YOUNGSTOWN Irish dancers vie for world title

Brendan Trewella said friends who have seen him dance 'think it's pretty awesome.'
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- To keep their Irish eyes smiling, five local kids are working their way to the top, one step dance at a time.
Jessica Crogan, 17, of Poland; Caitlin Murphy, 14, of Warren; and Brendan, Molly and Ashling Trewella of Boardman will represent mid-America at the World Championship of Irish Dancing in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday through March 31.
They placed among the top eight among thousands of dancers competing in the Midwest Oirechtas Competition in Chicago to qualify for the World Championship, said Susan Trewella, the mother of three of the dancers and program chairwoman at Burke School of Irish Dance, Youngstown.
Trewella's youngest daughter, Brigid, also placed high enough in the Midwest competition to go to the World Championship, but she doesn't meet the age requirements. Dancers competing in the World Championship must be at least 10 years old. Brigid is 9.
Experienced: All of the dancers except Ashling, 11, have competed in the World Championship before. This will be Brendan's seventh trip, his mother said. He's ranked eighth in the world, No. 1 in mid-America.
Ashling qualified to compete in the World Championship last year, but the competition was canceled because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe. This year, she will dance in the world competition for the first time on her birthday and said she thinks that is a good sign. "I'm happy, and kind of nervous," she added, a big smile spreading across her face. She placed third in the mid-America competition.
Brendan, 15, started dancing when he was 4. Back then, he didn't know his right from his left and older students would dread having to help him, Susan Trewella recalled. But, he caught on and has excelled, placing first in the mid-America competition six of the last eight years.
Being so outnumbered by girls doesn't seem to bother him, and he said his friends at school don't rib him about being involved in dance. "The ones who have seen me dance think it's pretty awesome," he said. On rare occasions a few have even asked him to show them a step or two.
Molly, 13, started dancing when she was 7. "I wasn't interested before that," she said. "I didn't really get interested until my brother and sister really got into it."
She placed fourth in mid-America.
Crogan and Murphy both started dancing when they were 4. Their siblings also took lessons. Crogan's younger sister and Murphy's younger brother both quit to focus on sports.
Because they are the only ones in their families still taking lessons, and because they are outnumbered by the Trewella clan, Crogan said she and Murphy are "sisters." Putting their arms around each other's shoulders, the girls laughed at the observation.
Supportive: Rivalry doesn't exist. They all spend at least eight hours a week dancing and another four doing strength-training exercises. During competitions they support each other, offering encouragement back stage and cheering in the audience, Susan Trewella said.
"For Americans, competing in the home of Irish dancing is a wee bit of an uphill battle," Susan Trewella said, but she believes her children and the other students have an equalizer in teacher Theresa Burke.
"Burke was one of the first teachers of Irish dance in America. She's been here for 35 years," Trewella said.
Burke has had students competing in the World Championship since 1970 and operates schools in Youngstown, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Ninety-seven students ages 4 through 17 are enrolled in the Youngstown school.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, dancers from the Burke School of Irish Dance performed at various locations around the Mahoning Valley Sunday.
kubik@vindy.com