Ramstein student qualifies for world championship

It isn’t often that the child of a military member is able to spend enough time in one place to achieve world-class status in a sport. It’s even more amazing when the love for that sport was discovered and fostered in a Child Youth and School Services program.

Luke Pelletier, Irish dancer and a student at Ramstein Intermediate School, proved that it is possible Oct. 30 at the All Ireland Dancing Championships in Killarney, Ireland. The All-Irelands is the oldest and one of the most prestigious Irish dance competitions, comparable to the golf Masters Tournament or Wimbledon tennis championships.

While many of Luke’s fourth-grade peers were preparing for Halloween, he put on a dance costume and took the stage. Each dancer is guaranteed to dance a traditional set dance, a heavy shoe dance and a soft shoe dance, but should they place high enough in each round, they can be recalled to the stage to dance again up to three additional times. Not only was Luke recalled to the stage all three times, he placed fifth overall and qualified for the world championship, which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, in the spring.

Luke discovered Irish dancing while attending a Ramstein youth services spring recital four years ago where he saw Mary Sweeney’s Irish dancers perform in the program. He told his mother that was the kind of dancing he wanted to do and has been dancing with Sweeney, both at youth services and her Landstuhl studio, ever since.

Luke is not the only military child to find success in Irish dancing with Sweeney. A total of 15 children who take classes with her through the Ramstein Youth Center will travel to Milan, Italy, in late November to compete in the European championships.