Applied mathematics major junior Payton Sawyer (pictured above) dancing at the 2019 Irish Dancing World Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Throughout her routine, her arms must stay stiff at her side (courtesy of Payton Sawyer).
Imagine having a passion and being recognized on a world platform for it. That is what happened when applied mathematics major junior Payton Sawyer qualified for the Irish Dancing World Championships for two years in a row.
Sawyer has been Irish dancing for more than 16 years. She began when her mother signed her and her older sister up for her class at four years old; Irish dancing had been a family tradition.
“When my mom was growing up, her and all of her siblings had to Irish dance at each other’s family weddings and everything,” Sawyer said. “I guess just the more I did it and the better I got, the more passionate about it I got and the more I just fell in love with it.”
Sawyer fell in love with the Irish dance community and even appreciated the people she competed against. She dances out of Boland School of Irish Dance and does her best to prepare for her competitions while at school.
“If I were home, I would probably be practicing every day; at college it’s a little harder,” Sawyer said. “I try to practice at least four times a week, sometimes just jogging in place or whatever [I can do] to keep my stamina up.”
Irish dancing is a very technical sport. It consists of two different types of shoes—soft shoes called ghillies and hard shoes. Each one uses different skills and showcases different ways of dancing.
“Soft shoe dances are more about being graceful and pointing and being precise,” Sawyer said. “Hard shoe dances are more like showing your power and also your strength, your rhythm and your footwork with the taps.”
Last year, Sawyer competed in both shoes at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Greensboro, N.C. where she placed 37th. After placing seventh at Regionals this year, she qualified for Worlds in Dublin, Ireland this year.
“Qualifying for worlds is like a dream come true because that’s just the highest thing you can do. It’s like the Olympics of Irish dance, where people from [all over the world] are representing their country, and it’s super cool,” Sawyer said. “Every Irish dancer that competes strives to get to that point.”
Sawyer will be competing in April. Although she is no stranger to dancing in Ireland, she is excited for the chance to prove herself once again on the stage.
“I’ve been to Ireland before and I’ve danced there before, but like just informally in a pub or something,” Sawyer said. “Now, it’s like I actually qualified to be there, and I deserve to be on the stage with everybody.”
Competitive Irish dancing has specific rules dancers must follow. Most dancers wear giant wigs, and they get spray tans to accentuate the muscles in their legs, according to Sawyer. In addition to the competition standards, Sawyer has her own routine, including eating some sour patch kids before she performs.
“I get up early in the morning, get a wig pinned to my head and do my makeup. I do a 45-minute warmup to run through my routine a couple of times,” Sawyer said. “I always eat candy because in my head it gives me energy. I don’t know if it actually does.”
When she is not dedicating her time to practicing her individual routines, Sawyer is Co-President of Slainte, the Irish Dance organization on campus. She helps choreograph their dances that they perform at different events such as Relay for Life.
“Slainte is definitely a lot less pressure, but it also helps me because then I’m working out and dancing more, Sawyer said. “It helps me build my stamina and my technique for when I do compete, but it’s also just fun to dance with my girls and just enjoy it.”
While Sawyer hopes to dance as long as she can, after college, she wants to teach high school mathematics. She even plans to become an Irish dance teacher and give back to the sport she loves.
“To me, Irish dancing has given me basically everything,” Sawyer said. “It’s given me extended family, goals to work towards and athleticism for sure.”