Some people are born with a gift and for Wellington’s Johanna Scott, her gift is dance. Specifically, Irish dance.
“I was just four when I walked past an Irish dance class at the Plimmerton School hall and Mum suggested we take a look” Johanna tells Woman’s Day from Kalgoorlie, Australia, where she’s currently on tour with Celtic Illusion, the Irish dance extravaganza that has been thrilling audiences for 13 years. “That was my very first class and immediately I loved it.”
Johanna, 23, says it’s a total dream come true to be part of the spectacular show because even though she pursued all manner of activities while growing up, Irish dancing’s the thing she loves most.
“I’m also into art, music and sport, and I love teaching gym classes, but Irish dance speaks to me. It’s the toughest, most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done!”
Although Irish dance could easily not have been on her radar, since Johanna’s mum is Mexican and her dad is a Kiwi.
“But both my parents have Irish ancestry, including mum’s great-great-grandfather who was Irish,” she explains. “So there is a connection, and while I also studied jazz and ballet, there’s something about Irish dance that takes me away like nothing else.”
This made it all the more devastating when doctors told the gifted performer she would never dance again.
“I was 15 when I qualified for the Irish dance world champs in 2015. That was a big deal coming from New Zealand,” she recalls. “I even went to Belfast with another dancer and our teacher, where we trained really hard for a month. We were dancing and in the gym daily.”
Poised to take on the world, on the day of competition in Glasgow, Johanna felt a niggle in her hip. However, having come so far, she refused to let it stop her competing.
“I was on stage in front of six judges and thousands of people when my hip gave out. They disqualified me. All that work, time and money – in just one second, it was gone.”
Johanna felt blindsided emotionally and physically.
“Back home, the doctors told me the bone needed time to heal. I was on crutches for six months before I could dance again. I competed at the nationals in 2016 and the pain came back.”
Further investigation revealed a torn cartilage, making surgery unavoidable.
“That’s when the doctors told me I’d never dance at that level again, because when your hip is sore, your whole body is sore, so I gave up.”
Understandably, the talented teen struggled to adjust to a life without dance.
“It was just such a rough time because the thing I loved most was taken from me,” she recalls. “I’d also moved schools, I’d broken up with my boyfriend and my hip was injured. Everything happened at once and I just fell hard into a very deep depression.”
Johanna credits her family – especially her mum, who did everything she could to spark Johanna’s interest in other things – and a clever therapist for guiding her out of the darkness. “One counsellor asked how I would describe myself and I said, ‘I’m a dancer.’ But she helped me see that I was also a friend, a student and a musician – that I did all these other things and dancing was just one of them. She really helped me see that dancing wasn’t my whole life.”
After finishing high school, Johanna enrolled to study psychology and criminology at Victoria University, where during her second year, in 2021, Celtic Illusion announced a major 10th anniversary tour.
“They wanted to hire a mostly Kiwi cast and because my hip felt better, I sent in my CV. I was totally rusty, so I went back to classes, I practised heaps and was hired!”
Touring all over Australia and New Zealand, Johanna was able to keep up with her studies online.
“I’d be in the dressing room with my laptop, literally doing my makeup while studying for class. I turned down last year’s tour so I could focus fully on finishing my degree. Now I’m on tour again and not studying, it’s amazing.”
To make life ever sweeter, Johanna has found love with fellow performer Odhrán Lynch, a handsome dancer and illusionist from Belfast.
“We love being on the road together because we’re not just partners, we’re best friends. I’m so excited about bringing the show to New Zealand,” Johanna says ahead of the company’s 17-date tour of Aotearoa, with Odhrán’s mum travelling all the way from Ireland to see it.
Johanna is excited to be sharing the magic of Celtic Illusion with her Kiwi family and friends. Then, she and Odhrán look forward to a well-earned break, when they’ll divide their time between Johanna’s family in Wellington and Odhrán’s in Belfast.
“We’re also auditioning for Irish shows around the world,” the dancer divulges – and with her talent, beauty and determination, it’s a sure thing she’ll go far.
Celtic Illusion is touring New Zealand until 24 November. For more info and to book tickets, head to celticillusion.com.
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