LAYTON, Utah — An eighth-grader at Morgan Middle School is getting the chance to showcase his love for Irish dance on the world stage.
On a snowy Thursday evening, you can find 14-year-old Logan Dorrity getting in some practice on the dance floor inside the Legacy School of Dance in Layton,
"I really like the rhythms and timings," Logan said.
His passion as he taps and glides across the floor is on full display.
"I just think it's a very beautiful form of dance," Logan said.
Logan has been doing Irish dance for more than a decade since he was just three years old.
"My mother was dancing since before I was born and she put all my siblings in dance," Logan said.
His mother, Christy, is the owner of the Legacy School of Dance, which specializes in Irish dance.
"It was me wanting to share my passion for something that I really loved," Christy said. "It's been great to watch his progress and as it's become more of an internal motivation for him, it's been great to watch him take the lead and want to really succeed."
Christy says this type of dance is also known as Irish step dance. She says it wasn't really popular in the United States until the 1990's after Riverdance came out.
Logan's success has led him to place high enough in a regional competition to qualify for a spot in the World Irish Dancing Championships in Montreal, beginning next week.
Christy says this is the most prestigious event in the sport.
"It's basically the Olympics for Irish dancing and there will be 2,100 dancers and an estimated over 10,000 spectators at this event," Christy said.
Logan's coach preparing him for the world stage, his older brother, Ethon.
Ethon competed in the world championships in Germany, back in 2014.
"I push him quite hard, not just because I'm his brother, but just because I see a lot of potential in him that I wish I could have had as well," Ethon said.
Logan says that includes lessons more than once a week.
As he gets ready to compete north of the border, he has the full support of his family, like his sister Amberlee, who will be there in person to see him take the stage.
"I'm really proud of him, I started a couple of years before he did and he passed me up real fast and he just kept on building up from there," Amberlee said.
While Logan says he is competitive and the goal is to win, he told FOX 13 News his hope for his first appearance in the world championships.
"We do the first two rounds and then they recall the top half or 50 and they do the third round and I'm just, my goal is to recall and get that top 50%," Logan said.
The World Irish Dancing Championships will take place from April 2 to April 19.
Logan and his family will head to Montreal on Saturday, before taking the stage at the championships on Monday.
