Irish dancers from Bellshill take on the world

CLRG is the biggest organisation for Irish dancing, with their world championships being the most prestigious event in the calendar.

The event took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the dancers who are eligible to compete having qualified at their regional events around the globe.

Each age group at the world championships is split into two sections, A and B, with the ranked dancers in the world evenly split between each side.

They danced two heats on the first day with around 100-160 dancers each side, then a percentage is recalled back to the second day where the two splits are combined and they dance a further two heats.

A further percentage recall is announced and those dancers then compete in round five.

Sharon Taylor said: “It’s a gruelling couple of days for the competitors in each age group and has taken hours and hours of intense training to prepare the dancers for this huge event.

“Therefore to achieve recalls, medals and in particular globes is a massive achievement.

“The kids from my dance school achieved eight recall medals, four world ranking medals and three globes which means three top five finishing positions.

“This is huge from a small school in Scotland and a massive achievements for the dancers.”

Results for Sharon’s pupils were: Kathleen Collins - 4th place at under 15; Declan Mclaughlin - 3rd place at under 20; Patrick McKenna - 5th place at under 21; Amy Chestnutt - 15th place at senior ladies; Laura Davidson - 13th place at 21-23 ladies; Roisin McLaughlin - 24th place at under 20.

Classes, from beginner to world championship level, takes place at the Perfect Feet Dance Studio in John Brannan Way, for more information visit sharontayloririshdanceacademy.co.uk.