Two local Irish dancers were among the best on the globe at the recent World Irish Dancing Championships.

Riley Daley (U18) and Carra Hurley (U19) both received call backs to perform on the second day of the week-long competition in Glasgow, Scotland, Mar. 24 to 31, placing them in the top 50 in their respective age groups.

"I would say the experience was really just a whirlwind," says Riley. "We went out and just gave our best and I think we were both really happy with our rounds. We made it back to Day 2, which is better than what we've ever done before. It was really amazing."

Both have a both have a lifelong passion for Irish dancing and are no strangers to high-level competitions both in Canada and abroad, but this is the biggest of them all.

"I would say it's definitely a perfectionist sport," says Carra. "Everything in the steps matters. Every movement has to be perfected, so lots of hours of training in the studio definitely pays off."

This year's world championships attracted about 4,000 dancers from over 20 nations. Only the top five per cent of dancers in the world qualify.

The elite dancers also qualified for the worlds hosted in Montreal last year and were among four dancers from the Gott-Hughton Irish Dance Academy, where they train.

It was Carra's sixth world championship, whose family is originally from Dublin,Ireland.

This year, 12 dancers advanced from the academy, adding to the experience at the worlds.

They believe there's a growing interest in Irish dancing in the Calgary area, and it's particularly noticeable during their St. Patrick's Day performances.

"At the farmers markets around the city, we get a lot of young kids that see the Irish dancing who want to join the dance school."

The pair will continue their intense training in hopes to qualifying for the next worlds being hosted in Dublin next April.

Their next major competition is the North American championship being hosted in Grapevine, Texas from June 30 to July 4.

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