Fort St. John competitors impress at World Irish Dance Championships in Dublin

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Among near 4,000 competitors, members of a Fort St. John Irish dancing school impressed at the recent world championships in Dublin.

Watt School of Irish Dance sent eight participants to the championship, which took place from April 13th to April 20th.

Emalee Chapple, Reese Gibbons, Paisley Gibbons, Lauryn Campbell, Hillary Campbell, McKinley Pomeroy, Beau Almeida, and Violet Kursteiner had secured their spots in Ireland with strong performances at last November’s Western Canadian qualifiers in Calgary, Alberta.

Scoring in Irish dance is based on critiques including strength, stage presence, posture and technique.  

Different from 2024 was the cutting of five rounds to three. Each round is judged by different groups.

The girls have been “intensely training” to earn a world medal, according to team coach Hailey McGuire.

Chapple and Reese Gibbons did just that in their respective divisions.

In the ladies’ 20-21 category, Emalee Chapple went up against the top hundred dancers from around the globe.

The result was an eighth-place finish with a combined score of 355.5, earning a world medal.  This was up from a top 20 result in 2024.

Gibbons, who placed 25th in the ladies’ 14-15 category a year ago, finished 30th overall this go around, taking a finalist medal in the ladies’ 15-16 event.  

Earning a recall medal, Reese’s score of 162.98 was the third highest among Canadians. 

Now the girls are back from Dublin and McGuire says they are “back in the studio” for this summer’s North American Irish Dance Championships.

They will take place in Washington, D.C. at the National Resort and Convention Center from July 4th to July 9th, 2025.  

More information about Watt School of Irish Dance is available at its website.