Practice makes perfect. That is what makes Ian Schwartz (12) so successful in Irish dancing:

“I’ve won a lot of awards; specifically, I’m a 4-time Regional Mid-American champion, 6-time World Qualifier, 4-time World finalist, 4th in North America dancing solo, and my team and I won Nationals in North America.”

Schwartz got into Irish dancing because of his mother.

“When she was younger, she did it for fun. When I was growing up, both my brothers and my sister did it competitively, so I followed in their footsteps and decided to try it out.” This is Schwartz’s 12th year dancing, and he continues to dance today. “I’ve always been able to relieve my stress Irish dancing. It’s a lot of fun for me, and I enjoy every minute of it,” said Schwartz.

It’s not all fun and games, Librarian and Schwartz mother Mrs.Jill Schwartz, notes that he sometimes struggles.

“It is hard to juggle all the school work, but he does it. He is able to do it in the car when we are going to practice. He does have to stay up a lot to finish his homework or to study for a test,” said Mrs.Schwartz.

Most of the time, Schwartz is able to go to after school activities or play sports.

“This year I had to give up soccer because this could be my last year competing. Other than that, typically I can work around certain things. It’s all about staying organized. I really have to take a lot of time to organize my schedule so I can go to football games. There has been a lot of times where I have missed out on football games or dances because of Irish dance, but I would not take anything back. It’s all been worth it.”

Competing in Irish dance competitions is a favorite for Schwartz.

“I like that there are two sides. There’s the competitive side where you do competitions all around the world. I love the competitive side because I love the whole preparation process. I also like the professional side of it. I love performing on stage, I love traveling all around the world performing. It’s something I really enjoy.”

Not only has he travelled all around the US, he has competed in Poland, Spain, Canada, England, Scotland, and  Ireland. The most interesting part is meeting the people he competes against.

“When I dance with people from around the world, it gives me insight on how they have been brought up because we all share the same thing so it’s really eye opening when I travel internationally,” said Schwartz.

If you are thinking about participating in Irish dancing Schwartz says, “You don’t have to compete to enjoy or participate in Irish dancing. You get the sport feel. I feel the same competitive drive as I did playing soccer. You can also do it for fun. There’s the professional side of it. There’s so many routes you can take Irish dancing. I would recommend Irish dancing. It’s a lot of fun. If you like to dance then it’s definitely worth a try. It’s not for everyone it’s a lot of work if you want to be in a high level but that’s with any form of competition,” said Schwartz.