Council Vice Chair hosts reception for World Street Dance Champions Dr Limited
1st December 2023
Recently the Vice Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor AnnMarie Donnelly, hosted a reception for DR Limited from Dance Revelation, Omagh in recognition of winning the Over 18 Beginners category at the UDO (United Dance Organisation) World Street Dance Championships in Blackpool.
The following is the speech which was delivered by the Vice Chair at the reception:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
As Vice Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, I am delighted to welcome you all here to The Grange, Omagh for this reception in honour of World Dance Champions, DR Limited from Dance Revelation.
I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to Niamh, Carol, Orlaith-Marie, Molly, Sarah, Aine, Lucy-Kate, Caitlin, Airidas and coach Joanne who are with us this evening. Two Members, Jack and Alen, are unable to be here this evening.
Dance Revelation was established in 2008 offering hip hop, street and commercial dance classes for children and adults.
Based at the Station Centre in Omagh, I understand you currently have 60 members who meet once a week. Over the years you have competed in a wide variety of competitions achieving success including numerous Champions titles. You have also supported local events including those organised by the Council such as St Patrick’s Day and the Summer events.
The biggest achievement for the School to date was winning the Over 18 Beginners category at the United Dance Organisation’s World Street Dance Championships which were held in Blackpool in August of this year.
Earlier in the year you competed in the qualifiers which involved a video submission and you were successful in qualifying for the competition.
On day one of the competition you competed against 13 others Crews in the Quarter Finals and you were one of three Crews to achieve automatic qualification for the Finals.
On the Finals day you competed against 10 other crews and you deservedly brought the World Street Dance Champion title back to Omagh for the first time. It is fitting that you achieved this in your 15th year.
United Dance Organisation’s mission is to empower and inspire young people by nurturing skills, confidence and talent in a safe and encouraging environment. By competing in this competition against other top performing Crews from across the world, you will have further developed your skills and it has provided you with the opportunity to showcase your talents on the global stage.
I am confident that you success in this competition will have empowered and inspired you to continue dancing and strive to retain the title next year. You will also be an inspiration to the other young people in the School to have the confidence to compete at the highest level as success is achievable.
As partners in the Fermanagh and Omagh Community Plan, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is committed to ensuring that our people are healthy and well physically, emotionally and mentally as well as supporting and promoting the arts to ensure it is accessible to all. As members of the Dance School, you help to achieve this as your dancing encourages you to be active and provides you with an opportunity to travel and meet new people.
Being part of the Dance Crew you will have learnt the various skills and techniques for dancing, however, you will also have learnt life skills such as teamwork, listening to instructions, supporting each other and being resilient. These will be valuable to you as you continue in university or at work. I know many of you have also made lifelong friendships.
On behalf of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and on my own behalf, I would like to congratulate you all on your fantastic World Champion title. You have done yourselves, your family and friends, Dance Revelation, Omagh, the county and the District proud.
I would like to wish you and Dance Revelation every success for the future.
The Chair, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly, is unable to be here this evening, however, he also sends his congratulations and best wishes for the future.
Thank you.