Kristina O’Rourke kicks up her heels

It was the second year in a row that Kristina O’Rourke, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Woodmere Middle School, was entered into the USA Irish’s Dance Alliance’s U.S. Open championship. This year, the precocious young lady captured first place in the competition, which took place the weekend of June 25 in Atlantic City.

O’Rourke captured first place in the (Under 14) division, competing against 30 other kids from across the country. “It was such a happy day for me because I guess the judges thought I danced the best and at the end I received a big trophy,” said O’Rourke. “I had been practicing very hard, five days a week in the lead up to the competition and was so proud that my hard work paid off.”

In the dance competition there were three separate rounds, where the dancers had to impress the judges with their overall footwork and dancing skills. The first round consisted of hard-shoe dancing, the second round was a soft-shoe set and the third was a final round, where the dancers performed their last sets in front of the judges.

O’Rourke, who was dressed up in an elaborate costume, wig and makeup at the competition, said that she thought the judges were impressed by her dancing prowess.

“The judges preferred the dancers who had their feet turned out and arched with their bodies straight and with our arms tucked in. I tried my best to take into account all of these elements during my sets,” she said.

Sean O’Rourke, Kristina’s father, said that his daughter was inspired to take up Irish dancing by her grandfather, who was very influential in Irish dancing scene on Long Island.

“Her grandfather, Michael, started the first Feis, Irish Festival in 1972, as part of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, said O’Rourke. “I used to take Kristina when she was a little girl to setup the Feis, and I think she really took to the whole atmosphere. We still go to this day to help set up the stage and everything else and she loves every minute of it.”

He said that he was very proud of his daughter for all of the hard work she has put into her Irish dancing routines. “You can hear Kristina practicing her dancing in her room all of the time,” Michael said. “She has put a lot of time and effort into it and it’s really paid off for her.”

Kristina’s mom, Tricia, said she was equally proud of her daughter, for winning the National competition and for all of the hard work she put into it. “I’m very proud of her for my placing first in her age group, because I know she worked very hard to get to where she is, competing against some very talented kids from across the country,” she said.

As well as practicing at home, Kristina has been a longtime dance student at the Hagan Kavanagh School of Irish Dance in Long Beach.

As a result of placing first at the U.S. Open National Dance competition, O’Rourke qualified for the World Irish Dance Championship in Killarney, Ireland. The world championship is set to take place in October of next year.