Inspirational Dancer: Aoibhe Baillie
Aoibhe Baillie.
This name might not be significant to you as you start to read this article, but by the time you get to the end this young lady will have made an impact on your day. Her story is one of incredible determination and strength of character; a story of community, of love, and of triumph over adversity — and happily, all of this helped in no small measure by her love of Irish Dancing.
FEIS App is only ever going to be a news medium that promotes good news from within our fabulous Irish dancing community, and we are incredibly, incredibly proud to bring you Aoibhe’s story. She really epitomizes the true meaning of the term Inspirational Dancer.
Aoibhe Baillie was born 13 weeks premature. At birth she weighed a little over 2lb and was just 14 inches long. She spent 10 weeks in the NICU and had many procedures during that time — multiple blood transfusions, central lines, feeding tube, treatment of MRSA and many more procedures following various complications. After 70 days, she was allowed home weighing just 4lb 4oz. She was still on oxygen to help her breathe and on a monitor to let her mother and father know when she was struggling. She had a hole in her heart (PDA) and was very weak.
Aoibhe started physical therapy the week after she came home from the hospital. At 6 months of age she became ill with RSV. She needed far more oxygen than normal and couldn’t eat or sleep lying down. She spent 10 days in a local hospital and came home requiring 1.5 liters of oxygen, 24 hours a day. Her dad slept in a chair every night with her lying on his chest because when lying flat, there was too much pressure on her lungs and heart for her to breathe. When she was 8 months old, she was admitted into a hospital in Philadelphia because she was so sick. The next day the doctors decided it was time to do heart surgery to close her PDA. It was a success and she now has a coil in her heart, and this keeps her heart working perfectly. It took a long time for her to recover from all of this. She did not get off oxygen until just before her 2nd birthday.
During the first 2 years her doctors noticed she didn’t eat enough and after much testing they realized she had gastro paresis. She had a feeding tube for 5 months when she was 2 (and again more recently, only this past fall for 3 months). Gastro paresis means her stomach doesn’t empty properly so she thinks she is full even though she hasn’t eaten. She is very tiny and has to be fed through a nasogastric feeding tube when she gets so underweight that she is considered malnourished.
When Aoibhe was born 13 weeks early, her prognosis was very grim. She barely whimpered when she was born and she was put on a ventilator within seconds of birth. Her parents were terrified she would not survive and equally worried that if she did, she would face many lifelong challenges. When Aoibhe’s mother found out that she was expecting a baby girl, she hoped that dance could be part of her life because she herself loved it so much, but during her first 2 years of life, she simply didn’t think that was a possibility for her.
Aoibhe had physical therapy from age 11 weeks to 2 years. She was behind in all areas of physical development because she was always attached to her oxygen tank and monitors, so it was hard for her to be active.
A start in life doesn’t come much more traumatic than this, but this little ray of sunshine had some surprises up her sleeve for the world. She started, slowly but surely, developing physically, and she became more active. After her second birthday, Aoibhe started going to Irish dancing class.
She doesn’t remember those early days of class, but her Irish dancing school rallied around her and gave her a sense of community that would serve her incredibly well throughout her life. Irish dancing was great for Aoibhe, it allowed her to work her muscles, move her body, get oxygen flowing through her system and encourage all round wellbeing.
Aoibhe took to Irish dancing instantly and progressed through her grades, taking each grade, new dance, and new skill in her stride. At a very young age Aoibhe progressed and passed right through her grades becoming an open dancer before many dancers could say their Irish dancing journey had begun.
However, even as she was doing so well, Aoibhe still had (and continues to have to this day) physical hurdles that she needed to overcome. Being so small, Aoibhe has had the same pair of heavy shoes since she was five years old. She has had to continually wear four pairs of socks to stop her feet from falling out of her shoes when she dances. This makes it very difficult for Aoibhe to hit clear beats as her toes are not near the end of the shoe. A further hardship has been her feeding tube. Periodically throughout her life she has had to have a tube deliver the nutrients her body needs. This tube travels up Aoibhe’s nose and down her throat and can be uncomfortable at the best of times, but when she is dancing and exerting herself to her limits, it can prove very irritating and can make Aoibhe feel very self conscious. Aoibhe admits that she finds the tube a source of embarrassment and would often feel that people were just looking at that when she is on stage.
As if that wasn’t enough, whilst at school Aoibhe was teased about her tube.
Aoibhe’s Irish dancing school friends however, helped Aoibhe and were there for her. “All of the dancers at my school helped me when I had my feeding tube this fall. Two of my dance friends came to see me while I was in the hospital. All of them gave me a big squishy teddy when I came back to class. My dance friends told me I was just the same Aoibhe and gave me hugs when it was bothering me.”
The love and support of the Irish dancing community didn’t stop there. “When I went to my first feis with the tube in, I didn’t want to go onstage. I kept trying to go up to the stage but then I would run back to my mom. My friend Paige from my school got me to get in line with her. She really helped me.”
These small acts of kindness, with which the Irish dancing world is blessed, are worth taking some time to reflect over. The girls in Aoibhe’s class were helping their friend push past barriers that could have hindered Aoibhe; these barriers could have transferred to other areas of her life. These fabulous young girls helped their friend to the stage to do what she does best, Irish dance.
Did Aoibhe slow down once she got into the open grade? Did she let anything get in the way of her success? Did she feel sorry for herself or become discouraged? Not a chance! Aoibhe is now a world level dancer.
In 2018 at the North American Irish Dancing Championships, Aoibhe — who was in the U6 age group at the time, danced up in the U8 championships and came 16th. This would be a fantastic achievement for anyone, but it’s even more impressive dancing against children two years older. At her Oireachtas that year, again competing 2 years up, Aoibhe came 5th!
This resilient, determined little star continued to work at class and push herself to the best of her abilities. In 2019 she danced again at NANs, this time her usual age group would have been U7 but she danced in the U8 competition, and incredibly she came 2nd!
Later in 2019 Aoibhe travelled across the Atlantic and competed at the Great Britain Championships. Dancing in an U7 age group she came 3rd. Later still in 2019 she came 2nd at the Oireachtas.
When looking back at her journey these achievements are nothing short of phenomenal.
We asked Aoibhe the following questions:
Q - What was your first big win that you can remember?
A - My first big win that I remember was at the Holly and Kavanagh Feis. It was the u/6 championship and I was the only dancer doing treble jig.
Q - Do you have a strategy for preparing for a big competition? Do you have a special routine? Superstitions? Mental prep?
A - Before big competitions I go to as many classes as I can, listen to my teachers and practice their corrections, do my set 3 times every day, try really hard to eat enough food and my mom keeps notes on all that I am doing and all that I need to work on. I always wear my lucky monkey leotard at every feis under my costume. My teacher Colleen always helps with getting my brain (pineapple) ready for competitions. She makes me laugh when I am really stressed and she tells me to just be Aoibhe and that my biggest goal when I step onstage is to show my heart and be me.
Q - What’s your Irish Dance teacher like?
A - Miss Colleen is strict but also funny. I always want to do my best for her. I love my private lessons with her and her hugs. Miss Katherine (my mom) is also strict and she likes us all to work very hard. Working hard is her favorite thing. She is fun too. I love it when we get to play games at the end of class as a treat for working hard and improving every few weeks. Miss Maureen (O’Grady) taught me when I was very little and now teaches me for shows and recital. She is very special to me and I call her my fairy godmother. I love when all the teachers teach a class together. I get so excited when I all the teachers and dancers from LOGQ are together. I really like to show Miss Maureen (Collins) and Mr. Patrick how much better I have gotten since the last time they saw me. I love when they give me new corrections.
Q - What would you say is your biggest strength as an Irish Dancer?
A - My biggest strength is performing when I dance. I try to show my heart every time I dance.
Q – What would you say is your biggest weakness as an Irish dancer?
A - My biggest weakness is crying! I cry when something isn’t the way I want it to be and I waste time crying about it instead of working on fixing it. My teachers say I can only ask to show them something again if I am smiling.
Q – How often do you practice outside of class?
A - 6 days per week in all different parts of my home! I practice wherever my mom and baby brother are when it is time to practice.
Q – What top tips would you give an aspiring Irish dancer?
1. Go to lots of classes
2. Listen to your teachers
3. Practice your corrections
4. Show your teachers that you have fixed the things they told you to fix
5. Do your best at competitions.
Q - Do you have any words or a poem or quote that lifts you up?
A - Good, better, best.
Never let it rest,
Until your good is better,
And your better is the best!
Aoibhe Baillie. This name stands for strength in the face of adversity. It stands for overcoming hurdles. It stands for outstanding perseverance. It also represents the fantastic things that Irish dancing and the Irish dancing community can do and is doing every single day for young people around the world. FEIS App is honored to have shared Aoibhe’s amazing story and is proud to call Aoibhe our second Inspirational Dancer.
We wish Aoibhe the very best of luck in her future and hope to see her standing proud on the top of a major championship podium or two in the future.