Blog by Isabella Walshe

Hi my name is Isabella Walshe and I’m 11 years old. This is my blog on my first World Championships. It all started in 2010 when I was determined to qualify for the 2011 Worlds Championships. The previous year I missed qualifying at the British Nationals by 2.5 marks, then 3 weeks before the Southern region qualifying, I tore my Achilles. At the start of 2010, I travelled to Killarney for the All Irelands. I was placed 20th in the heavy solo, and got an overall recall. At the 2010 southern region oireachtas, there were 10 qualifying places, and I came 7th!! I was so happy and relieved that I had qualified! Later on that evening we had photos taken with all my dancing teachers and friends from my school, Imogen, Tim, Aoife and Chloe. We also enjoyed some champagne to celebrate too!

The following week, my mum, Deborah travelled to Dublin to take her TCRG exam. When she found out she had passed, we were both extremely excited because it meant that after I danced at the Worlds, she would be going to the Worlds Ball to collect her certificate. My teacher Ciaron also passed his ADCRG exam, so he would be collecting his certificate too!

In February I travelled to Celticstar in Birmingham to be measured for my new dress that I would be dancing in at the World Championships. I was over the moon when I got it because it was gorgeous and so sparkly. Now it was the day before i was dancing at the Worlds, so i was really excited but also tired as we had to get up at 3am, to catch our flight at 6.30am. When we arrived in Dublin, we went straight to the Citywest to see the venue. We visited the Camelia Rose stall to buy a new wig to go with my new dress. Then we headed back to our hotel to have an early night as i was dancing at 9am the next morning.



The day of the World Championships was finally here and at this point I was reaching boiling point with excitement! I had a good nights sleep thanks to my good luck bunny I was cuddling, that my best friend Imi got me. When we reached to arena, we picked the best seats possible. All of a sudden my Godmother Maria arrived with her mum and daughter, to support me all the way from England. My Auntie Mary and her daughter Carol, who live in Dublin, also came along to watch me dance. I popped out of the Arena to put my dress on. It felt a little tight at first, but i didn’t care because I just couldn’t wait to get on the stage and dance. My dancing teacher got me warmed up, then i went backstage to get into order. When I got onto the stage, i just knew i had to fight for it if i wanted a recall. I was loving the experience so much, that i made a little silly mistake! After that i knew that my 2nd round had to be amazing to get back into the recall. When I came down from the stage after my 2nd round, my teachers and family were so proud of me. Unfortunately i didn’t get a recall but I wasn’t expecting one after what happened in my 1st round! At least I have had the experience of dancing at the World Championships, so that’s all that matters! After the results, we found out that i was 66th out of 143 dancers, so i was pleased with that.

Later on that week, my mum, Ciaron and the rest of my dancing teacher went to the World Ball, and had a great time. If I qualify for the Worlds next year, i am going to aim for a recall, but at the moment i’m just recovering from all the early mornings! I can’t wait to get back to school to tell all of my best mates, Tayla, William and everyone else all about it, and to thank them for all their support. My future aims in Irish dancing are to have my own dancing school, design the dresses that are worn and maybe even a bit of Riverdance!