On Wednesday 8th January Sarah and Ciara Macklin along with family and friends returned home from a trip of a lifetime as UCWDC Country Dance World Champions.
The girls journey started 8 years ago, with the ‘Memphis Belles’, dance school in Carrickmacross. They participated in WDAI All Ireland Competitions and Shamrock West Dance Classics with much success and many All-Ireland titles in solos, pro-am, duos and team events. In recent years the girls started to venture into Europe.
In 2024 they competed at 3 European events, the European Open in Belgium in June, the Benelux Open in the Netherlands in August and the Shamrock Western Dance Classic in Ashbourne in October. Success in the three competitions meant qualification for the UCWDC World Championships in Orlando, Florida in January 2025.
After lots of preparations, early on 28th December the girls headed off from Ballybay with a bus full of family and friends in tow. After an eventful journey to Orlando it was time to meet up with their dance family and start to prepare for the biggest competition of their lives.
2nd January arrived and Ciara was first to take to the floor in her solo and honky tonk divisions were she finished 3rd and 5th respectively. Next was Sarah in her solo and pro-am division where she took 1st and 3rd which meant she was a world champion.
On Friday the sisters joined their friends from Memphis Belles, Dance Fusion, Sance Academy and Kasana (all Monaghan Dance Schools) as part of the Ireland team. A magical routine inspired by Disney Pixar’s “UP” choreographed by Kathryn Strain received a standing ovation and a truly well deserved first place against all the other teams from the four corners of the world. The atmosphere was electric and with around eighty Irish supporters in the hall the cheers was deafening.
All of this would not be possible without the help of a lot of people. A massive thank you is due to Rosita Skelton, their dance teacher who puts in all the hours coaching and supporting the girls. Thanks also to Laura Dougan Carvill for her expert advice, tuition and friendship. Giovanni Coenmanns travels from Amsterdam monthly for lessons and to perform as Sarah’s pro-am partner. The girls and their parents Kevin and Olivia would like to most sincerely thank everyone who helped and contributed with their recent fundraising and to their family and friends who believed in the girls and believed world titles were always possible.
The girls will now take a well earned but short break and then it’s back to training. 2025 is also a big year for them. In April they head to Galway for the All-Irelands and in October they will take part in the 25th Shamrock Western Classic in Ashbourne. In between these two events they hope to fit in a European competition.