‘So excited to get back on stage again’
By Sarah Slevin
A group of Mullingar dancers have returned to the competition stage for the first time in almost two years.
It had been a long wait for those who attend arts classes, such as dance, but Covid-19 restrictions have now eased for the sector.
The young elite dancers at Elevate Academy of Dance made their physical return to competing at the Dance Inspirations UK and Ireland Tour held in Belfast by VAD productions.
For one Mullingar dancer, Amy Mulreid (17), it was her last competition with Elevate but also her first one since October 2019.
“It was like doing your first competition all over again. I forgot how nervous you’d get, but I was so excited get out on stage and all I wanted was to just be happy with how I performed, because it was my last one, and I was chuffed with how I did,” Amy said.
“It was so much fun, we had the best weekend ever, I’ll definitely miss it,” Amy added.
Amy has been with Elevate since she was 12 but she has now moved to the next step and was accepted into The College of Dance in Dublin, Ireland’s premier dance college. Amy, now 17, has been commuting from Mullingar to Dublin for long days of intense dance training.
“I love it, it’s so fun, but so tiring. We’re dancing eight to nine hours every day, but I love it, so I don’t mind. I get up for 7am and am not back until 7pm, so it’s a busy day,” Amy said.
At the competition, another local dancer, Haley Mulvany (14), won several first place spots along with the judges’ award for her dedication to dance training during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Receiving the judges’ award made me so proud that all my hard work over lockdown paid off!
“I was so honoured to step on the stage next to Josie Lee (one of the judges),” Haley said.
Haley said she was so grateful to have received the award and that “nothing would ever be possible” without her dance teacher Aimee MacManus.
Haley was also delighted to be back performing and competing again alongside the other girls at Elevate after such a long time.
“It made me realise how much I missed the atmosphere and dancing all together as one again! The excitement was rushing through me on the way up to the competition and, after so long, I was ready to give all my dances everything I got!”