Saint Peter’s Elementary School Principal Madalyn Bauer said she waited for Saint Patrick’s Day all year long. She had a special surprise for students.
“I knew they were Irish dancers,” Bauer said of students Rowan and Ross Pruettmiller. “I wanted to surprise the faculty and students with some entertainment from their own peers and how great that is.”
Rowan, 11, and Ross, 9, entertained students, teachers and staff with Irish dancing Monday morning – complete with a wooden floor and traditional dance competition Irish costumes.
The brother and sister attend a dance school in Columbus called Millennium Academy of Irish Dance and Music. The pair has been dancing for four years, said their father David Miller.
Miller explained to students that there are two types of Irish dances: performance dances and competition dances.
“Performance Irish dancing is like ‘RiverDance,’ Miller said. “It’s just fun dancing and they have a good time while they are doing it. Competitive Irish dancing is where they are actually dancing against other dancers in their age group at their dance level. Judges sit in front of them, score them and then decide who the best competitor in that particular competition was.”
Students in grades one through three sat on the floor and the steps in the main hallway of the school as they watched and listened with rapt looks of admiration on their faces. A second performance of the same was also given to students in grades four through six.
Miller said he and his wife, Dr. Allison Pruett, both are of Irish descent. Miller said his great-grandmother was an immigrant who came through Ellis Island.
Rowan and Ross, who are in grades sixth and fourth, respectively, travel to Columbus two to three times a week for practices and competitions, Miller said.
The duo has danced and competed all over the United States and will dance in Canada this summer.
“They also have qualified to compete in Ireland, Scotland and England,” Miller said. “We haven’t made it to those competitions yet but we hope to before they graduate high school.”
