For most of us, our dance friends are our favourite friends. There’s just something extra special about spending all that time in class and travelling the world together for competitions.

However, for many Irish dancers, competing with your friends can make things complicated. It’s certainly not easy to compete against your friends. Whether you often win at competitions or you struggle to lose to your friends, both sides can feel the effects of not knowing how to handle it all.

So, here, we’re sharing our top tips for navigating friendship in the competitive world of Irish dance. 

1. Separate Friendship and Competition

First, you’ll need to separate friendship with the competition. There’s a time and a place for both of these relationships and it’s important to keep the two apart. After all, they’re two very different things.

In friendship mode, you’re there to support one another,...

Whilst we would never suggest that figuring out your purpose is as easy as reading a blog post, it’s a great place to start. Especially when we’re young because it’s so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing or what’s trendy to become right now. 

Today we’re sharing our guide to finding your purpose. Some steps may be harder than others and finding your purpose will always be a work in progress. That said, we hope this will help you remain true to who you are really meant to become.

Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Purpose

1. Be Curious

Finding your purpose begins with curiosity. What are you naturally interested in? and where does your mind wander when you’re not paying attention?

Maybe you’re more inclined towards maths and numbers. Maybe you love improvising in dance versus sticking to the choreography. Maybe you have a deep passion for animals or children. 

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Training in Irish dance while navigating the roller coaster of “growing up” can be tough. There’s a lot of pressure to deal with and you might be struggling to cope.

If this is the case do not worry - I was in this exact position during my dance career and so today, we’re going to cover some strategies to help you overcome all of these pressures you will face.

Stage Pressures

Do you get stage fright before a big competition? Are you struggling with performance anxiety? Even if you’re fine class, nerves can play tricks on us when it’s time to hit the stage. Here are some tips to help you manage any nervousness or anxiety before a performance. 

Trust Your Training

Most of the time when we worry about something, we’re thinking only of all the things that could go wrong. What if I fall? What if my injury comes back? What if I don’t nail my set? 

Instead, it’s important to trust your...