Saoirse Merrigan and David Borza.
Dancing partners Saoirse Merrigan and David Borza are both making serious moves in the Latin dance world, having landed recent titles at both European and World Championship level.
Saoirse (13) hails from Rathnew, while David (14) is from Dublin and they are both members of the Dance Talent Academy based in Dublin and train four to five nights a week, with Saoirse travelling up to Dublin, taking up to 1.5 hours each way depending on traffic. Their weekends are generally spent travelling around Europe representing Ireland at different events.
Speaking about the pair, Saoirse’s mum Tanya said: “The kids are only 13 and 14 years old and have already been approached to represent other countries but remain loyal to Ireland. Their dedication, work ethic and sheer determination exceeds that of many adults. Homework is completed on planes, trains and automobiles but they always get it done and never complain.
“Unfortunately at this point they are totally self funded as we haven’t been able to get any official body or company behind them yet, despite many, many emails have been sent.”
David and Saoirse are the new World Dance Organisation (WDO) under 16 Latin World Vice- Champions after competing in Poland.
On March 10, they became European Dance Organization (EDO) Open Champions in all 16 Latin categories they entered.
The pair have also been invited to represent Ireland on an Asian tour taking place in August, which they may have to turn down because of the costs involved. The mounting costs of the travel involved is also reducing the number of events they can attend.
Tanya added: “So far the kids have been unable to get any assistance from any official body which is heartbreaking considering the major achievements they have managed. It would be of huge benefit if we could secure some form of sponsorship to keep the kids on the platform so they can continue to attend European and international events as the costs are ramping up all the time. Everything we have as parents goes into their training, flights, hotels, shoes and costumes so we have zero budget left for any official promotion so we need all the help we can get.
“It’s great to see how strong Ireland are at competing in these events, and they have taken the dance world a bit by storm in that people are often surprised to see Irish dancers excelling in Latin dance rather than Irish dancing. Saoirse and David both want to continue flying the Irish flag at these events, and any assistance or help that could be provided would be much, much appreciated.”
If anyone is interested in sponsoring Saoirse and David in their efforts then they can contact Tanya on 087 8263692.