Cultural Events

Ashurst Dancers Capture Regional Titles At Oireachtas; Top Ten Spots Also Earned

Published: Dec 08, 2017 12:00 am

The Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance recently brought home four titles and 13 top ten spots at the New England Regional Irish Dance Championships, held in Hartford the weekend of November 17-19.

The "Oireachtas," as the annual competition is referred to, is a qualifying event for top Irish dancers in the region aiming to qualify for both the World Irish Dance Championships and the North American Irish Dance Championships the following year. The event also hosts traditional set dance championships, adult dance competitions, and team competitions.

This year the Oireachtas was held at the Hartford Marriott and Connecticut Convention Center. For Ashurst Academy, the event was a huge success.

On the opening days of events, the academy gained its first world qualifier - Cian Walls, age 11, of Woodbridge - as well its first championship titles with Newtown resident Deirdre Smith taking first in the U11 Traditional Set category and Cian's younger sister, Charlotte Walls, winning the U8 Traditional Set category.

Cian will represent Team Ashurst at the World Irish Dance Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, next March, as well as go on to compete at the North American Irish Dance Championships to be held in Orlando next July.

More champions were crowned throughout the weekend including Newtown resident Britta Petersen of Newtown, who took third place in the U11 Traditional Set category; Genevieve Mallon of Southbury, who won the Under 14 Traditional Set category; Justin Ciardello of Trumbull, who won the Under 15 Traditional Set category; and Colleen Mallon of Southbury and Olivia Ruggiero of Danbury, who also qualified for the North American Irish Dance Championships in their respective age groups.

The Ashurst Irish Dancers also brought home 13 top ten placements in solo, traditional, and team dancing events.

The Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance is run by Newtown residents and former Riverdance and Lord of the Dance lead dancers Craig and Christina Ashurst. Studios are located in Newtown and Danbury, and classes are available for ages 4 and up.

For more information, visit ashurstirishdance.com or contact the academy at ashurstirishdance@gmail.com or 203-928-0689.

World and National Qualifier Cian Walls and Traditional Set Champion Charlotte Walls, both of Woodbridge, and both students with Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance, celebrate after their success at the Regional Championships. (photo courtesy Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance)

U16 National Qualifier Olivia Ruggiero with U14 Traditional Set Champion Genevieve Mallon also celebrate wins at Regional Championships. (photo courtesy Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance)

Ashurst Academy dancers Madden Curran of Bethel, Charlotte Walls (Woodbridge), Mairead Luhman (Ridgefield) and Caroline Morneau (Danbury) all placed in the top three at the Regional Championships in their respective age groups. (photo courtesy Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance)

Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance teachers Craig, left, and Christina Ashurst, right, pose with students Deirdre Smith of Newtown, Charlotte Walls of Woodbridge, and Britta Petersen of Newtown during the New England Regional Irish Dance Championships. The Newtown and Danbury studio returned from the competition with multiple honors including first in the U11 Traditional Set category, won by Deirdre; first in U8 Traditional Set, thanks to Charlotte; and third place in U11 Traditional Set, earned by Britta. (photo courtesy Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance)

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How do you propose tapping the brakes, Dave? 8-30g already trumps any local regulations- you don't have a brake pedal to push. Brookfield, Trumbull and now Ridgefield have a clear case for a moratorium based on the development (thanks to 8-30g) that has already occurred. I don't see a clear case for Newtown to request a moratorium... yet.

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Nobody is suggesting shutting the doors on new neighbors. What neighboring towns are doing, and what we should be doing too, is to tap the brakes on all of the multi-family residential development proposals so that we can spend 6 months updating our regulations such that if you want to build dense residential housing here, XX percent of it needs to be affordable (we will never make any headway on increasing our percentage of affordable housing otherwise, short of 8-30g), and the rest needs to be done in as low an impact manner as possible. Low impact on traffic, health & safety, the environment and on the cost of town services.

Hey, there you go! Richard solved it. Thanks, that seems so easy- we'll just get rid of the 2nd amendment and the Supreme Court. Seriously, the 2nd amendment doesn't create violent criminals or mental illness. The Supreme Court doesn't create violent criminals or mental illness. The problem is not the tools, but the criminals & the mental illness. The state of Connecticut seems to be focused on the tools, like Richard, while ignoring the users of those tools.

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Ned, please familarize yourself with 8-30G, and then please share the unique flaws that may be helpful in formulating a denial An 8-30g project can be denied only on very narrow grounds – i.e., if it presents health, safety or other concerns that exceed a town’s need for affordable housing. According to the TOG website, “projects cannot be rejected for incompatibility with a Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD); density; traffic congestion; height; aesthetics; concerns of neighbors or the community; and failure to comply with local zoning regulations.” 8-30g proposals are rarely denied by planning and zoning officials because the burden of proof on appeal is on the town. Appeals are costly, but a municipality can be successful in a court case if it has sufficiently established that the concerns leading to denial are factual and substantive.

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Ashurst Dancers Capture Regional Titles At Oireachtas; Top Ten Spots Also Earned

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