By Jessica Micallef
Paige and Ciana are ready to take their Irish dancing talents to Dublin.
The dancers, aged 13 and 15 respectively, will compete at the World Irish Dance Championships in Dublin next year.
The girls, part of the Pacific Irish Dance School in Sunbury, recently attended the Australian Irish Dancing Championships in Canberra where they qualified for the world championships.
The girls competed against 1500 dancers in Canberra. Their dance stuido friends Olivia, Anika and Erin also competed.
Dance teacher Charmayne Dulley said she was proud of her students for reaching an international level.
“It’s ecstatic,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard work over the summer in preparation and they will dance in sections that have over 200 competitors that have gone through a similar process in their own countries to qualify.
“To have an opportunity to even compete is just super exciting.”
Ms Dulley said her students would be busily perfecting their techniques in the lead-up to the championships in Dublin in April.
“They train here four days a week with myself and my two colleagues,” she said.
“They also practise at home themselves, so it’s similar to training like an athlete would for any national event.
“They are super excited to attend. It’s something that some dancers only get to once, some never get to the event, so any opportunity to compete is really exciting.”
