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Christchurch dancer in world's top 50

Rebecca WarringtonRebecca Warrington has been ranked 49th at the 2008 World Irish Dancing Championships in Belfast for her age group.

Rebecca, 18, travelled with a group of New Zealanders to the championships at the end of March and performed with 4000 other competitors.

At the Worlds I ended up placing 49th out of 92 which is really good for a New Zealander, so I can be proud of that.

The experience was so good she didn't want to come home.

The stage was massive, the general atmosphere was so exciting and the standard of dancing was so good. It was an amazing experience for me. I didn't want to leave.

At the championships, the first round consisted of two dances - hard shoe and soft shoe, and then the top third of dancers go through to the finals where they complete a set dance.

Time and rhythm, crossed feet and how high you jump are all judged in the competition, where you dance with your hands at your sides.

Rebecca dances in a "sticky-outy dress" and a wig with ringlets.

A student at Christchurch's Kay-Hallisey Dance School, Rebecca prepares for a routine by running through the dance in her head, to get the flow right.

I tend to just hang out by myself and think about how I want to dance it. I warm up heaps. I'm always stretching before I go on stage. It's very energetic.

Rebecca is thankful to her mum, who has always encouraged her, she says, her as well as her teacher and friends who have supported her.

(They're) always there to help me practise and fundraise. They help me, push me hard.

"I've always been a dancer. When I first started to walk I was twirling around and stuff. It takes you into a different world. You forget about everything you're worried about." Rebecca also enjoys salsa, ballroom and ballet.

Rebecca is studying Fine Arts, at the University of Canterbury but is open to the idea of performance as a career.
"It depends. You have to quite good. I don't know ... It would be day in and day out. I'd love to be in a show ... it would be an amazing experience.

"I'll see where fine arts takes me as well. I like to paint, I like photography and design and film"

She recommends Irish dancing. It's great to get fit and there is a great time to be had at the school she says, for guy and girl dancers.