. I always said (before my own daughter was born in 2004 that I had hundreds of daughters. I am still very close with many of my former students to this day.
In Irish dance the next step in the process is to become a judge or adjudicator and I decided to take it. In 2006, I passed the the ADCRG, again, an acronym for the Gaelic term for adjudicator’s exam. I was now an adjudicator. I was over the moon. I have been judging now for over 16 years and I love every single minute of it.
In 2019, I was asked to adjudicate the 2020 World Championships in Dublin. It was to be the fiftieth anniversary of this prestigious event.
Well, we all have our own story of how 2020 went. Obviously, thanks to Covid, there would be no World Championships. Our organization tried in 2021. The event did not happen again. Time moved on and the world seemed to be getting back to normal.
In December 2022, I entered my name into the draw for adjudicators for the 2023 World Championship in Montreal. I received an email letting me know that I had been chosen and asking would I still be available. Available? Well absolutely yes! And there it starts, I am going to Worlds!
Thousands of dancers came from literally all over the world to Montreal’s Palais des Congrès de Montréal (Montreal Convention Centre). We also had adjudicators from all over the world – Ireland, England, Scotland, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The event was an eight-day marathon from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday. Eight straight days of adjudicating the best dancers in the world. I was in absolute heaven! There were solo dancers, ceili teams, figure teams and dance dramas.
I’ll focus mainly on the solo dancing so you can get some idea of what goes into getting to and placing at the World Championships.
Each region throughout the world has a world qualifier competition called an Oireachtas. There are also some secondary qualifiers such as our North American Nationals. Once you have qualified for Worlds, the strenuous training that got you there continues. Hours upon hours of dancing, cardio, and stretching goes into becoming a dancer at this level. Irish dancers are athletes!
The other part of the equation is the passion. My teacher, Maureen McGrory, always said – you have to love it!
Once the dancer reaches the World stage, they go through a series of heats or rounds. For most competitions that are on the larger side, there is a round one that’s danced in front of a panel of five adjudicators. Then the second round is danced in front of another set of adjudicators.
Those 10 adjudicators decide who danced best on the day and score those dancers into rounds three and four on the next day. When you read that a dancer has a recall, that’s what that means.
At that point, those dancers repeat their performances from the previous day but against fewer competitors. There are also two new panels of adjudicators.
Then there is the fifth round – the set dance round. At this point, the best-of-the-best dance one at a time for yet a fifth panel of adjudicators. This is their time to shine and go for the gold (well it’s actually a silver globe but – you know – semantics). Over the two-day period the competitors dance in front of an impressive 25 adjudicators. The competition is immensely intense. There is electricity in the air. Only one can be on that top box holding the first place globe over their head!
In addition to the traditional competitions, this year had a new twist. Michael Flatley of Riverdance fame sponsored a freestyle competition focusing on Irish dance but with a show twist. Dancers wore costumes that went along with a 90-second story or theme and also danced with a bit more modern flare. It was the first time this momentous competition was to be held. I was fortunate to be on the draw for that competition which allow dancers skilled at a structured traditional dance form to add a little more creativity to their performance.
It was a truly amazing experience. I couldn’t help thinking to myself that I was sitting there, literally by the luck of the draw, at a huge moment in Irish dancing. Going into judging Worlds, the first morning I thought I was going to throw up. Some of the dancers get so nervous that they do too! A dear colleague, also an adjudicator, told me I was going to feel this way for the first five minutes and to let it wash over me, because I had the best seat in the house. And that’s how I felt: I had the best seat in the house.
And I mean that literally. You’re up on a riser behind a desk and the dancers are right in front of you. You aren’t distracted by the crowd so you can see every little thing they do, right or wrong. It’s just you and the dancers.
In the end, there are many winners but just one winner who brings home the “globe” as best dancer. All the adjudicators watched as the stages were being taken down and we were all sad. The lights, the backdrops, the magnificent dancers – the sheer amazingness of it all. It was done and dusted.
I was exhausted, but I said, “Can we do it all again tomorrow?”
I missed my husband, my kids, my dog and my mom, but I was ready to stay another nine days! It was the best nine days of my life.
I’m already looking forward to the next time I get the best seat in the house.
