Pluck of the Irish
By Denise Scott
Imagine fully extending your feet and toes and going “en pointe” in ballet or doing the jumps and kicks and tricks of tap dancing. Now imagine doing it while keeping your upper body – torso, neck, head – almost completely still. Ok, now add in a heavy, bejeweled costume and a tall wig. What do you get? Why, the magic of Irish dance, of course.
Abby Swearingen, 14, and Natalie Booker, 16, know all about this centuries-old form of dance. They represented Ashburn and Kristin Butke Irish Dance, a local school, at the World Irish Dancing Championships this spring in Chicago. Abby earned fifth place for her solo competition, and Natalie’s eight-person team took 10th place in its category.
THE DANCE
The origins of this specific style of Irish dance are somewhat lost to the mists of time. However, it’s thought that it started to come to prominence in the 17th century, influenced by English country dances and French quadrille dances.
One theory posits that the limited arm and head movements and frenetic foot movements of Irish dance came about because the dancing was often done in pubs or other places that were crowded or had limited space to otherwise move around.
For solo dancing, the focus is on individual moves, tricks and kicks. For teams, the footwork is simple with the focus instead on spacing and synchronicity, explained the girls’ dance teacher, Kristin Butke Zagorski of Warrenton, herself a former competitor and professional dancer.
THE SCHOOL
She opened Kristin Butke Irish Dance 25 years ago and said her students benefit mentally and physically from the exercise, pattern memorization, coordination and socialization.
She and Denise Fumagali, the Ashburn location’s instructor, are the two certified U.S.-based teachers for the school, which has four locations in Virginia – including Ashburn – and one in Nashville.
Certified instructor John Lonergan of Cork, Ireland – a six-time world champion – has been a choreographer for the school for three years. In May, Butke Zagorski merged her school with Lonergan’s Cork location and another in Meath, Ireland, to form a new school called Clann Ríoga Irish Dance Academy.
“I went to Ireland and danced as a kid. They’re very proud of their heritage and their roots. And I just wanted to learn as much about Irish dancing as I could, to teach it. I met all the best people,” said Butke Zagorski, who began Irish dancing at age 4 and was a competitive dancer before performing with “Lord of the Dance” and other professional stage shows.
At age 25, she started her namesake dance school in Virginia, but she doesn’t mind changing its name because of what the new title represents.
“It is three schools coming together to form one large school,” she said. “Clann Ríoga is Gaelic – Clann means family and Ríoga means regal. Our new motto is ‘Built on Loyalty, Defined by Excellence.’”
Lonergan and the other Irish staff members will not teach in person every month, but they will be accessible through WhatsApp chats, videos and FaceTime lessons “to have that international bond, that access to Ireland,” Butke Zagorski said.
THE GEAR
Abby, who lives in Brambleton and is a rising freshman at Independence High School, said different footwear is designed for specific moves.
“We have Ghillies, which are more like ballet slippers, and that’s more light dancing and more jumps and tricks and stuff,” she said. “And then we have hard shoes, which are more like tap shoes, but they have fiberglass tips instead of metal, and you can go up on what we call blocks, which is kind of like going en pointe in ballet shoes.”
Their dazzling dresses are custom-made by designers. “They have Swarovski kind of gems all over them,” Abby said. “So, they’re pretty heavy to dance in, but they’re very pretty.”
She completes the look with a platinum blonde wig and stage makeup, topped off with dramatic false eyelashes.
Natalie, who lives in the Village of Waxpool neighborhood and is a rising junior at Briar Woods High School, also enjoys the transformation that occurs when donning her costume.
“They’re super sparkly. So, it’s really fun to wear them because you feel like a whole new person,” she said. “The wigs are really secure, but they’re a little bit heavy, so it’s more about balance than worrying that it’s going to fall off your head.”
THE HARD WORK
Natalie’s mother, Cindy Clarkson, was impressed with the teachers’ resumes at Butke Zagorski’s dance school when her daughter began taking classes four years ago.
“The list of their achievements was quite impressive,” she said. “Everyone made us feel welcome. Natalie came out of her first class and she was hooked.”
Butke Zagorski said Natalie is a phenomenal team dancer.
“There are eight positions on a team, and she could do any spot at any moment,” she said. “Very, very clued-in with counts and positions and spacing. That’s just an excellent quality to have.”
Natalie said her strong friendships with teammates have helped her to succeed. “It takes a lot of practice, and you kind of have to work as one brain,” she said.
Abby attended a summer camp at the dance school when she was 4 and began competing at age 5. Her mother, Maggie Swearingen, said she was surprised when Butke Zagorski approached her about Abby competing overseas when she was just 7.
“She said, ‘I think we need to take her to England for competition this fall,’” Swearingen recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I think you have the wrong Abby’s mom.’ And she’s like, ‘No, I don’t have the wrong Abby.’”
Butke Zagorski recalled telling Swearingen, “I think she’s capable. There’s no rule that says how long you have to be in it before you can compete.” (Her own son, 2022 world champion Garet Zagorski, began competing at age 4½.)
She said Abby has always had a lot of energy and listened well. “Those kinds of aspects are what a teacher looks for in competitive dancers. Somebody who enjoys coming to class, always smiling, always listening, coming back with the things that we have taught – fixed or better.”
Abby’s dedication to her craft is obvious by her schedule: dancing at the studio four days each week for three-hour sessions, plus one day of cross training. Overseas competitions quickly became the norm, with Abby participating in several per year.
“I go to a lot of local feises [Irish dance competitions] every other weekend or so. But then there’s in-country majors – regionals and nationals, like two times a year,” she said. “Overseas, probably four times last year.”
Swearingen said Abby works hard for her success. “She practices, she loves it, and so we keep doing it,” she said. “It would certainly be a cool thing to have her be able to tour. There’s a lot of opportunities. But also, we just want her to do what she wants to do.”