Maturing Through Irish Dancing

Imagine being five years old. You do what you want, and you give no thought to the world that’s constantly moving around you. The only people you trust are your parents, so you do whatever they sign you up to do, not knowing that it would change your life forever.

From the young age of five, Rosemary Timmer-Hackert ’23 was pushed to try new things, left and right. Her parents had encouraged her to do gymnastics, ballet, soccer, taekwondo, and even fencing, but none of these had captured her heart like Irish dancing did. It has been eight years since her first lesson, and she’s still as passionate as ever about this sport. Through Irish dancing, Timmer-Hackert has been able to mature and teach herself powerful, influential life lessons.

“I’ve been doing it since I was in first grade, so eight years now. And that means it’s had a lot of time to affect me,” Timmer-Hackert said. “Like before Irish dance, I didn’t really know how to be a hard worker at all because school has always come easy to me. But Irish dance has taught me that you can’t always just do something right the first way because I actually struggle. And I understand sometimes there are steps that I can’t get right away.”

The people who have been around her all her life also see change in her. According to Caleb Benson ’24, her cousin, “Irish Dance has made Rose more busy, more responsible, and more athletic as a person.”

Although she struggles sometimes in learning the moves right away, Timmer-Hackert always pushes herself to be better and practices with the thought of perseverance. She challenges herself through joining competitions, even though she may not always place at the events.

“I’ve only been dancing competitively for three years. And at first, it was going great. We have a bunch of levels and she started me off in novice. I was placing first left and right, and I quickly moved up. Then I got into prize winner and I was not even placing. I was just like, is there something wrong with my dance? But really, it’s just that I’m in the harder level,” said Timmer-Hackert.

Her friends, however, are always there to support her whenever she needs it.

“The Irish dance team is like a large family. It’s been great for Rose to have older mentors and younger friends for her to mentor,” said Miriam, Timmer-Hackert’s mother.

Timmer-Hackert also uses Irish dancing as a way to escape from reality. The enjoyment she receives from the sport is something that can’t be measured.

“Irish dancing just like calls to me. I’ve tried almost everything, but nothing else compares to it,” said Timmer-Hackert.

Because Timmer-Hackert had gone through a lot before finding her true passion, she has some words of advice. She hopes that it will help others find their true passion as well.

“If you don’t like what you are doing, move. You are not a tree.”