were invested, it was both exhausting
and exhilarating. Joy and heartache,
the thrill of victory and the agony of
defeat. At a world championship you
must be prepared
for everything
: Wigs
fall off mid-dance. Competitors run
off stage, sick from nerves. One boy,
a European champ, choked with just
a few seconds left in his attempt. (He
was fortunate to get a second chance,
with the crowd supporting him.) A
competitor collapsed in sobs at my
feet. Between rounds, girls walk about
with their dresses half-on, yoga-wear
beneath. And you hear the same Irish
music for days. You’ll hear it in your
sleep… but actually like it.
Accept disappointment; move on
My daughter was Hong Kong’s
flag-bearer, going straight from the
opening ceremonies to the Under
14/15 European Championship. She
performed well in her “hard shoe”
and “soft shoe” events, dancing
on the huge stage before a raft of
adjudicators. But, in the third round,
the “traditional set”, she made a
mistake that kept her from moving on
to the final round. She took it in her
stride, happy to relax and watch her
friends compete. We were delighted
when she placed eighth out of a field
of 26 in her best event, “soft shoe”. A
top-ten finish? Not bad for her first
foray into the big leagues, and a lesson
in cultivating gratitude.
Learn to win gracefully
All three Echoes teachers progressed
to the European finals, and at the
awards presentation, I peeked at my
daughter and her pals as the results
were announced. Numbers are
called… three competitors are left to
grace the winners’ podium… two of
them are Echoes teachers! One places
third and the director becomes the
2014 WIDA European Senior Irish
Dance Champion – an improvement
over last year for both. It takes a lot to
make a “Northern Irelander” smile, I
figure; my daughter’s teacher is a study
in how to win gracefully. She raises
her trophy slightly, gives a wee grin to
family and students. She is showing
them, “See, this can be yours, if you
work at it.” The students are listening,
I can tell. Listening and screaming for
joy. This is teaching by example.
Learn to lose gracefully, too
Two days later, the final event is upon
us, the World Championships awards
ceremony. My daughter’s teacher’s
number is called. She smiles at the
man next to her, says a few secret
words to the new world champion,
then takes her place on the podium
as the proud and graceful runner-up.
Her students are still watching and
learning, remarkably invested in her
success and moved by her grace… and
already thinking ahead to next year’s
competition.
October 2014
135
