Henry Sneed, backstage at the World Championships in Belfast. (Sneed family photo)

Henry Sneed, 11, of Davidson, competed at the Irish Dancing World Championships on April 1 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and finished 15th overall out of 44 world qualifiers in the Boys 10-11 category – the youngest group of competitors at the world championship. Also representing the Lake Norman area and the Rince na h’Eireann School of Irish Dance at the world championships were Grace Gregory, 16, of Cornelius, who competed in the Girls 15-16 group, and Stephen Borthayre, of Mooresville, who competed in the Boys 14-15 category and in team competitions.

Henry, the son of Jason and Charity Sneed, placed 6th in the North American Championships held in Nashville last July, and 2nd in the U.S. Southern Region championships held in Orlando in December. In doing so, he qualified to compete in the world championships. And Grace placed 3rd out of about 120 dancers at the December regional competition, which earned her a spot in Belfast.

Grace Gregory, showing off her new dress for the World Competition in Belfast. (Beth Gregory photo)

Shortly after competing, Grace suffered a meniscal tear in her knee that took her off the dance floor in January. Her April 3 performance in Belfast was her first competition since the injury. She danced with 163 competitors, and was thrilled to be back on stage, but did not make it through to the final round. (CorneliusNews.net interviewed Grace before she left for Ireland. Read the story here.)

In Henry’s group, all of the boys performed a “heavy” shoe dance called the hornpipe and a “light” shoe dance, an Irish reel, to live Irish music in groups of two or three competitors at a time before a panel of seven judges, Henry’s father, Jason, explained in an email. Judges evaluated the competitors on their technical execution of their steps, the level of difficulty of their routine, their rhythm and showmanship. The top half of the competitors in the Boys 10-11 group, including Henry, were recalled for a third competition later that afternoon before five judges, in which each of the recalled dancers performed a traditional Irish set dance of their choice.

Henry studies Irish dancing along with his sister, Tara, 13, and his younger brother, Andrew, 8, at the Rince na h’Eireann School of Irish Dance. Grace and her sister, Abbie, also study there. Rince na h’Eireann offers classes in six locations in the Carolinas, including in South Charlotte and Cornelius.

This year Rince na h’Eireann sent more than 25 competitors to Belfast for the world championships for individual and team competitions.