Local sisters qualify for world Irish dance competition

When sisters Adelia and Brittanna Roberts are dancing, they make it look effortless. Watching them rehearse at Harp Irish Dance Company in American Fork, an onlooker would get the sense that they were truly born to be Irish dancers.

The sisters, natives of Midway, began dancing when they were toddlers, making the journey to Harp Irish Dance Company three times a week with their older sister. Now, Adelia, 20, and Brittanna, 23, are headed to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to compete in the An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha 50th annual Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, World Irish Dancing Championships, from April 10-17.

The Roberts sisters never thought they would return to Ireland after taking a family trip to the country almost a decade ago, let alone return to compete in the World Irish Dancing Championships together.

“It’s been really nice to have a training partner because we push each other more than we would by ourselves,” Adelia said.

“It was never really even on my radar to qualify for worlds, even at the competition where I qualified,” she said. “I was just excited to get top half and then they started announcing all the world qualifiers and my number was on that list, and it was just a shock for me; it was so exciting.”

Although the competition is just days away, the sisters are calm and composed. The time has long passed for dramatic corrections and intense rehearsal. Now, the girls are focused on visualizing their success at the competition. For them, it’s not about winning, but rather leaving everything on the floor in Belfast in performances that have been decades of hard work and preparation in the making.

“I don’t care what my placement is because I can’t control that,” Adelia said. “My expectation is to dance my very best rounds on stage and to go off of the stage knowing that I’m happy with how I danced.”

Read more @ https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/2022/apr/09/local-sisters-qualify-for-world-irish-dance-competition/