Three local dancers are getting ready to fly out to Dublin, Ireland for the 2017 World Irish Dancing Championships.
The three recently qualified during the Eastern Canadian Championships in November.
Now they're getting ready by spending several hours in the studio at the Cornell School of Irish Dance in Chatham, with their coach Devin Cornell.
"They work very hard to reach the level that they're at, so this is well deserved for them," he says. "They're all really wonderful kids to work with, [with] very positive attitudes."
Cornell says he's trained the three dancers from a very young age, adding Andrea Dick who is now 12 years old was around 3 years old when she started dancing.
Although this will be Dick's first time going to Ireland, this is actually her third time competing in the World Championships.
"It's a very tough competition, but it's just a really good experience," she says. "I think I definitely get more nervous in a regular competition, but you just kind of pretend they're not there and you just dance your best."
Another dancer going to compete is 17-year-old Emma Howitt. The Grade 12 student juggles school and dance, spending six days a week training -- four of which are spent in the studio.
"I've definitely learned to prioritize my time," says Howitt. "I'll come home and do as much homework as I can, and then I'll do the rest of it in the car, and [then] go to dance."
The youngest of the three, 10-year-old Graham Vandernaalt, says he's somewhat nervous but mostly excited for the competition.
Cornell will be joining the dancers in Dublin.
"I'll be right alongside them, prepping them physically days before and mentally the day of," he says.
The competition takes place April 9-16, but they'll be flying to Ireland a couple days before the competition in order to adjust to the time change.
Cornell adds the annual competition sees around 150 dancers and only the top 50 place.