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Whelan finds her heritage in dance

By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer

18 October 2007 — For Megan Whelan, any time is the right time to practice her dance moves.

The 16-year-old said that classmates might often notice her shuffling her feet around under her desk during class, practicing her steps. Or, when many students doodle idly in the margins of their papers, Megan might be writing out dance steps to her latest routine, a practice she says aids in the memorization process.

Megan says she even practices drills in front of the stove while she’s cooking, in what she calls her oven drill time.

But Megan’s dances differ in one key way from the sometimes risqué moves her peers do on the dance floor. Megan’s moves actually are your grandmother’s (or great-grandmother’s) dances.

Megan has been performing Irish step dance for a little over three years. She explains that Irish step dance is the traditional dance of Ireland, something similar to river dance.

“River dance has add-ons like ballet and gymnastics, but I perform the good old Ireland home stuff,” she said.

Megan said she had always been interested in the art form, imitating it when she was younger.

“I can remember telling my friends that I could step dance and making up little dances for them when I was in the second grade,” she said with a laugh.

But upon entering high school, Megan had to choose a sport to participate in. Her options at the time, she said, were horseback riding, swimming, or Irish step dance, and she elected to try the step dance.

And three years later, it seems that Megan is pretty good at it. The Charles B. Aycock junior earned a first-place ribbon in the talent show at the Wayne Regional Fair for a solo dance performance. She has also won numerous awards in competitions she attends on a monthly basis.

But the real thing that draws Megan to Irish step dance, she said, is the history that surrounds the art form. Megan has Irish heritage, and she said that dancing is a way for her to connect with her ancestors.

“It’s a way to connect; while I’m dancing, I realize this is what my people did,” she said.

And despite the practice Megan puts in whenever she finds herself with a spare moment, she insists that she does not practice enough.

As for formal instruction, it takes dedication for Megan just to get to and from her lessons. That’s because she must travel all the way to Wilmington, sometimes twice a week, for lessons.

She explained that the school is a national school with locations in most states. And while some states have more than one location, the only instructor in North Carolina is located in Wilmington. So Megan makes the voyage from Pikeville to Wilmington once every week for regular lessons, and sometimes takes a second trip on Sunday for private instruction.

But travel isn’t exactly new to Megan or her family. Though she is a Wayne County native and considers the area her home, she comes from a military family, which meant lots of traveling in her youth. She and her brother Brenan moved several times with their parents Pete and Jean, even embarking on international stays. Megan said she has lived in Korea and in England, where she spent about three years before returning to the States.

When she isn’t busy with her practices or competitions, Megan said she devotes much of her spare time to schoolwork. However, she said she is involved in several activities at Aycock, including helping out with French Club. She also enjoys reading and writing.

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