Caoimhe O’Halloran — FEIS App’s Dancer of the Month
Traveling can be a big part of Irish dancing. Some people love that aspect and others find it more challenging. The further a dancer progresses along their journey, the more opportunities there are for travel — to find better competition, to compete in national competitions, and then to compete in international competitions. It’s widely recognized that the All Ireland Championships and the World Championships are the pinnacles of Irish dance achievement; so imagine progressing through your dancing career, traveling far and wide to compete and then after years of travel the All Ireland Championships come to your home town, right as your fitness and dancing are peaking. They come to your hometown as your confidence is high from a string of great wins. Imagine if after all of the traveling, after all of the inevitable highs and lows of an Irish dancing journey, that you win the All Ireland title in your hometown! Caoimhe O’Halloran did just that in 2020 in Killarney in front of her elated family and friends.
Dancing for the Aine Murphy Academy from the very beginning of her career, Caoimhe is no stranger to the big stage. Hailing from Munster, a very strong region for Irish dance, Caoimhe made quick work of the grades and of progressing through those tough, early years in open; those years when many dancers tend to get ‘stuck’. Caoimhe remembers her first ‘big win’, coming 5th in her Oireachtas in the U6 competition. Before she knew it, she had progressed to the international competition stage of her career and had positioned herself well to compete at the highest level. It could be argued that Caoimhe’s breakthrough year was 2018. By this time she was well used to the traveling aspect of Irish dancing and so that meant competing all over Ireland, the UK and North America.
In 2018, Caoimhe competed at her first All Ireland’s at the age of 10. Holding her nerve at such a significant event, Caoimhe achieved 3rd place. A lifelong dream for many is to podium at the Worlds and All Irelands, so to hit the box first time was incredible. A few months later it was the World Championships in Glasgow at the iconic Royal Concert Hall — one of Caoimhe’s favorite event venues. In the early part of the 2017/2018 season, Caoimhe set qualifying for the World championships as one of her goals. She achieved that aim and set her sights on a world medal. Her first time competing at the world championships and the goal was a world medal! She did more than that, much more. Amazingly at her first World championships, Caoimhe hit the box claiming 5th place and getting her hands on a globe! She had announced herself to the Irish dancing world as one to watch, and had shown that she was able to perform on the big stages.
This was just the beginning for Caoimhe as she set her sights even higher for the next dance year. Starting off the 2018/2019 season, Caoimhe competed at the Irish Nationals just before summer and placed 3rd. Wanting to be seen everywhere this season Caoimhe flew to America for the North American National Championships in Orlando and achieved a fantastic 4th. A few months later she flew to England to compete in the British Nationals and came 3rd. Towards the end of 2018, Caoimhe competed at the Great Britain Championships and achieved 2nd place.
Early 2019, and back in her home town of Killarney, the All Ireland Championships had come around again. Caoimhe held her position this year coming 3rd in an incredible age group. Then it was back to America for the 49th CLRG World Championships in Greensboro. This was a fantastic event in a top venue and Caoimhe arrived in great form to compete. Again, in a very strong age group, Caoimhe jumped from 5th to 2nd. In just her second year competing at the World Championships Caoimhe had achieved the honor of 2nd best in the world! This was the season Caoimhe showed that whenever she was at an event, she was going for the title and if she didn’t achieve it, she would not be far from the top.
On to the 2019/20 season and back to Dublin for the Irish Nationals. It was a 4th place finish at this event that secured her a spot at the 50th World Championships in Dublin 2020. Later in the season Caoimhe came 2nd at the Munster Oireachtas and also placed 5th at the Great Britain Championships.
Up until this point, there had been no major titles, but that didn’t matter. At different stages in their careers exceptional dancers tend to build momentum and it’s then that people in the community recognize that it’s only a matter of time before they are standing on the top of the box somewhere; what usually happens is that once the breakthrough is made, it occurs again and again. We know that Caoimhe won the All Ireland Title in her home town of Killarney in February 2020 which left her gunning for the world title in Dublin. Immediately after the All Irelands she was back to the studio and working towards the goal that she had set her heart on.
But we all know the rest of the story. Irish dancing stopped. The world stopped. The 50th CLRG Irish Dancing World Championships had to be canceled due to a global pandemic.
What didn’t stop was Caoimhe’s hunger to compete, her love of dance, her desire to achieve. Caoimhe hasn’t stopped dancing throughout this period and, like the rest of the Irish dancing world, cannot wait to get back to the stage.
We asked Caoimhe the following questions.
Q - How did you get into Irish Dancing?
A - A note came to our primary school advertising Irish dancing, and my mom and dad wanted me to try new activities and learn new skills. My dad danced, so he wanted me to follow him.
Q - Did dancing come naturally to you or were you a dancer that really had to work on every aspect of Irish dance?
A - Dancing came to me very naturally. I obviously had to work on bits that needed some work but other than that I was a natural. After my first dancing class, the teacher had told my mom that I would be fabulous yet!
Q - How would you describe your Irish dance journey? What hurdles would you say you have had to overcome?
A - I would describe my dance journey as memorable, fun, a little rocky at times and amazing. I have had lots of ups and downs but I have fought through them. I went from being 5th in U6 to being 18th in U9 in my Oireachtas, reaching a point where I almost lost hope. I worked incredibly hard at U10, setting my eyes on a qualifying space and made a remarkable comeback placing 3rd! This was the turning point for me and I have never looked back.
One hurdle that I would say I have overcome is nerves, particularly at majors. I would get up in flying form and this really bad sickness would come over me without any warning. It was like a switch had been flicked, and I was often physically sick side-stage or in the lineup. I have definitely overcome that.
Q - Do you have a strategy for preparing for a big competition?
A - I prepare for every competition the same way and see every major as just another feis. I usually get up, my mom does my hair. I then go to do my makeup, and after that I get some food into my body to give me energy.
There was a point when I had almost a suitcase of lucky charms and items of superstition including old dancing shoes, runners, and pink tracksuit pants. But over the years I have outgrown these and now I put a special clip in my hair in memory of my great grandmother who looks over me, and I wear my sister’s baseball top and jacket to each competition. I also have my shorts that I got for Worlds 2019 and nice baggy tracksuit pants.
I also find it very hard to part with dancing shoes that I have done really well in.
Q - Who is your favorite Irish dancer currently?
A - My favourite Irish dancers would probably be Sean Slemon and Kathleen Collins. They are both unreal dancers, and they are so so talented. I just love them - I am a huge fan of them both.
Q - What are you doing currently outside of the world of Irish dance?
A - I have just graduated from primary school and looking forward to going into secondary school in September. I am really excited but sad at the same time as I didn’t get to enjoy the last few months as a 6th class student because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But there were certainly positives — we had a virtual graduation and our parents organised a pizza party in the local park. It was brilliant to meet up with friends again after 3 months.
Q - Give us an insight into your practice regime in the build up to a big event?
A - We usually do 5 days a week in the lead up to a major. We would have a least 4 classes in those weeks with a feis on the Saturday / Sunday for stage practice.
Q – Could you tell us something about your Irish Dance teacher?
A - Aine is my Irish dance teacher and she is amazing. She is really supportive in every way. She always believes in me and pushes me hard to achieve my best. Of course, we have our moments where things get a little bit tense, but I know it’s always in my best interest.
Q - Is there anything you didn’t achieve that you really wished you had?
A - I really wish I had nailed a few more titles along the way; but aside from winning the World Championship, I would love to be a Munster Champion.
Q - What characteristics do you think a dancer needs in order to become the best?
A - I think dancers need to be seriously motivated, very driven to achieve and passionate about Irish dancing. They need to stay positive and focused as it can be hard sometimes, but you have to push through the obstacles. A hard work ethic is essential with a belief in oneself — that you can achieve your aims and that hard work does pay off. I would also say it’s really important to listen to your teacher and work hard on corrections after class as it really does work wonders.
Q - What do you feel when you are on stage?
A - When I am on stage I don’t really think about anything other than, “DANCE YOUR BEST THAT’S ALL YOU CAN DO,” and I continue to believe in myself. I also run through the corrections that Aine has done with me before I go up to dance.
Q - What would you say is your biggest strength as an Irish Dancer?
A - My biggest strength is my ability to pick up steps really fast and being a strong, solid dancer in heavy shoes.
Q - What would you say is your biggest weakness as an Irish Dancer?
A - Although I am really good at light shoe dances I would probably say they aren’t as good as my heavy shoe dances.
Q - What top tips (say 4 or 5) would you give an aspiring young Irish Dancer?
• Keep practising
• Stay focused
• Listen to your teachers and parents
• Dream big
• Set goals and keep them
Q - Are there any crossover skills/attributes that you have taken from Irish dancing into other aspects of your life?
A – Yes, I have definitely gained more confidence and can see that I can do it regardless of the obstacles I have to face along the way. I have also learned to be very disciplined, often having to make sacrifices such as missing parties, meeting up with friends and other fun activities etc., because I had an extra dancing class or a feis to go to. I have also learned just to be myself and not worry about everyone or anything else.
Q - Did you ever go through a period in your dancing career where you no longer loved it?
A - I have always loved dancing, but I have had periods where successes didn’t come my way. But one thing that I would say to myself is “IF YOU CAN DREAM IT YOU CAN DO IT”. The bad day always makes the good days even sweeter. I would be disappointed at times, but I would then just think it through and get back up again to achieve.
Q - Do you have any words or a poem or quote that lifts you up?
A –‘Set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there!’
Who knows what the rest of 2020 would have brought for Caoimhe O’Halloran. What we do know is that she would have given this year her very best. We can assume that she would have been up there with the other elite girls in her age group. We can also assume that she would have made the necessary sacrifices to get where she wanted to be. Caoimhe is a dancer who shows discipline, dedication and the tunnel vision to push almost everything else to one side in her pursuit of progression and success. Caoimhe seems to represent many of those elite dancers around the world who are always ‘there or there about’, or ‘always up there, very close to the top’. Fate dictated that the World championship trophy was not to be hers in Dublin in 2020, but we’re sure there will be many more special days in the years to come. FEIS App is very proud to call Caoimhe O’Halloran its Dancer of the Month and will be following her progress right throughout her career. Best of luck Caoimhe!