When it comes to anything she tries, Breanna Cannell has a philosophy: You get out of it what you give to it.
What the Wyoming Area High School senior has given is thousands of hours of practice, training and dedication over the past 11 years. What she’ll get out of it is a chance to compete in the world championships of Irish dancing this April.
The competition is April 21-23 in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland sponsored by the Irish dance federation, Cumann Rince Dea Mheasa.
And it all started with “Riverdance.”
“I saw Michael Flatley when I was 6,” the Exeter resident said. “And after that, I danced around the house all the time. I kept bugging my mom for lessons, and finally, when I was 7, she took me to my first dance classes.”
Cannell said the lessons for beginners are normally half-hour sessions. Maybe it was the year of dancing on her own, maybe it was natural talent, but, after about five minutes in the first session, teacher Jennifer Leigh bumped her up to the normal full-hour session with more “advanced” students.
On the way, Cannell trained with several teachers and her current coach is Kerrilee DeHart, president of the Rince Tuatha Nua Federation, formed in North America and affiliated with Cumann Rince Dea Mheasa.
Cannell practices and trains for as many as 20 hours during the week. And, on Sundays, she works for four hours with Scoil Rince na Connemara – better known as the Connemara Dancers – in the Wyoming Valley. She is also a teacher at the school and hopes to one day become a certified teacher in Irish dance and run her own Irish dance school.
Right now, she’s working on the six or seven different routines included in the competition, including jigs, hornpipe and reels, both traditional and non-traditional sets in her own unique combination of steps that feature her athletic leaps and kicks.
Through it all, she has amassed a collection of 100 medals and 79 trophies in Irish step dancing, including a couple of third-place national awards and a second-place national trophy in 2014.
“I’d love for my 80th trophy to be a world championship,” she said with a grin.
Her proud mom and dad, Tami and Raymond, will be on the trip with her, have no issue paying for extra baggage if it means carrying home another piece of hardware.
In fact, Cannell has another strong connection to Irish dancing through her family’s heritage. Her paternal grandfather came from the Isle of Man, and Cannell wears a family crest on her dancing dress.
“That could be a problem for some judges,” she said, “because some of the Irish judges have a bias against the Isle of Man. But it’s the crest of my family, and I wouldn’t feel right if I had to compromise wearing something I’m proud of.”
She also included an anchor on the sleeve of her dress to honor the many in her family who have served in the Navy.
Cannell can’t wait for the actual competition, but is looking forward to a few days exploring County Louth because it is the birthplace of her maternal grandmother.
“The only sad part is that my teacher can’t go with me,” she said.
Irish dance is not the only thing in Cannell’s life of which she is proud. She will graduate in June and, based on her performance on both the field hockey pitch and in the swimming pool, has been recruited by Cedar Crest College for both sports. She may have to delay entrance to the Allentown school for a semester, depending on impending ankle surgery.
“Yes, I wear a brace right now, but this kind of thing isn’t unusual with Irish dancers,” she said. “I won’t miss the worlds. I can still dance. But I’ll have to have it worked on.”
Cannell’s best friend, Melissa Michaels, said she’d love to go to Ireland to support her friend. But she will be going to the national competition later in the year because it will be held in the Poconos.
“With Breanna, there’s always something going on,” she said.
And there is. As well as keeping up with her schoolwork and sports, she has a part-time job and is hoping to land an internship this summer with animal rehabilitation in the Poconos. She would love to work in that field and, at some point in the future, go into more work with animals, possible as a veterinarian. At home she deals with a dog, two cats and two brothers, one of whom is her twin, who will make this year’s graduation at Wyoming Area a family affair, with all three Cannell kids picking up their diplomas this year.
“My mom is already dreading the ‘empty nest’ that’s coming,” Cannell said. “We’re all at the same point of leaving.”
Cannell would call herself a typical high school senior, but she manages to get more done in a week than most. And she credits her ability with time management for it all.
“I make time for everything,” she said. “There are so many things that are important, so many things to be done, so I have to be organized.”
And she keeps her focus on her goals.
“There are so many things I like to do, and so many more things I would love to accomplish,” she said. “It’s great to plan, to think about it all. And, with all of it, I try my best.”
