Feats of feet

PHOTOS BY FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY

PHOTOS BY FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY

By the time they got to Texas, the family was committed enough to be eyeing the major competitions.

"In America, you can do more," Erin says, noting that Irish culture is well-known and well-established there. Even so, their mom Moira had to shop a bit for a teacher who could take the kids to the next level. In the end, she wound up taking Christy and Erin to San Antonio for lessons nearly every weekend, about a three-hour drive.

A restless life for school-age youngsters? The brother and sister shrug off that notion. They seem unfazed, in fact, by their schedule since January: Spring Festival shows twice a day Feb 10-15, a competition in Shanghai this weekend, the Irish ball in Beijing on March 16, and then off to Boston for world championships starting on March 22.

"We've traveled a lot," says Christy, "so we're used to catching up quickly in school when we have to." Also, he says, since competitions include categories for youth beginning with "under 4", they are generally scheduled over Western holidays so that kids can participate without missing too much class.

The Jensens may hope to take the stage with Riverdance one day, but if so they are quiet about such a goal.

"Our ambition is to get to the recall round," says Christy of the imminent world championship. To reach that rung on the ladder, they must perform well enough in the open round's two dances, one in hard shoes and one in soft. They will be among thousands taking the stage in turn in Boston, and once the judges have licked their pencils and marked their score sheets, about 50 boys and 200 girls in each age bracket will be wait breathlessly for "recall".

Besides dividing the competition by age, a bracket for each year, there are solos and ceali (a group of four to six dancers). Because Christy and Erin are two years apart, they never compete in the same bracket.

But before all that, they've spent this weekend in Shanghai at the first internationally recognized Irish dance competition in China. It features a lot of beginners, but the Jensens still find it quite exciting - globetrotters like themselves naturally identify with the dance scene where they live. (In world competitions the entrants register based on the location of their "home dance school". At the moment, that makes Christy and Erin "Americans".) In Beijing they are continuing lessons - by video - with their longtime teacher Sean Kilkenny in The Hague.

In exhibitions, they always perform as a duo, but they are not painstakingly alike. Erin is quieter on stage. And while they both remember Houston fondly for its food, Christy says "Steak!" while Christy says "Seafood!" when asked for their best memories. They are big fans of the famous barbecue restaurant Goode Company in Houston, which serves both of their favorite foods.

And while a world championship has eluded them so far, they've danced in lofty company. In Beijing this year, they appeared at the Chaoyang Park International Spring Festival - where Ireland was the country of honor - on stage with four champion dancers who now perform with Kealan McCluskey troupe Jig: The Story of Irish Dance.

"They are really super kids with a great attitude and love for Irish Dance. It was a pleasure to have them perform as part of the Jig team," says the group's choreographer Sean O'Brien.

Who knows? By the next time they all meet, there could be six world champions up on the boards.

That would make some joyful noise.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.