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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 29, 2012 · 32 Student art Artscene photos by michael ivanin / oakville beaver showcase: The art students at St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School held an exhibit earlier this month, showcasing their work. In the left photo: Victoria McDonald, left, and Elektra Maniatis view some of the work. On the right, Tricia De Souza is pictured in front of her work. to worlds: Heading to Irish dance championships By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville-based Goggin-Carroll School of Irish Dance is sending a team of Irish dancers to compete for the world crown. Out of the 21 dancers heading to Belfast, Northern Ireland, 12 of them are Oakville girls. "These dancers train daily for an event like this and are putting their focus on representing Oakville and Canada with pride," said Barb Goggin-Wade, school director. "It's an honour to Three Oakville high school teams will be competing at this year's Halton district Sears Drama Festival that kicks off today (Wednesday). This year's competition is taking place at Burlington's Nelson High School and runs through three consecutive nights. Performances begin at 7 p.m. each night. Competing Oakville high schools this year are White Oaks (Feb. 29), T.A. Blakelock (Feb. 29), and Holy Trinity (March 2). Approximately 350 high school submitted photo teams participate in the province-wide drama showcase each year. The plays are student written, produced and performed. travel to Belfast and the dancers are training to The performances are judged by make the most of this prestigious opportunity." industry people, and teams compete to The World Irish Dance Championships run move on to further rounds. Past the from March 31 to April 8 this year. Each year, the district round, winning teams are sent competition is hosted in a different city. There are to one of six regional showcases. a variety of contests from individual to group Winners from the regionals then move competitions. on to the provincial showcase where the To qualify for the right to compete at the final winners are selected. Aside from worlds, the dancers first have to qualify at a being able to move on to further rounds, regional competition. Each year, the local dancers students can also win awards. Awards compete at the Eastern Canadian Regional handed out at the Ontario showcase are See Dancers page 33 accompanied with arts scholarships. Twelve Oakville dancers are going to the World Irish Dance Championships that begin March 31. Pictured in the back are: Julia Silano, Emily Politeski, Brooke Ezekiel, Jacqueline Boutilier, Rebecca Stewart, Laura Ryan, Mackenzie Wade and Katie Holbrook; in the front are: Heather Fletcher, Naomi Marsh, Isabella Sims, Ainsley Flemington. By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Three schools at drama fest White Oaks is performing the student-written play, A Pathetic World. It is about a young man who tries to encourage people to become more involved in social issues, however people are apathetic to such things. When he gets hit in the head by a protest sign, the main character is taken to a dream world where everyone cares too much and war breaks out over the issue of which salad dressing should be used. The play has a cast and crew of 23 students. T.A. Blakelock is performing studentwritten play, Wired. The play is about a young girl from the 1980s who travels to the future where people are overly dependent on technology. She tries to convince people that they can be happy without such technologies. There are approximately 30 cast and crew members. Holy Trinity is doing an adaptation of Molière's Tartuffe comedy play, set in modern-day Hollywood. It is about a man and his mother who get shammed by a conman named Tartuffe, who poses as a religious visionary. Tickets cost $10 at the door for each night's performance. Each night will feature three performances. Nelson High School is located at 4181 New St. in Burlington.