Kicking up their heels
Two Ocala teens place high at Irish Dancing North American Championships.
Cara Murray competed in the North American Championships An Comhdhail in late June in Williamsburg, Virginia, and finished second place overall. [Photo courtesy Sarah Ingley/Gainesville Dance Academy]
Ocala teenagers Emilia Furmanski and Cara Murray competed in the elite North American Championships An Comhdhail in late June in Williamsburg, Virginia. The event is a major Irish dance competition for the USA and Canada. Each dancer received top five placements, including second place overall for Cara.
The two teens also performed on June 25 in Sarasota, as part of the national touring professional production “Celtic Throne.”
Cara and Emilia are students Sarah Ingley at the Gainesville Dance Academy. The academy offers an Irish dance program that includes school steps, ceilis (traditional Irish or Scottish social gatherings featuring music, dancing and storytelling), figure dance and set dances. Students can compete in feises (traditional Gaelic arts and culture festivals) worldwide as well as perform show-style choreography. The school hosts master teachers from “Riverdance,” “Lord of the Dance” and more.
Ingley graduated from the University of Florida with high honors and has an Irish dance master’s degree from the University of Limerick (Ireland) Health Sciences.
“I teach through An Comhdhail, Ireland’s largest Irish dancing organization. I danced for former United States President Jimmy Carter at an official Carter Center fundraiser. I was lead dancer on several national tours, including Las Vegas, in Nashville-based “Christmas With The Celts,” danced in a documentary film that won the Jury Prize at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera festival and danced in a Magic Kingdom-Telemundo New Year’s Eve special. I choreographed a contracted mainstage seasonal show for Busch Gardens Tampa. My academy students have danced with the biggest names in Irish entertainment, including several times having opened for “Riverdance,” Ingley shared.
To learn more about the Ocala students, the “Gazette” did an email Q&A with each teen, asking about their background, style of dance and plans for the future.
Emilia Furmanski: “I am 14 years old and in ninth grade. I currently attend a virtual school called Imperial Academy. I was born in Gainesville but have lived in Ocala for 12 years. I love Ocala because it isn’t too crowded, so everyone has breathing room, but it also isn’t like you’re in the wilderness.
“I am an only child. I started dance when I was 4 years old, and it was Irish dancing. I love Irish dance because it gives me an enjoyable form of activity. I get my blood pumping, and I can sweat like crazy, but it is still a lot of fun. At the North American Championships, I felt a sense of accomplishment. All the hard work that went into it paid off.
“I would like to become an air traffic controller because I really love the ins and outs of that job.”
Cara Murray: “I was born in Ocala, and I have been attending St. John Lutheran School since second grade. I am 14 and going into my freshman year at St. John. I live on a farm with my older sister and my two younger brothers. We have lots of animals and horses, but Irish dance has always been a part of my life. I started dancing when I was five with Ms. Sarah [Ingley]. I did ballet and Irish dance. Shortly after I focused on just Irish dance. I find Irish dance lots of fun and rewarding. Irish heritage is a big part of my family.
“My most recent dance competition was the North American Championships in Williamsburg, Virginia. I had many top placings; my favorite would be my second place in the three-dance cup competition. This was my second year competing at the North American Championships and I loved every minute of being in Virginia. The competition is huge and I’m so thankful to have so many people who support me and help me get there.
“My long-term goals are to go to college and be a forensic investigator while continuing to dance.”
Ingley said she has students commute to the academy from multiple cities and towns. Of Cara and Emilia, she offered, “I couldn’t be prouder of their competition successes. Both girls compete all year. They respect the authority of both their coaching from me, and the decisions of their judges. Like all athletes, Irish dancers have to be resilient when scores don’t go their way. Emilia and Cara are super dedicated. They’ve learned to apply feedback and really absorb corrections. It is showing in their technique, poise and attack. I’m thrilled for them when this results in major wins.”
Ingley feels that Irish dance stays relevant in popular culture thanks to stage shows like “Riverdance.” She said academy students have performed with touring acts like Gaelic Storm of “Titanic” film fame, The High Kings (on this year’s Oscar- winning “Sinners” soundtrack) and the USA tour of Ireland’s “Celtic Angels.”
“We danced at a Levitt Amp concert in Ocala, opening for Clover’s Revenge. We’ve performed at the Reilly Arts Center, Circle Square Cultural Center, Webb Field and downtown. Shows are a huge part of academy programs, because dance is ultimately a performing art,” she noted.
“More fundamentally, Irish dance stays popular because at its core it is full of what young kids universally crave: skipping, stomping, kicking, spinning and high-energy music. Older youth and adults appreciate the physical rigor, the precision and the rhythm of percussive dance,” she added. “Irish dance in the studio is a satisfying mind-body workout. Irish dance onstage is exciting.”
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