Bethany Preshur is no stranger to training to the highest calibre of Irish dancing. She danced for over ten years, starting at the age of three with the Royal Tara School in CDRM and Festival, where she was highly successful at a championship level, before switching to CLRG to dance for the Doherty School in Belfast. She went on to place top 10 in the world and top five in Ulster, but decided to retire around the age of 15 due to chronic illness. She would later be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which she realised shaped not just her life experience, but her experiences in Irish dancing.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how an individual experiences the outside world, particularly in relation to sensory processing and communication with others, and neurodivergence is the umbrella term people use to refer to the various conditions and differences that fall under it. Though she wasn’t officially diagnosed with autism until after her dancing career wrapped up, Bethany, now 22, has gained valuable insight into the ways in which the competitive Irish dancing world can better support neurodivergent dancers. She now runs an Instagram with advice and perspectives on life with autism. Here, she shares her thoughts on how the Irish dancing world can be a more inclusive space for different needs.
Accommodate different learning styles
While learning new steps wasn’t a major challenge for Bethany, she remembers having trouble understanding certain instructions in the same way a neurotypical dancer would, which became difficult in team situations where she would be doing something slightly different from other dancers.
Bethany studied English with Education at Ulster University and, as part of her degree, completed a placement at the Royal Tara Dance Academy. While there, Bethany noticed that “with some of the kids that we know are neurodivergent, it does take them a little bit more time to pick up some steps and stuff. And then sometimes that can be frustrating for the child because they see everybody else picking things up, and they’re not, and it’s like ‘Why can’t I do them?’”. Doing this placement helped Bethany reflect on her learning experiences in dance as well as how the Irish dancing sphere could adjust to better fit neurodivergent dancers.
She therefore maintains that finding the right teachers who can accommodate different learning styles and learning needs is a crucial factor to success for neurodivergent dancers. Some may need more time to pick up choreography, and some need private lessons to be able to absorb new material at their own pace. Bethany credits being able to do private lessons as a major factor in her competitive success.
Adjust competition venues to provide quiet spaces for dancers
Feis days can be overstimulating for any dancer at the best of times, but particularly for neurodivergent dancers who may become overstimulated when their nervous systems try to process the many visual, auditory, and other sensory stimuli of a competition.
“I wish it wasn’t so pushed on us that you have to wear the wig”
Bethany Preshur
Bethany says that to avoid overstimulation and to process her feelings, at many feiseanna and Majors, she’d put her headphones on and walk away from her mum and teachers to decompress. It’s easy for teachers to want to be very involved with dancers on a competition day to ensure the best performance and outcomes, and some dancers may need more time and space to be able to process things like this, to prevent the nervous system from going into overdrive. Providing a quiet space away from the stages, the practice room, and vendors for dancers to zone out with headphones or meditate could make the world of difference for many competitors.
Allow dancers to choose less mainstream hairstyles and costumes
The costuming, hair, and makeup in Irish dancing is arguably distinct and can be over-the-top; it can also be the source of sensory barriers for neurodivergent dancers. “I wish it wasn’t so pushed on us that you have to wear the wig”, says Bethany. “I know some people choose not to, but I feel like it’s still really pushed on us. You have to wear wigs. You have to wear the makeup. I know the makeup helps with [appearance onstage]…but sometimes I just really didn’t like wearing it.”
“If you see that a child has different needs or sensory sensitivities, it’s about supporting those needs”
Bethany Preshur
There are many dancers in the competitive world that now have more natural hairstyles and more comfortable costumes, but the Irish dancing world still heavily pushes mainstream dresses and hairstyles, and deviating from the norm isn’t quite universally accepted yet.
Practise understanding for classmates who may not be neurotypical
Neurodivergency shaped Bethany’s experience in Irish dancing, and while she left dancing due to the mental health struggles that it brought, the support she received from her fellow classmates and her teachers made the world of difference to her. “Part of why I left was because of mental health struggles. We shouldn’t let kids get to that point; we should be there for them and support them. And I was supported, obviously. [It’s] just that we didn’t know what was going on. People are recognising neurodivergence a lot more. Even if you don’t know what exactly the kid has, if you see that they have different needs or sensory sensitivities or things like that, it’s [about] supporting those needs, even if you don’t know if they are autistic.”
Being able to recognise classmates who may need a little more understanding or compassion is the first step to making the Irish dancing space more accessible to everyone.
Follow Bethany’s work on Instagram.
