Waterford High School is home to many different types of athletes, from the quarterback of the football team to the captain of the cheerleading team. However, the school’s dancers are often overlooked as being important pieces of our diverse athletes and performers. A group of true athletes that also deserve the spotlight are our Irish Step Dancers, who represent Waterford schools in competitions around the world.
Senior Sophia Turpin is an Irish Step dancer who has put 15 years into developing and mastering her talent. Turpin has trained her whole life at Spirited Soles Irish Dance Academy in Oakdale, Connecticut. She says that the reason she originally started Irish Step Dancing was because “my mother is the teacher and she put me in the classes.”
Lisa Santacroce is the owner of Spirited Soles, previously known as the Santacroce School. Santacroce brings her students to all kinds of competitions, and finds opportunities for them to perform at venues such as the Garde Arts Center and community parades and festivals.
Irish step dancing is characterized by high kicks, stiff upper body, and rapid movements of the feet that must be performed with excellent technique and precision. Dancers who perform in this style wear specialized shoes that are unique to this style of dance.
Recently, Turpin competed at the World Championships for Irish dancing in Glasgow, Scotland. In order to qualify to attend the World Championships, dancers must first prove themselves at a competition called Oireachtas in either the fall or the summer.
Dancers who attend the summer competition must make the top 20 to qualify for Worlds. But dancers like Turpin, who attend the fall competition, it is much more difficult to make the cut. Turpin explains, “they pick out the top ten dancers in New England.” Turpin not only made the top ten, but placed 5th of all the New England dancers.
In Irish dance, an oireachtas refers to an annual championship competition held at a regional level. The oireachtas is the general name for this type of competition, but they are held by individual Irish dance organizations. Another type of competition she performs in is called FEIS, which Turpin describes as the smaller one’s compared to oireachtas, nationals, and worlds.
Turpin loves the environment of competitions because “they let you show off all the amazing work that you put in leading up to it.” Turpin also takes a lot of pride in the beautiful costumes that she wears. Irish Step Dance is widely known for the beautiful and distinct costumes that dancers perform in. They are brightly colored and tailored to fit each dancer perfectly. Turpin loves getting to show off the unique dresses that are made for her.
Turpin describes the practices for Irish Step Dancing as “very intense right now, but also very fun.” Currently, Turpin rehearses her dancing in the studio Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday for about two hours each day. The time she spends in the studio ultimately pays off in a big way for Turpin.
Turpin also has a passion for teaching. Turpin will be attending Mitchell College in the fall for Early Childhood Education and to minor in Environmental Science. She plans to continue pursuing Irish Step Dancing post-graduation, as well as teaching for her studio. “I have a dancing exam coming up next month,” Turpin explains. This exam is the final step for Turpin to become a certified teacher of Irish dance, just like her mom.
