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SATURDAY MARCH 10 | SUNDAY MARCH 11 2018
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
Loyola Academy Principal Kathryn Baal comes up Golden (Apple finalist) in an Olympic year. P30
SPORTS
Matey Juric helps Lake Forest Academy to a 21-win season. P27
SOCIAL SCENE Fireworks kick off Lake Forest Hospital gala. P17
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March is Madness for Irish Dancers BY STEVE SADIN DAILYNORTHSHORE.COM
As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, Irish dancers are in high demand for entertainment. But they spend the rest of the year honing the skills of a very competitive sport that requires rigorous training for regional, national and world competitions. Dancers from the O’Hare School of Irish Dance in Lake Forest started their seasonal performances March 3, and by St. Patrick’s Day March 17 they will have finished 20 shows, according to Veronica Lilja, the lead teacher and a world medalist herself. She has also won two regional titles. Once the celebratory performances are over, Lilja will get back to training her 65 students at the Lake Forest Recreation Center for competitive dancing throughout the Midwest, leading to more advanced competition for those who qualify. Irish dancing started as an Irish tradition, but it has become an extremely competitive sport, said Lilja, adding that its popularity expanded when Riverdance and Lord of the Dance became popular. “When those shows came out everyone wanted to do Irish dancing,” she said. Though Riverdance opened in 1994, Tim O’Hare, a two-time world champion Irish Dancer, started his school almost 40 years ago. “He is a legend in Irish dancing,” said Lilja. “It was an honor to be taught by him. He’s the reason I’m teaching now.” She was 3 when she started dancing. Another dancer at the O’Hare School who started at 3 is Ciara Carroll of Lake Forest, a seventh grader at The School of St. Mary in Lake Forest. She has advanced from local competitions (known as feiseanna) to regionals, known as Oireachtas, four times. Continued on PG 10
OPEN HOUSE Tuesday, March 13 9:00 AM
Dancers with the O’Hare School of Irish Dance in Lake Forest, front to back: Allison Kolber, Fiona Carroll, Ciara Carroll, Katie Bradley, Sophie Puszynski, Helen Hill. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
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145 South Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045 | www.lfcds.org | (847) 615-6151
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