Fiona Jagelewski is headed to the North American Irish Dance Championships in Vancouver in July. Photo submitted

Two local dancers will be joining hundreds of Irish dancers in Vancouver in July for the North American Irish Dance Championships.

Fiona Jagelewski, 16 from Southampton, and Gillian Clarke, 11 from Kincardine, will be competing with dancers from all over the world.

In a June 24 submission, Jagelewski contributes her strong foundation of Irish dance to Mary Foley from Celtic Academy Canada. Both girls now train with Doyle Corrigan Academy where they travel to Waterloo and London three times a week to prefect their steps.

Instructors from Doyle Corrigan are no strangers to Irish dance, having danced with the world famous Riverdance.

Both Clarke, having recently advanced to the Championship level, and Jagelewski, who is at the Champion level and has trained in Ireland for the previous two summers, qualified for the Vancouver competition at the Eastern Canada Oireachtas in Toronto last year.

“I can’t wait to meet other dancers from all over the world," said Clarke.

 “The competition is going to be high in Vancouver, and I would be very pleased if I made the recall," said Jagelewski. A recall is when a dancer places in the top half of their competition.

While neither Jagelewski nor Clarke have competed at this level, training under dancers from Doyle Corrigan Academy who have placed well at both North American and  World levels has helped them prepare. They leave for Vancouver June 30.

Gillian Clarke of Kincardine will be competing in the North American Irish Dance Championships this July in Vancouver. Photo submitted