World Irish Dancing Championship in Boston

Organizers sayid they expected the competition, the largest of the four major international Irish dance events, to draw as many as 20,000 people from across the world.

The Senior Mixed Ceili group from the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance stepped on stage to compete on the final day of the World Irish Dance Championships.  Next

The World Irish Dancing Championships are the Olympics of the art form, often launching young performers into careers with popular touring shows like “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance.”

Rita O'Shea-Chaplin of the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance fixed Alannah O'Brien's hair before she competed with the Senior Mixed Ceili group on the final day of the World Irish Dance Championships on Sunday.  Next

Based this year in the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, the Hynes Grand Ballroom, and the Sheraton Hotel Grand Ballroom, the competition has come a long way since its first iteration in 1970, a two-day affair that took place in Dublin in an auditorium with fewer than 500 seats.

Rita O'Shea-Chaplin of the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance corrected the dancers form during a practice of the Senior Mixed Ceili group before their competition on Sunday.  Next

Competition events are categorized by dance style and age. The youngest performers are 10, the oldest generally in their 20s.

Rita O'Shea-Chaplin of the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance corrected Meghan Moffitt, 19 and Parker Armstrong, 16, during a practice of the Senior Mixed Ceili group before their competition on the final day of the World Irish Dance Championships.  Next

In addition to a variety of team dancing categories, there will be separate male and female solo championship events for each age group almost every day.

Rita O'Shea-Chaplin of the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance directed a practice of the Senior Mixed Ceili group.  Next

A dancer practiced in the halls of the Hynes Convention Center during the World Irish Dancing Championships held in Boston. Competitors wear makeup, wigs and often use spray tanning to complete their appearance.

A young competitor held her teddy bear while looking at a tablet during a break in the competition of the World Irish Dancing Championships.

Organizers expected twenty-thousand people from around the globe to attend the event.   Next

Rita O'Shea, Boston's authority on Irish step dancing as backstage as she watched dancers perform at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

The Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dancing from Pennsylvania swirled on the stage during The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

Girls competing in the World Irish Dancing Championships stood next to fans as they wait for their spray tans to dry in Boston.

The technique for Irish dancing focuses primarily on technical footwork, in either hard jig shoes or soft shoes.   Next

Dancers from the Coyle School of Irish Dance in Philadelphia laughed as they looked at group photos of themselves on a computer taken by a studio photographer set up at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

Dancers from the Lenihan School of Irish Dance from Pennsylvania rested on a windowsill after competing at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

The reigning world champion Irish Dancer Claire Greaney autographed a program for Maggie Fleming, 9 from Islip, NY at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

The Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dancing from Pennsylvania gave a group hug backstage moments before they went on to perform in the 16-19 age group competition, during The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

Simone Loysen, 10, held her breath as she had her hair done backstage at the World Irish Dancing Championships.

Traditional Irish dancing, once outlawed in the 17th century, saw a rise in popularity following the stage productions of ”Riverdance” and “Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance.”  Next

Emily Lynch from Seymour, Conn. with the Lenihan School of Irish Dance, rested on the cold floor in a hallway, tired after competing at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Friday.  Next

The Brady Academy dancers from Quincy danced, "Trip to the cottage" in the 16-19 year old age group competition on Friday.  Next

Young dancers peered through the curtains to watch other competitors in the soft shoe portion of the Girls 12-13 solos during the World Irish Dancing Championships held in Boston,   Next

The O'Grady Quinlan dance group representing the mid-Atlantic region dance in the 16-19 age group competition at The World Irish Dancing Championships are being held at the Hynes Convention Center.  Next

Dancers from the Peter Smith School of Irish Dance from New Jersey practiced their mixed under age 13 ceili dance at The World Irish Dancing Championships on Tuesday.  Next

Iona McHugh of Scotland stretched before competiting in the Girls 12-13 Solo Hard Shoe portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships.

Representatives of Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Czech Republic, Canada, Russia, Norway and Taiwan, have come to compete with the Irish, English, Scottish and US dancers.   Next

Delaney Howell of the United States competed in Girls 10-11 soft shoe portion of the the World Irish Dancing Championships.

The dancers’s precise, fast-paced timing and rhythm come alive to traditional music played on fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhran and piano.  Next

Dancers are silhouetted as they practiced before competing in the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston on Sunday.  Next

Ten-year-old Deirdre Donovan, left, of Stoneham, Massachusetts applied her lipstick as she and her teammates prepare to compete in the Sub-Minor Ceili portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships on Monday held in Boston.  Next

Young competitors watched and waited their turn to dance in the Sub Minor Ceili portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships on Monday.  Next

Competitors warmed up in the hallway at the World Irish Dancing Championships on Monday.  Next

A dancer practiced in the halls of the Hynes Convention Center on Tuesday.  Next

Dancers practice outside the competition hall for the Girls Minor Ceili portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships on Monday.  Next

Casey McLeod from Belfast, Ireland is way up high in the senior ladies over 21 competition at The World Irish Dancing Championships a being held at the Hynes Convention Center.  Next

Brogan McCay of Ireland, the 2012 Girls 11-12 World Champion, competed in the Girls 13-14 soft shoe portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships on Monday.  Next

Young dancers gathered backstage as they prepared to compete in the solo hard shoe portion of the World Irish Dancing Championships on Sunday.  Next

A young competitor held her music player while practicing her dance in the halls of the Hynes Convention Center on Sunday.  Next

A young dancer watched the competition during the World Irish Dancing Championships on Sunday.  Next

A girl competed at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston on Sunday.  Next

A competitor laced up her shoes in the hallway before competing in the World Irish Dancing Championships on Sunday.  Next

A competitor practiced in the hallway before competing in the World Irish Dancing Championships on Sunday.  Next

A member of the O'Hare School Under 16 Ceili team from Akron, Ohio practiced with her teammates before competing at the World Irish Dancing Championships on Wednesday.  Next

Members of the O'Hare School Under 16 Ceili team from Akron, Ohio practiced before competing at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston on Wednesday.  Next

Abby Llewellyn, 11, waited to compete backstage at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston on Sunday.  Next

A girl is silhouetted as she practiced in the hallway before competing in the World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston on Sunday.  Back to the beginning