Atlantic City Feis Irish Dancing Championship Results

Home of Lynn Academy's Atlantic City Feis

photo courtesy Atlantic City Tourism

The folks at the Lynn Academy of Irish Dance with locations in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York know what it takes to run a terrific feis! Each spring, Irish dancers mainly from the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions flock to Stamford, Connecticut for Lynn's Annual Spring Feis. Come summer, however, Lynn's Atlantic City Feis attracts Irish dancers from the Southern region too. This year's Atlantic City Feis was held August 20-21st at the Sheraton Atlantic City and featured a Costume Irish Dancing Exhibition Party on Saturday night, to the delight of feis-goers.

Results were tabulated by expert Alan Schrader of FeisWeb, and championship results are posted here. Congratulations to all the competitors, especially those who placed. Feis America gives out a special chair to those dancers - Bridget Albrades, Gina Carriero, Aine Claire Sheehan, Owen Luebbers, Lachlan Nidds, Nicholas Paulson, Peter Ryan and Colin Vecchiariello -whose perfect performances delighted the adjudicators and won each the Championship in his or her event! Of special note is the three-way first place tie for Open Championship Girls under 10 which was awarded to Sierra Donovan, Farran Dougherty and Kasey Methven. Outstanding!

Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 8
1 Tara Sheehan (McDade-Cara)
2 Darin Douglas Carlin (O'Rourke)
3 Daniel Callanan (Lynn)
4 Meghan Rose Farrell (Hunt)
5 Jacquelynn Hanna (McDade-Cara)
6 Sheila Hulseman (Peter Smith)

Preliminary Boys and Girls under 9

1 Ronan Burke (Shea-Jennings)
2 Mairin Mcdonnell (Cummins)
3 Anna Donovan (O'Rourke)
4 Peyton Davis (McGrath)
5 Sophia Rachel Papados (Culkin)
6 Olivia Boyce (McDade-Cara)
7 Lia Kroll (Mulvihill-Lynch)
8 Abigail Kerensky (Mulvihill-Lynch)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 10
1 Emma Walsh (Marie Moore)
2 Katherine Kivimaki (Boyle)
3 Emily Steege (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
4 Aislinn O'Brien (McDade-Cara)
5 Lenna O'Handley (Ni Fhearraigh-O Ceallaigh)
6 Mary Kate Rider (Shea-Jennings)
7 Kada McGovern (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
8 Kyra Caffrey (Broesler)
9 Mary Kelly (Cummins)
10 Erin Carbaugh (McDade-Cara)
11 T Rachel Delate (McDade-Cara) and Deirdre Kelly (O'Grady-Quinlan)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 11
1 Olivia Crossey (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
2 Erin Rose Miller (O'Grady-Quinlan)
3 Laura McGroary (McDade-Cara)
4 Erin Flynn (McDade-Cara)
5 Meaghan Lynn (Gilleoghan)
6 Alyssa Rothman (Peter Smith)
7 Claire Boyle (McDade-Cara)
8 Julia Eltzholtz (Ardmore)
9 Erin Fitzgerald (Broesler)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 12
1 Mary-kate Bane (Mulvihill-Lynch)
2 Mackenzie Murray (Peter Smith)
3 Kayla McMennamin (Coyle)
4 Megan Dano (O'Grady-Quinlan)
5 Rachel Hughes (McDade-Cara)
6 Nina Hart (O'Grady-Quinlan)
7 Alayna Langan (Lynn)
8 Abigail Kress (Sabo School)
9 Tatijanna Klinkenbergh (Culkin)
10 Shaina Boyce (McDade-Cara)
11 Katelyn Toombs (Broesler)
12 Katie Clauson (Lynn)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 13
1 Nora Burke (O'Grady-Quinlan)
2 Clare Hernon (Shea-Jennings)
3 Erin Doran (Peter Smith)
4 Melissa Sweeney (Lynn)
5 Kathryn Facelle (O'Rourke)
6 Douglas Lyon (O'Rourke)
7 Emily Parry (Peter Smith)
8 Matthew Larson (Culkin)
9 Kathryn Foster (Peter Smith)
10 John Dinelli (Inishfree)
11 Katie Feenan (O'Grady-Quinlan)
12 Haley Finley (DeNogla)
13 Nick Klinkenbergh (Culkin)
14 Sabre Pusey (Boyle)
15 Aleah Jensen (Culkin)
16 Madeline Maloney (Culkin)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 14
1 Faith Ishler (Hooley)
2 Maggie Hall (Broesler)
3 Kara Grzeszczak (Shea-Jennings)
4 Sarah Durso (McAleer)
5 Emma Davis (Boyle)
6 Emma Lisa Senecal (DeNogla)
7 T Fiona Garguilo (Hagen) and Leanne McGroary (McDade-Cara)
8 Sandra Wilson (Verlin)
9 Shannon Svitek (Petri School)
10 Laoise Tyndall (Marie Moore)
11 Megan Shugrue (Donny Golden)
12 Allison Flood (Patricia Murphy)

13 Jessica Sheridan (O'Rourke)

14 Rachel DiMauro (Lynn)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 15
1 Erin Hillegas (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
2 Sheppard Somers (Hagen)
3 Olivia DeScala (Peter Smith)
4 Claire Johnston (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
5 Jacquelynn Fritz (Broesler)
6 Isabel Wasserzug (Culkin)
7 Gaby Toombs (Broesler)
8 Molly Volk (Hunt)
9 Jaclyn Timoney (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
10 Autumn Ramirez (Sabo School)
.
Preliminary Boys and Girls Under 16
1 T Millie Beichner (McAleer) and Emily Murphy (Culkin)
2 Caitlin Romanczyk (Peter Smith)
3 Emma Kennedy (Hurley)
4 Brennen Peters (Boyle)
5 Laurissa Senecal (DeNogla)
6 Kelsey Gallagher (Coyle)
.
Preliminary Men and Ladies 16 & Over
1 Megan Davitt-Loysen (Teelin)
2 Caitlin Dougherty (Rhythm of Ireland)
3 Jacque Clark (Lynn)
4 Michelle Rueb (Tir Na Gael)
5 Jennifer Castellano (Petri School)
6 Victoria Franklin (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
7 Megan Boszko (Peter Smith)
8 Taylor Hollister (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
9 Victoria DeJesus (O'Grady-Quinlan)
10 Elizabeth Crouse (Marie Moore)
11 Brittany Jackson (Kerry)
12 Laura McKeon (Teelin)
13 T Morgan LaPointe (O'Grady-Quinlan) and Grace Hulseman (Peter Smith)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 9
1 Bridget Abraldes (Mulvihill-Lynch)
2 Maggie Webber (Mulvihill-Lynch)
3 T Lily Anne Bruer (McElligott) and Simone Loysen (Culkin)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 10
1 T Sierra Donovan (O'Rourke) and Farran Dougherty (Broesler) and Kasey Methven (Broesler)
2 Paige Diecidue (Mulvihill-Lynch)
3 Grace Mahon (Shea-Jennings)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 12
1 Riley Maeve Dolan (Broesler)
2 Seana Isaac (O'Grady-Quinlan)
3 Kerri Betz (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
4 Gianna Cheeseman (Broesler)
5 Haylee Kirk (McDade-Cara)
6 Chloe Williams (Ardmore)
7 Kasey Van Doran (Flynn)
8 Emily Lizins (McDade-Cara)
9 Maeve Abraldes (Mulvihill-Lynch)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 14
1 Aine Claire Sheehan (McDade-Cara)
2 Ciara Murphy (Petri School)
3 Anna May Fitch (Shea-Jennings)
4 Abby Coyman (Lynn)
5 Lily Schwoerer (Lynn)
6 Emme Toombs (Broesler)
7 Ciara Burke (Coyle)
8 Breanne Toolan (O'Grady-Quinlan)
9 Katie Hosey (McAleer)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 16
1 Blair Croce (Early-McLoughlin)
2 T Hannah Coyman (Lynn) and MaryKate DiChiara (Inishfree)
3 Taylor Collins (Petri School)
4 Abbey Croce (Early-McLoughlin)
5 Mary Thayer (An Rince Mor)
6 Isabella DeJesus (O'Grady-Quinlan)
7 Audrey Hutton (Burke-Conroy)
8 Laura O'Hanlon (Lynn)
9 Michaela Hollister (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
10 Nicole DeSouza (Petri School)
.
Open Championship Girls Under 18
1 Gina Carriero (Lynn)
2 Theresa Oei (Griffith)
3 Shannon O'Gorman (Ryan-Kilcoyne)
4 Brianna Sheehan (O'Shea-Chaplin)
5 Moira Ragen (Culkin)
6 Colleen Strazdas (Peter Smith)
7 Elisabeth DiMauro (Lynn)
.
Open Championship Ladies 18 & Over
1 Samantha Merritt (DeNogla)
2 Meagan Moffett (O'Shea-Chaplin)
3 Emma Roithmayr (O'Rourke)
4 Keira Murphy (Mulvihill-Lynch)
5 Shannon Corrigan (Early-McLoughlin)
.
Open Championship Boys Under 12
1 Colin Vecchiariello (Gilleoghan)
.
Open Championship Boys Under 14
1 Owen Luebbers (Broesler)
2 Aaron Wolf (Bell)
3 Alex Lucas Papados (Culkin)
.
Open Championship Boys Under 16
1 Lachlan Nidds (Broesler)
.
Open Championship Boys Under 18
1 Nicholas Paulson (Broesler)
.
Open Championship Men 18 & Over
1 Peter Ryan (Smith-Houlihan)

Nation's Capital Feis and All-America Championships 2011 Irish Dancing Results

The Dancing Exhibition on the Capitol Lawn is a traditional event at the Nation's Capital Feis every year!

photo courtesy O'Neill-James School of Irish Dancing

The 24th Annual Nation's Capital Feis and All-American Irish Dancing Championships was held July 24, 2011, at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. An Exhibition on the Capitol Lawn took place on July 23rd. This much-loved summer Irish dancing competition was hosted by Laureen O'Neill-James, TCRG, ADCRG and member of the Irish Cultural Hall of Fame. O'Neill-James runs the O'Neill-James School of Irish Dancing which draws Irish dance students from the Capitol area with its main studio located in Virginia. This year's Nation's Capital Feis paid tribute to Irish American presidents of the United States.

Renowned adjudicators arrived from as far as Ireland and as close as metropolitan New York: Kevin Broesler, Sean Flynn, Donny Golden, Kerry Kelly Oster, Patricia Early McLoughlin, Carmel O'Rourke Tighe, Aine and Seamus O'Shea, Eilis Rochez-McKenna and Noreen Smith. Favorite feis musicians kept the busy stages moving, starting with the youngest dancers. This year, all of the competitions that have traditionally taken place over two days were compacted into just one day.

Little dancers experiencing their very first feis brought smiles to start everyone's day, with 1st place in the reel for those under 6 years-old going to Jane Ferry from O'Neill-James, 2nd to Morgan Holden from Broesler, 3rd to Anne Taylor from Sheeaun (CT) and 4th to Thomas Green from McGrath. First place in the light jig for those under 6 years-old went to Kyra Sexton from Hunt, with 2nd to Morgan Holden, 3rd to Jane Ferry and 4th to Isabelle Fontana from O'Neill-James.

One of the more interesting competitions at Nation's Capital Feis is the combined music/dance event, with each competitor judged on both their dancing ability and the music they have played and recorded. First place went to Kayley Kiesel from Teelin, 2nd to Claire O'Halloran from Scoil Rince Ni Dubhthaigh, 3rd to Cecilia Garvey from Boyle and 4th to Lauren Kate Hurlocker from Muggivan.

Preliminary Championships were won by Peter Mildrew (u9), Katherine Kivimaki (u10), James O'Reilly (u12), Emma Davis (u14) - all from Boyle, Erin Miller from O'Grady-Quinlan (u11), Matthew Larson from Culkin (u13), Kylie Kalnan from Breffni (u15), Kaley Smith from Broesler (u16), Grady McDavit from O'Neill-James (u17) and Kaitlyn Cawley from Murphy Irish Arts (17&over).

Open Championships were won by Kasey Methven (u11), Owen Luebbers (u13), Katie Roszyk (u14) and Tory Zehnder (u18) - all from Broesler, Haylee Kirk from McDade-Cara (u12), Katherine O'Connor from Burke-Conroy (u15), Sean McCann from O'Neill-James (u16), Brigid C. Rosendale from O'Grady-Quinlan (u17) and Laura Payne from An Cor Rud (18&over).

Adult Open competitions were won by Babs Husson from O'Neill-James (Reel), Lynne Joyce Haslbeck from Culkin (Light Jig, Slip Jig, Hornpipe), Cheryl Day from McGrath (Single Jig), Molly Coe from Niall O'Leary (Treble Jig and Traditional Set) and Wei Leong from Niall O'Leary (Treble Reel).

Further results may be viewed at FeisWorx.

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