Way to Go! Malverne dancer Julia O'Rourke

Julia O'Rourke of Malverne, a fifth-grader at St. Agnes Cathedral School in Rockville Centre, recently won first place in the under-11 category at the 2010 World Irish Dancing Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

She beat out 200 dancers from around the globe in three rounds of competition.

"I put every last bit of energy into my dance," said Julia, who has turned 11 since the March 28 event. "You just have to try really hard and not give up."

Julia said she fell in love with step dancing in kindergarten when a classmate brought in a step-dancing relative for show-and-tell. Shortly thereafter, Julia began weekly lessons at Petri School of Irish Dancing in Franklin Square.

To reach the world championships, she won first place last year at the mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas in Philadelphia - which she has won the past three years. She then won the North American Nationals in Nashville for the second consecutive year, in November.

Other titles she's won include the All-Ireland Championships and the Great Britain Championships.

"She doesn't get intimidated and has a terrific stage personality," said Lisa Petri, a dance instructor at the Petri School.

Julia will also be featured in a step-dancing documentary this fall by the BBC.

- MICHAEL R. EBERT