Mother and daughter step to line dancing glory
By Aileen Murphy
A Dromore mother and daughter are taking the line-dancing world by storm. Jackie and Samantha Gallagher have just returned from the World Line Dancing Championships in Nashville, Tennessee where their nimble feet impressed the judges and they came home with a host of titles between them.
Jackie competed in the 'Novice Crystal' section and came out in first place as World Champion. This is quite an achievement for Jackie who only took up line-dancing as she was already travelling everywhere with her daughter and thought she would give it a go herself. This award was the latest success for Jackie, she won the French Open in Paris in July last year, the European Championship held in England in October, and the Ulster Championship in November.
Talented teenager, Samantha, 15, has been the world champion for the last three years. She returned from Nashville with three world titles to her name, in the following categories: Teen advanced line-dance, pro-am and teen showcase.
Samantha, a pupil at St John's College, in Dromore, now moves into the new category of 'Rising Stars' which is the top level at her age and is the first step on the ladder to becoming a 'Superstar' which is the top category in line-dancing. Samantha is the first 'Rising Star' in Ireland, and the youngest ever to hold the title.
Like her mum, she also won the European Championships plus a host of other titles in 2009 including the French, Scottish, Irish and British Championships, and is well on her way to becoming the 2010 World Champion. Samantha has a great future ahead of her and one day hopes to become a professional dance instructor. The dedicated mum and daughter attribute much of their success to their dance teacher Jenny Stephenson, who regularly travels from Stoke-on-Trent in England to put in many hours of teaching.
