Along with thousands of other competitors the trio travelled to Orlando, FL to compete in the regional championship - the Southern Region Oireachtas (pronounced o-ROCK-tis) on December 6th and 7th.

The competitors descended on the JW Marriott and surrounding hotels to compete against the best of the best in the region - vying for the opportunity to take their competition further to the North American Nationals, due to be held in Nashville, TN in July 2009, and possibly to the World Championships due to be held for the first time ever in the USA, in Philadelphia in April 2009.

Of the thousands, all three girls were awarded the honor of placing... Olivia Roche - 33rd - qualifying her for Nationals 2009, McKenzie Hewson - 22nd - qualifying her for Nationals 2009, and Jessica Ryan - placing 8th - qualifying her for both the National and World Championships in 2009.

All of the girls are students of the newly renamed Drake School of Irish Dancing (formerly the Ryan Irish Dance Academy), which has it's studio headquarters in Peachtree City. Rowena Ryan-Schultz, the registered teacher with the dancing commission in Ireland, has herself, won numerous State and National solo and team titles, as well as having performed on International stages around the globe.

"The competition was so strong in all levels - I am extremely proud of all of my students who competed. I am thrilled with their results and am looking forward to the upcoming championships in Nashville and Philadelphia." Ms Ryan-Schultz said.

Jessica Ryan is the first student of Drake Peachtree City to have qualified for the coveted World Championships - usually held in Ireland. Jessica competes in the Under 11 years age group, and has been dancing for about 4 years.F

If you are interested in Irish Dance classes for yourself or your young ones - call Miss Rowena on 770-617-5301 or e-mail her at [email protected]