00:00 [Music]
00:25 Hi, I'm Sandra Connick and I'm the Chairperson of Uncommissioned Lirinka Gwelygol.
00:30 We are the oldest Irish dancing organisation in the world
00:33 and we are hosting our 52nd World Championship here in Glasgow.
00:37 We're thrilled to be here and we have a great relationship with Glasgow City.
00:41 We have over 4,000 competitors and we're averaging, based on the response,
00:47 we've sold between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors this week.
00:51 The event runs from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday
00:55 and we have over 34 countries worldwide represented here.
00:59 Can you tell me some of the dedication that's involved with these dancers?
01:02 Yes, what you're looking at is the top 2 to 5% of the dancers in the world.
01:07 We have both solo and team dancing here.
01:10 To be here you have to have first qualified at your regional and in several cases at your national.
01:16 It's the combination of a lot of hard work and many, many years of practice
01:22 and of course your teachers as well have to be dedicated.
01:25 It's just the pinnacle of most dancers' career to appear at the World Championships.
01:30 To appear at a World Championship, it's like the Olympics
01:32 or the World Championship of any athletic sport or any other art form.
01:37 So it's just to be able to say you've travelled to the World Championship, number one, is exciting.
01:43 The talent in the solo competitions is incredible.
01:47 The teams are the best teams in the world and to be part of that,
01:51 you may never come here as a soloist, but to be part of a team is just a wonderful achievement
01:56 and a very exciting time in the dancers' lives.
01:59 What's the atmosphere like?
02:01 The atmosphere is fantastic this week.
02:03 Of course we love coming to Glasgow.
02:05 Glasgow is very welcoming and it's no accident.
02:08 This is our sixth time back to Glasgow.
02:10 Our first time was in 2002 and various locations since then.
02:15 It's just lovely and the people are Glasgow as the saying goes.
02:19 You've been around here, the atmosphere is fabulous.
02:23 Everybody's very friendly and everybody's having a great old time.
02:26 There's a lot of natural ability involved too, but it takes an awful lot of talent
02:30 and it's hard work really that brings you to this level.
02:33 It's still an art form and we love it and we hold on to as many of the traditions as we can.
02:38 But over the years it has become more and more athletic and faster and you have to cross-train.
02:44 So along with your dancing class, you're always doing some other type of training and fitness as well.
02:49 Hi, we are the Hurley Hebert Gwain School of Irish Dancing
02:52 and I am Kristie, one of their teachers, and Julie is our other teacher.
02:56 We're very excited to be here at the World.
02:58 It's taken a lot of hard work and dedication and hours of practice, day in, day out, to be here
03:04 and we can't wait.
03:06 How often are you practicing?
03:07 These girls are practicing every single day.
03:10 It's day in, day out. It's hours of class. It's hours of practice at home to be here.
03:14 It's everything, head to toes, the wigs, the makeup, the tan, the shoes,
03:19 getting the dresses right, getting the look right. It's everything.
03:23 Yes, this is the biggest competition, so this is what we've been aiming for for a long time.
03:27 Hi, I'm Jodie Clark and I'm from the Hurley Hebert Gwain School of Irish Dancing.
03:31 We're in class every day, multiple hours a day,
03:34 and then we have to work hard at home to stretch, cross train, strength train, all the things like that.
03:41 What does it mean to you to be at the World?
03:44 This is what we train for, so to be here is incredible.
03:48 And to be here with all my dance school too, it just feels so special.
03:52 This will be my sixth World, but just hoping to dance my best, honestly.
03:58 That's all you can ask for, really.
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