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Date Posted: 07:19:59 05/02/26 Sat
Author: Exhibit A
Subject: And here we have...
In reply to: Super compelling 's message, "No it does not! I love competitive Irish dance and have been involved now for three generations." on 03:55:00 05/02/26 Sat

Of the results of normalizing and minimizing abuse. This thread has been discussing the fallout of a school with recent “scandals”- the main scandal actually being a crime. A teacher was credibly accused of sexually assaulting a student; the teacher continued at the school, interacting with students, until a warrant was issued for his arrest when he fled abroad to avoid facing charges- though he continued his affiliation in the background. That same teacher- along with too many other Irish dance teachers to count across CLRG – had a long history of berating and degrading students regularly, and he openly displayed substance abuse issues while teaching/working.

I understand that you love Irish dance and that you don’t want change- or perhaps, reform, is the better word- to ruin it. That is wonderful for you, and I sincerely hope that neither you nor any of your relations have experienced fallout from the kind of degradation and berating that children regularly experience in Irish dance schools. However, you don’t seem to see or understand the seriousness of the issues at hand, let alone the connection between the abuse students become accustomed to and the judging scandal to which you allude. A judging scandal like that can only occur because students and parents accept abhorrent treatment from teachers and judges who are drunk on the tiny power they wield in the micro-dance world (in addition to their literal drunkenness). We all agree that judging is and has always been subjective, but we’ve also read the messages explicitly trading favors, sexual and otherwise. You can pretend there isn’t a problem, but denial over the long term will not preserve competitive Irish dance, and it will ruin everything wonderful about it. Further, denial doesn't help the children, young adults, and parents whose lives have been impacted by abuse and who are brave enough to report it, deal with it honestly, and work to create a healthier culture in which Irish Dance and dancers can flourish.

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