SOTM: Sara Steps Up and Stands Out

As a top-ranked Irish dancer in North America and a top student academically at Charlotte Catholic, Sara Divittorio excels in all she does. 

Sara started her Irish dance career when she was three years old and immediately fell in love with the sport. She has dedicated countless hours to practicing and performing Irish dance, along with acquiring countless wigs, dresses, and shoes in the studio. She said she “probably gets a new wig each year and a new dress every year” and goes through “five pairs of soft shoes and two pairs of hard shoes each year.”

   She admits that Irish dance is widely misconceived. “It's just like every other sport,” she comments. “I’m at my studio training for hours every day and am dedicated to it.” Sara acknowledges that although Irish dance is not the most popular of sports, it takes more hard work and dedication because performers must  “travel a lot more often and further to compete.” Recently, she traveled to Ireland to compete. 

At any competition, Sara sticks to a strict routine. On a competition day, Sara wakes up at about 5:00 am. She does her hair and makeup and immediately starts to warm up. Sara’s rituals include skipping breakfast and breaking a sweat during her warm up, or else she is convinced she won’t perform well. At her level, Sara completes three dances. The first is in her hard shoes where everyone in her age group gets up on stage and dances to the same music, but in different steps. She chuckled as she admitted “it actually gets more aggressive than one would think” because every dancer wants to be at the front of the stage. 

Sara’s second dance is in her soft shoes. Once again everyone in her age division gets up on stage and does different steps to the same music. The second dance consists more of technical skills like leaps and jumps compared to the first dance where it is all taps. 

The third and final dance is again in hard shoes and is a solo dance. It is to your own music, your own steps, and it's just you on the stage. Sara said, “It’s basically your time to show off.” The goal of the third round is to hear the sound of your shoes and to impress the judges by “making the really, really hard things look super, super easy.” Sara said an Irish dancer is never allowed to compete at the same time as someone from her studio because they would do the same steps. 

As a dedicated student, Sara prioritizes school work. Although travel proves to be a major time commitment, she focuses on “allocating [her] time efficiently and communicating with teachers.” Sara has no interest in Irish dancing in college. She may join a club wherever she ends up, but she will not be going to school for her dancing. She “appreciates the community that [she] has formed from dancing” and is grateful for their support. 

To celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, Sara will dance at various celebrations in the Charlotte area. She has  “performed on tv on the morning of Saint Patrick's Day” before, though she believes the dancing is not difficult and not an actual representation of her Irish dancing in competitions.

Sara was chosen as student of the month because of her skill on and off the stage as she balances her time and energy to compete at a high level while maintaining excellent grades.