FEIS App's Dancer Of The Month - Luisa Diaz

Irish dancing has become a global dance form. Since Riverdance introduced Irish dancing to the world at The Eurovision Song Contest, Irish dancing’s reach has grown tremendously. With the worldwide publicity from Riverdance the show, and Lord Of The Dance, Irish dance has now become an art form that is being practiced in many countries, including Mexico.

Mexico is a country that is rich with its own cultural identity. It’s a nation that has a strong cultural identity when it comes to dancing in particular, so it’s easy to understand why Irish dancing has only been able to gain a foothold in this country in recent years. In comparison to other areas in the world, Irish dancing (as of Feb 2021) really is in its infancy in Mexico. However, just because a region doesn’t have the history to draw from (and in this case we’re talking about the history of Irish dance) that doesn’t mean potential talent isn’t there waiting to blossom. A young lady from Mexico City recently demonstrated that.

Luisa Diaz, from the Drake School of Irish Dance in Mexico is a young lady who has chosen Irish dance as her life’s passion. Her dedication to Irish dancing is nothing short of phenomenal. Luisa is a quiet person, very unassuming, but a person with as much drive, dedication, motivation, and grit as a human being can have.

At the 2019 Southern Regional Oireachtas, after setting her goal on the title a year or so earlier, Luisa found herself standing at the front of the stage with one other dancer next to her. Her heart was racing as she waited to hear the final result in her competition. Luisa came second. A fantastic achievement, but not the result Luisa wanted. Handling the situation with dignity and grace, Luisa smiled for the cameras and thanked her teachers, but inside she knew that this wasn’t the end of her quest.

Luisa’s journey in Irish dance started with a transition from other styles of Irish dancing. Her mother took Luisa to a jazz and tap class in a studio called Tiny Jazz. Initially, it was just for something fun to do whilst getting some exercise. However, after about a year, the owner of the studio, a lady by the name of Jackie Ali, invited Luisa to try one Irish dancing class as it was a new style of dance to the school. Luisa was persuaded to try one class and like so many dancers around the world today, one class was all it took. She was hooked!

Luisa remembers one of her first classes vividly. Jackie spent a lot of time teaching her the steps and Luisa just wouldn’t stop going over and over them. 

At this point it’s important to remember just how new Irish dancing was to the region. Luisa was pursuing a relatively new art form; she was not following the path of her peers. She was paving a new path for herself. However, being in Mexico it was difficult being so isolated from larger Irish dancing classes and so Luisa started traveling up to Drake classes and workshops in the United States, and as we all know, this can be very expensive, so sacrifices had to be made. Luisa traveled to the U.S. when she could and worked hard on what she had learned each time she returned to Mexico. Soon enough the sacrifices and hard work paid off.

Before too long Luisa was an open dancer and in 2015 she qualified for her first World championships. Since then she has danced at the World championships every year, and up to and including the World championships in Greensboro, she hasn’t recalled. After her fabulous performance at the 2019 Southern Regional Oireachtas Luisa was poised to go to the 50^th World Championships and had her heart set on not just a recall but a significant jump up the world rankings. COVID-19 came and blocked Luisa’s path, but that didn’t change the goal, or Luisa’s work ethic.

We all know what happens next, the world shuts down and Irish dance goes online. However, it could be argued that this is where Luisa’s geographical position within Irish dancing might have served her well. Dancing in such a remote location all of her life, she has had to rely largely on her own motivation,  dedication and grit. Yes, she credits her fantastic teachers, not just as teachers but as mentors and huge influencers on her life, but being down in Mexico City,  far removed from the big classes and Irish culture many take for granted, she has had to work on herself, for herself, by herself.

And this is where the personal attributes mentioned earlier are so crucial for her. Without being pushed, she pushed herself. On the days where motivation wasn’t there, she forced herself to do what was necessary. She scheduled, planned, rested, fueled, and worked and worked and worked.

Due to the fantastic commitment of many of the CLRG officials behind the scenes, the Southern Regional Oireachtas went ahead in 2020. Socially distanced, and vastly different to any SRO prior, the event was a huge success and was responsible for instilling purpose back into the minds of many of the dancers within that region. A year on from achieving second place, and after having worked incredibly hard every day since, Luisa walked onto the stage and pointed her toe. She was ready.

Luisa danced an exceptional three rounds, and later that day the dancers in her age group were called to the stage for the presentation ceremony. Friends, family, teachers and members of the Irish dancing community from around the world tuned in for the award ceremony live stream. Again, Luisa found herself at the front of the stage with one other dancer standing next to her. Again, her heart was beating and she was doing all that she could just to stay on her feet. This time though, it wasn’t her number that was called out, and that only meant one thing — Luisa Diaz was the Southern Regional Oireachtas Champion!

Not only that, Luisa was the first ever solo ladies winner at the Southern Regional Oireachtas hailing from Mexico. She had made history in her own right!

FEIS App asked Luisa the following:

Q - Who would you say is your biggest supporter?

A - I have 4 major supporters. Both of my parents are always looking for ways to help me and they make sure all my dancing necessities are covered and will always encourage me.

Jackie Ali, the owner of the studio in Mexico. She is always looking for opportunities to make my dancing better and she is always looking out for me. She knows me well so she will always respond to my situations with a solution.

Mr Karl (my dance teacher) is always looking out for me even with the distance problem. He knows me really well so he knows how to get the best out of me and he's always looking for the best opportunities for my dancing, he always cheers me up too!

Q - Did dancing come naturally to you or were you a dancer who really had to work on every aspect of her dancing?

A - I would say I do need to really work on some aspects but I did have some things that came naturally to me, especially when I was younger. I still need to really work on a lot of things now!

Q - How would you describe your Irish dance journey?

A – It has been difficult, since in Mexico we do not have the same opportunities, by which I mean that since it is not so well known there, there are not so many competitions. Also it is very expensive and there are many expenses just to be able to compete or attend workshops. It almost always involves traveling, but my teacher, Mr Karl, is always looking for ways to help us in that respect and I’m really thankful for that. Irish dancing has grown in Mexico, but it is still very small and we are still very far from being like England or America.

Q - Favorite place you have ever visited because of Irish Dance?

A - I loved Dublin, but I have to say my favorite place I visited because of dancing is Newcastle, England, because although I was really scared to go, I learned so much from the other dancers and teacher there. I met really good friends there and I loved the place because it is so different from Mexico in every aspect.

Q – Could you give us an insight into your practice regime in the build up to a big event?

A - I practice 6 times a week, I go to my regular classes in the studio. Thanks to Zoom I can now have classes with Mr Karl 2 times a week. I rest completely 1day a week.

 Luisa with her teacher Karl Drake after winning the Southern Regional Oireachtas. 

Q - What’s your Irish dance teacher like?

A – Karl Drake is a very good person. He can be very strict and demanding sometimes but this is what helps us the most. On the other hand he is very comprehensive with all of us. He is super dedicated in everything that has to do with the school and very supportive.

Q - What characteristics you do think a dancer needs in order to become the best?

A - Discipline, dedication and passion. Although having physical qualities like strength and turned out feet or a good arch help, I believe that with discipline,

dedication and passion, you can achieve whatever you want. I believe that no matter how much talent or good qualities you have, if you do not put in the work the results will not be the same.

 Mexico's first ladies solo Southern Regional Oireachtas Champion!

Q - What would you say is your biggest ever achievement In Irish dancing? Why does this achievement stand out to you?

A - Winning the SRO stands out to me because I have been working for it for the last 10 years. I put in a lot of hard work and to be the first Mexican lady solo champion was an honor.

Q - Did you think about becoming the first Ladies Solo Southern Regional Oireachtas Champion from Mexico before you won?

A – I don’t know if I thought of being the first, but definitely winning one day. I think it was always my goal, but I didn’t see it as being possible until a few years ago!

Q - What do your family and friends in Mexico that have nothing to do with Irish dancing think about your dancing?

A - To be honest it was kind of like my secret life; not many of my friends really

knew I was into Irish dancing. They knew I was a dancer but they didn't know what type. It wasn’t until this year that they got to really know it was Irish dancing and they find it really cool. They are always commenting on the costumes, wigs and tan, but they find the actual dancing so impressive and my family love it. They really enjoy watching it and both of my sisters dance as well so it is quite normal in the family.

Q - How did it feel to become the first Mexican Ladies Solo Oireachtas champ?

A – I was thrilled. It took me ages to believe it. At that moment I was speechless. I was so happy because I really killed myself training and it wasn't easy because of all the COVID situations, but I felt like at the end it was all worth it.

Q – What are your Irish dancing goals now?

A - I think it is hard to set a competitive goal during this time so my main goal at the minute is to perfect the weak aspects of my dancing and really focus on making my dancing better. But my long term goals would be to recall at the World championships and win a world medal. One of my goals is also to place in the top five at the NANs.

To see Irish dancing steadily growing in nations around the world is reassuring and to see young people like Luisa Diaz find their life’s passion within it is uplifting. Luisa Diaz is an incredible ambassador for Irish dancing and we are thrilled to call her our Dancer of the Month for March 2021. We cannot wait to see her journey unfold. Will she be in the top five in her age group at NANs this year in Arizona? Will she recall at the worlds and get her world medal? Will she go on to become a successful TCRG in Mexico and help to grow Irish dancing even further in that region? Only time will tell.