Abigail “Abby” Schaub poses for a photo after competing at the 2021 U.S. National Irish Dance Championship in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this month. Schaub, 13, started Irish dance at age four and has competed all over the world, including Ireland. Schaub, a student of Champlain Valley Irish Dance, took second at the recent competition in the under 13 open championship division. (Photo provided)

PLATTSBURGH — Karli Hall was five years old when she slipped on her first pair of ghillies, seven years old when she performed her first on-stage jig and 17 years old when she curtsied on stage for the last time.

The 2021 Beekmantown Central School District graduate, who will attend the College of Saint Rose this fall, closed out her 13-year-long career as an Irish dancer with a first place win in the under 18 preliminary championship level at the U.S. National Irish Dance Championship in July.

“I thought about this as my last dance before college so I wanted to do really well,” Hall, a Morse Academy of Irish Dance student, said. “I was focusing on doing the absolute best that I could.”

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Different set up

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Typically, a dancer competes at their regional competition and, if they place well enough, they move onto nationals, which is normally an international competition. A dancer can also qualify if they compete at the highest level, open championship, or if they placed well enough at nationals the year prior.

Regionals, known as an oireachtas in the world of Irish dance, was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

The typical North American National Irish Dance Championship was then replaced by the new U.S. National Irish Dance Championship, because travel was tricky for dancers located outside of the U.S.

The competition was held in Phoenix, Ariz. and invited about 4,000 Irish dancers from across the states to participate.

“I got invited to go,” Hall said, noting that this was for the preliminary championship level, one step down from open championship.

“About a month later, after the deadline to register, I actually got the last first that I needed to become into the top level of Irish dance, but I couldn’t dance in that level, because it was after the registration date.”

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The callback

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The competition has a max of three rounds, starting with a hard shoe dance and a soft shoe dance.

If dancers place in the top 50% they are called back to perform their final act: a set dance.

Abigail “Abby” Schaub, a 13-year-old student of Seton Catholic Central School District and Champlain Valley Irish Dance, also scored big at the July competition, placing second in the open championships’ under 13 division.

She qualified as the regional reigning champion, placing first in the open championship’s under 11 division at the last one held November 2019.

When describing that third set dance, Schaub noted there wasn’t a set song for the dancers.

“They’re all slightly different, music-wise and style-wise. They’re supposed to help show off what you’re good at since it’s your last round.”

Schaub commented that her routine, performed to the Irish song “Planxty Davis,” was a long one.

“Her coaches picked it, because it’s a long dance,” her mom, Helen Pennington, interjected. “It would show endurance and it would give the judges a lot of time to watch her footwork and know that she can do the intricate footwork throughout the dance.”

“There is a lot of planning that goes into the choreography.”

According to Hall, that was because, while judges watched for proper footwork, stage presence and personal style, they also judged dancers on their skill level.

“Sometimes if your dance is too simple for your level, the judges tend to score you lower,” she said.

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Practice

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Schaub practices about 10 hours a week when prepping for a competition, including group and solo lessons.

Hall said she had about three nationals practices a week at about one-and-a-half hours each.

“Then I was also teaching three days a week and plus doing a little bit of practice with the other kids who were going to nationals, also,” she said. “During nationals practice we do a lot of strength training, stamina work, detail work, like turnout or pointing, and posture is a big thing.

“It’s a lot of work to get there.”

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Feeling butterflies

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In the moments leading up to their performances, both dancers noted some nerves.

“At the bigger ones, definitely,” Hall said. “I often will call my dance teacher (Samantha Morse) if she’s not at the competition with me and we’ll talk about things that we need to make sure that I do on stage or she talks me out of being nervous a lot.

“I call some of my younger dancers my ‘littles’ and we have a thing where we hook our pinkies and kiss our thumbs at the same time for good luck; that’s another tradition that we do before every competition.”

Schaub called her nerves butterflies before adding, “my mom always tells me to turn it into excitement. Normally I warm up with my teachers (Marie Short and Sarah McNally) and they give me different pep talks and some things to focus on before I go on stage.”

Pennington added that she acts as manager when at a competition, keeping things organized and on schedule, while Tom Schaub, Abby’s dad, acts as jokester, keeping their daughter laughing.

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‘Too shocked’

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Once the dancing was complete, Hall said she was waiting side stage with the other dancers in her competition as places were announced.

“It got down to the top five and I just kept counting down on my fingers to my dance teacher. When it got down to the top two and they called the other number, I gasped and almost screamed I was so happy,” she said.

“I could see my dance teacher screaming. She was so excited; she was literally jumping up and down. I was too shocked to scream.”

Asked what’s next for Hall and Irish dancing, the 17 year old said she did not expect to compete again.

“I want to continue teaching dance. I like how I can interact with the kids and help them become better and achieve goals that I couldn’t personally achieve. My dance teacher is a big inspiration for that, too, because she has helped me so much throughout my dance career.”

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Onto Worlds

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Schaub will compete in regionals this November and, with the win at nationals under her belt, will head to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the 2022 Worlds Championship in April of next year.

The soon-to-be eighth grader enjoys the social aspect of Irish dance and how it continues to challenge her.

“As soon as you’ve perfected a dance, you move onto a harder dance so you’re never stuck with the same steps. I am a bit competitive,” she added, “so the competitions are fun that way, too.”

Pennington joked that her husband recognized that competitive edge after their daughter’s very first competition when she placed second.

“She said to her dad, ‘If I practice, can I get first?'”