In many ways, Aine McGill is a typical 10-year-old. She has a favorite subject in school (geography), sings in the church choir, and is a recent devotee of singer Taylor Swift.
But the fourth grader from Ardara, County Donegal, is also a musical multiple threat: She plays piano, accordian, banjo, and tin whistle, and is one of only nine dancers from Ulster Province who qualified to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships which start on Sunday, April 5, in Philadelphia.
And, like most accomplished typical 10-year-olds, Aine has a proud mom, Bernie, who is quick to point out that her achievement is all the more remarkable because “Ulster has the best dancers,” regularly placing in the top three in the All-Irelands.
Aine and her family—Bernie, dad Padraig, and sister, Maired, 19, a Trinity College student—flew to the United States last week and are staying in Chestnut Hill with Padraig’s brother, Jim McGill, and his family. She’s been practicing for an hour and a half every day at the Irish Center (where the New Zealand competitors also went through their routines this week).
Even at 10, Aine is the consummate professional. When we asked her if we could film her doing some steps, she was happy to do it, but reluctant to simply demonstrate the generic jigs and reels, rather than the flashier choreography created by her teachers, three former dancers from the show, “Riverdance.”
“No world class dancer would just do those steps,” she whispered to her sister, Mairead, a former dancer who jokes that she’s Aine’s “personal trainer.”
But her routine, like that of her fellow competitors, is a closely guarded secret. Videoing a dancer’s proprietary steps carries stiff penalties, as anyone who has been set upon by angry feis judges or parents threatening to snatch the camera out of their hands knows well. “I had someone threaten to take mine even though I was just focusing on Aine,” says Mairead.
Aine, who started dancing at age 5, has had a swift rise to the top, propelling through four levels in two years of competition to achieve championship status. But, going into the World’s, she’s anything but overconfident. Wish her luck, but don’t tell her she’s sure to win. If you do, her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “Oh, noooo,” she says.
She’s definitely a typical 10-year-old. What does she like most about dancing? It’s all about the friendships. “I like the competitions,” she answers. “Because I like to make friends with the other competitors.”
UPDATE: 04/06.09
Aine placed ninth in the world in her age group during competition on Sunday, April 5.
Aine demonstrated a few steps for us. Check out the video.
