Bring on the big wigs, the spray tans, and the rhinestones. There’s about to be some serious river dancing in Dublin, Ireland.

The 2017 World Irish Dancing Championships kicks off this week, and one of our Spiders is among those competing at the global championship. We’re particularly proud of the dedication she brings to her craft.

This is the first worlds competition for first-year student Tess Monks. She met a lifelong goal of competing there when she qualified last November at an Irish national competition in Belfast. But the real hard work has been happening since she was 6. That’s when she became convinced Irish dancing was for her.

“My older sister first started after we saw Riverdance,” Monks explains. “She always did it, and I so wanted to be different from her. But then I saw her having so much fun with it!”

Monks switched from gymnastics and ballet to Irish dancing. Thirteen years later, she’s training up to 15 hours a week ahead of the competition, including additional conditioning and stamina work.

 “We drill things by lining up and doing one part of our dance 50 times in a row,” Monks says. “So dance class itself is not fun, but everything else about it is fun.”

Most people, she said, ask about the costume. It involves a giant, curly red wig, getting a spray tan, and donning a rhinestone-studded dress custom-made in Ireland. “It’s quite the look,” Monks laughs. “My friends don’t even recognize me.”

She may have a million reasons to be nervous, but Monks is genuinely excited to see the level of competition, which includes contestants from Australia and Europe. “It’s just absolutely amazing the standard of dancing,” Monks said.

And her goal, you might ask?

“I don’t have any placement in mind, just to dance my hardest,” Monks said. “My goal is just to dance my best.”