Moorestown High School Sophomore off to Irish Dance World Championships

It’s been a long road for Moorestown High School sophomore Kelsie Donovan, but she is now recognized among the elite Irish Dancers in the world.

Donovan, 15, has qualified for the World Irish Dancing Championships (Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne), an eight-day competition in Montreal, Canada.

This year’s competition runs from March 29-April 5.

She’s been dancing since she was five years old.

Irish Dance is a popular sport just outside Boston, where Donovan used to live. While there, she embraced the goal of qualifying for the world championships some day.

She danced with the O’Shea Chaplin School of Irish Dance, one of the longest-running Irish Dance companies in the country. It was established in Boston in the 1960’s, and has its roots in Ireland, where it was established in 1954.

She achieved the sport’s highest level, Open Champion, at the age of 11, and competed in the All Ireland Championships in 2012, a competition that fueled her fire even more.

Her family moved to South Jersey two years ago, and it became tougher to compete in the sport she loves.

There aren’t as many schools in the area, but Donovan is fortunate enough to be able to dance at the Broesler School of Irish Dance under the instruction of former national and world champion stepdancer Kevin Broesler.

The school was named the top Irish Dancing School in the country by Irish Dancing & Culture magazine in 2005.

Donovan takes classes in Haddonfield and Westwood, but her determination has led her to also take classes in Delaware, and to travel two hours for classes in Baltimore on Monday nights. She averages 15 hours of practice a week.

The move also meant she had to learn new dances, but she has adapted and is poised to realize a goal few who compete in her sport ever realize.

Dancers come from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, all over Europe, South Africa, Australia, the USA, and Canada to try and win a world title. About 25,000 people will watch approximately 5,000 of the world’s top Irish Dancers compete during that championship week.

In order to qualify for the World Championships, a dancer must compete and qualify in a Regional Oireachtas or at the North American National Championships.

Donovan competed against 130 other dancers in the under-15 age group in the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas over Thanksgiving weekend.

She placed 17th in that competition to qualify for the world championships, where she will be put up against 150 dancers from all over the world.

Her hard work is paying off.

The attached image of Kelsie Donovan was provided by Terri Donovan.