By Aren Framil, Abby Chong and Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Sports Editors
In April, junior Sadie Breault will board a plane to Dublin for the 2025 World Irish Dance Championships. While this may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some, Breault will step onto the world stage for the third time in her life, competing against girls from across the globe and following in her family’s footsteps.
“My grandfather was an Irish immigrant, so he inspired my mom to start dancing. My mom and her sisters danced at a school called Coyle. They didn’t dance for that long, and they weren’t super competitive,” Breault said. “I think that since I’ve just been doing it for a really long time, once I got to a certain point, I was really good at it, and I just wanted to keep dancing.”
Breault began Irish dancing after her mom enrolled her at the McDade-Cara School of Irish Dance in Newtown Square when she was 3 years old. She started competing in tournaments when she was 6 years old and has since participated in the World Championships three times, the North American Irish Dance Championships six times and the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas eight times.
“She has advanced to the top level, and she’s going to be competing at the world championship in Dublin. To qualify for that event, you’re pretty much in the top 1% of the dancers around the world,” said Annemarie Sheehan, Breault’s coach at the McDade-Cara School. “That’s going to draw people from every continent, and she’s going to be competing against the very best when she gets there.”
Sheehan has coached Breault for over 13 years. She is particularly impressed by Breault’s hard work and leadership abilities while helping to teach younger kids during classes.
“She’s always been mature. She was mature when she was young, but she’s very much grown into a leader,” Sheehan said. “She’s the person that the teachers and the students all like to be around. She’s just a model student, a real pleasure to teach.”
As an advanced dancer, Breault attends two to three dance practices a week that are each two to three hours long. Her practices increase in intensity as she gets closer to competitions and performances. In addition to practices, Breault participates and volunteers in community service events with the McDade-Cara School, including visiting nursing homes and special education schools with her fellow dancers and performing in an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“She’s a great example and a great ambassador for Irish dancing,” Sheehan said. “We are really proud that she represents our school because there’s a lot of schools in the area. Philadelphia has a lot of Irish history and a lot of Irish dancing schools, so we’re really proud that Sadie is one of our dancers.”
Like many other Irish dance students, Breault anticipates that she will likely stop dancing toward the end of high school. Despite this, she believes that dancing has played a significant role in her life and helped shape her identity.
“I think that it’s a big part of my life. I don’t know who I would be without Irish dance. I feel like I’ve tried other sports, and I didn’t really like them as much,” Breault said. “Irish dance is like my thing, and I feel like it’s important to have your thing. It helps me to define who I am.”
Aren Framil can be reached at [email protected].
Abby Chong can be reached at [email protected].
Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla can be reached at [email protected].
