For a small population living about as far away from Ireland as one can get and still be on the planet, Anchorage produces a lot of talent in that rarefied art form, Irish Dance.
There's Alaska trotter Owen Barrington, who won the Senior Men's World Irish Dancing Championship in Belfast in 2008 after winning top regional, North American and All Ireland awards
There's the 16-hand team that won second place in the North American Irish Dance Championships in July and the eight-hand team that took fourth place honors in the same tourney. It was the first time Alaska was represented in the competition, which drew 56 teams from across the continent.
And there's the fact that the eight-hand group will be Alaska's first Irish dance team to compete at the Irish Dance World Championships, taking place in Philadelphia in April. Two solo dancers from Anchorage, Katie Anschuetz and Maire Nakada, will also be competing.
But first, all of them, including Barrington, will dance for the hometown crowd, joining 100 or more other local Irish dancers in the Celtic Rendezvous next Sunday.
Noreen Wescott, dance instructor at the Irish Dance Academy of Alaska, which is sponsoring the event and which trained all these current and prospective champions, expects Wendy Williamson Auditorium to be sold out.
A full house is good news for any performing group. Since forming in 1997, IDAA has attracted ever greater numbers of students and fans, training dancers from grade school age to adulthood, showing their stuff at events from the State Fair in Palmer to Bethel's traditional dance extravaganza, Cama-i.
But the growing pains are hard to ignore. When IDAA began, dancers practiced in churches. By 2005 they moved to studios at the Turnagain Arts Building. Now they need more space, which is part of the reason for next Sunday's fundraiser.
"We're so comfortable here," said Wescott. "We've tried to look for other ways to keep working here. But we've just outgrown it."
IDAA has recently had to rent other facilities to prepare for performances and competitions. "We have choreography where 16 kids line up in one line, and we just can't do it in here," Wescott said.
Training for these trials and competition is intense. Four thousand dancers took part in the 2008 World championships in Belfast. An international fan base roots for Canadian Irish dancers, Australian or Dutch or Alaskan Irish dancers.
Part of the popularity has to do with the art's (some would say sport's) athleticism. The classic style is defined by frantic foot movement combined with a nearly motionless torso. At one time a great dancer was described as one who could do his entire routine on a tea tray.
In the post-"Riverdance" era, we've become more accustomed to seeing the dancers devour greater chunks of the stage and use more parts of their upper anatomy.
The dresses worn by female dancers feature bright colors, heavy embroidery and intricate Celtic designs. A solo dancer's costume can cost $2,000, Wescott said. Even the simpler matching ensemble dresses of the IDAA teams cost $500. To make it easier on the families, dancers can rent them.
The colors on those team costumes are blue and gold, representing Alaska. In competition, however, they may switch to the black and gold colors of the Tony Comerford School, based in California. Comerford regularly visits to Anchorage to work with the dancers and set choreography.
It's important to be associated with a major school. But there's a downside. Because Barrington was training at a Comerford studio in the lower 48 when he won in Belfast, he was listed at the event's Web site as being from California, not -- alas -- Alaska.
Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.
By MIKE DUNHAM
mdunham@adn.com