FEIS App's Grade Dancer of the Month - Marlee Mulcahy

Why do we celebrate Grade Dancers of the Month? The answer is simple. Grade dancers are the future of Irish dance. They are the future high achievers and world champions. They are the dancers who all aspiring Irish dancers will look up to. They are the dancers down the road who will go viral on Irish dancing related social media. They are the dancers who are going to keep this wonderful art form alive as the next generation of talent. They are the lifeblood of Irish dancing. They are soul of Irish dancing.

Grade dancers are bundles of potential and joy, and this month’s FEIS App Grade Dancer of the Month is no exception. She has aspirations of a world qualification soon and then further hopes of placing high in the not too distant future. And at just 9 years of age, Marlee Mulcahy isn’t a name we will all instantly recognize —YET. But that’s the thing about grade dancers, we just don’t know. We don’t know what’s in store for Marlee. We don’t know if her name will be called out as North American National Champion one day. We don’t know if she’ll be waiting on stage next to another dancer to decide if she’s the champion of Great Britain down the road. What we can identify and celebrate right now are the catalysts for success, the things that are early signs that a person might have the qualities to take them to the highest heights in Irish dance — and Marlee has lots of those — one in particular that will potentially keep this future star coming back for more time after time.

Marlee Mulcahy dances for the Dunleavy Boyle Academy within the CLRG organization. She has danced from a very young age and is currently in the Prizewinner grade; being in this grade at 9 years of age shows that Marlee is progressing through her grades well. With her first feis only three years ago, it’s pleasing to know that she already has the open grade in her sights.

Having had the usual introduction to Irish dance — seeing it on a video at home — Marlee was hooked by the fast tempo of the music and the rhythms the dancers created. With no one in her family having danced before her it came as quite a surprise that Marlee was so keen to start; but after the introduction to the school was made, Marlee was off on her journey. Too young to remember anything other than it feeling much like the first day of a new school — with all the nerves and apprehension — Marlee (and her family) instantly clicked with her new teachers and solid support foundations were established.

These strong foundations have continued to strengthen, and Marlee credits her teachers and her parents with being her biggest supporters. “They show their support by all believing in me. My whole family comes to every feis I compete in. I have two amazing teachers. They are both great at motivating us to do our best!”

Last year, Marlee got to dance at her first Oireachtas (New England) and experience Irish dancing on a larger scale. Competing at such events for the first time can be daunting to a budding dancer, but such an experience can also show a dancer what the next episode of Irish dance looks like and excite and engage them; this is what happened with Marlee. On the bigger stage for the first time Marlee managed to achieve 2^nd in the U8 Traditional Set Dance competition and got to stand on the podium. As many dance mums and dads will testify, once this has happened once there’s no going back.

Marlee’s teachers describe Marlee as conscientious, hardworking, musical and caring. All fantastic qualities to see in a budding young Irish dancer; however, the two attributes that they really emphasized when describing Marlee were her determination, and above all, her competitiveness. We often hear from champion dancers that they ‘won’t give up until they have mastered something,’ or they ‘will practice every single day at home too,’ and Marlee, though still a grade dancer, is no exception. She practices every single day at home, as well as at class! Michael Boyle TCRG, one of Marlee’s teachers, describes Marlee as, ‘One of the most competitive dancers that I have ever taught! She would create contests during our months of virtual classes to keep herself and the other dancers engaged!’ So while open feiseanna have virtually been halted worldwide, Marlee has created her own class contests to keep everyone motivated. Some dancers look forward to competitions and thrive on them; Marlee is clearly in this category.

We asked Marlee the following questions:

Q - What’s your favorite dance and why?

A - My favorite dance is slip jig because the music is cool and it is elegant.

Q - What dance do you find the easiest? What dance do you find the most difficult?

A - The easiest dance for me is slip jig because I don't get confused with the steps. The hardest dance for me is reel because the ending of the first two steps are very similar so sometimes I get confused. 

Q - What areas of your technique are you really trying to improve at the moment?

A - I am trying to improve my sweeps and get them higher.

Q - What’s your favorite thing about Irish dancing?

A - My favorite thing about Irish dancing is doing big competitions like Oireachtas because I get to stay at a hotel with my friends and we all have so much fun.

Q - Do you get nervous when you dance at a feis?

A - I get nervous sometimes at feiseanna because all eyes are on me and there is someone judging my every move.

Q - Are you finding it difficult to get into the next grade?

A - No and Yes. I have multiple firsts in my dances, but I haven’t got a first in the reel yet in my current grade.

Q - What are the main difficulties that you need to overcome in order to get into the next grade?

A - I need to work on being more confident in the reel. Because it is the first dance, I am always nervous.

Q - What is your aim in Irish dancing for the next two years?

A - My aim in Irish dancing for the next two years is to try to qualify for Nationals.

Q - What is your long-term aim for Irish dancing? What do you hope to achieve?

A - I hope to compete at the worlds and get a good place.

Q - How often do you feis?

A - I feis pretty often. In a normal year, I do 10-15 feiseanna.

Q - Do you do any other hobbies other than Irish dancing? If so what are they?

A - I love to draw, bake, play piano, swim, run, code, make stop motion animation, and play soccer.

Q - Do you have a favorite tune on FEIS App?

A - I like the Debris set, slip jigs 113 and Molly McAdam set, heavy jigs 73.

Q - Have you got any words of advice for other grade dancers out there?

A – Simply try hard and have fun!

We can never be sure of course, but with the qualities that Marlee displays it certainly appears that she has a bright Irish dance future in front of her.

It is Marlee’s determination and competitive nature that we want to celebrate. Dancing for the love of dance is essential; but the Irish dancing calendar is largely structured around competition, so having the mix of qualities that Marlee has puts her in a good position for the long journey ahead. When times get tough, her determination will pull her through, and when she’s tired, or hasn’t received the place at a competition that she may have liked, it’s her competitive nature that will keep her coming back and working harder to achieve her dreams. Now more than ever, Irish dancers need to be as determined as Marlee. FEIS App is thrilled to call Marlee our Grade Dancer of the Month and cannot wait to follow her future. Good luck Marlee!