TheHarpNews.com

An Irish dancing prodigy is celebrating success after he and his family relocated all the way from San Francisco to Solihull just to further his dancing career.
Joe O'Donnell Bitter, aged ten, has a hat-trick of British titles under his belt after signing up with the world-renowned Danny Doherty School of Dance, based in Coventry.
Now he has his sights set on making the top three in the world championships being held in Ireland in Easter 2005.
Joe, who moved from the sunnier climes of California to the Midlands last August, recently won this year's Great Britain championships. Gaining a first from all three judges he also won the All Scotland the previous week to maintain an amazing 100 per cent championship-winning record that includes clinching ten other titles throughout Europe and North America since 2002.
Joe won his first GB title aged eight, just 11 months after taking up Irish dance lessons at the Patricia Kennelly dance school in San Francisco.
His first foray into the world of Irish dancing saw him follow in the footsteps of his sister Caroline, who was inspired to take it up after watching a stage performance of Riverdance. She is now a sixth-form student at Solihull School, where Joe is also a pupil.
Joe's success early in his dancing career prompted his mum and dad, Nicole and Patrick, to take the huge step of relocating to Solihull, after deciding how important Irish dancing was to him.
His success in the States led to a chance encounter with Danny Doherty from Coventry, one of the foremost Irish dance teachers in the world.
Danny, who first became aware of Joe's abilities while he was judging at a competition in America, said: "It can't have been an easy decision to move from North America to be here with me in the Midlands. The family must have put a lot of thought and time into it. I know they had been thinking about it for some time, took the plunge and now they are hoping it works out for all concerned. "
Speaking of Joe's ability, Danny added: "He has very good potential and has natural rhythm, which for a boy his age isn't always the case. Boys generally have to work a bit harder and train more in rhythmic work until their late teens. But he is very lucky - that is natural ability. It is about being able to do complicated material and keep in rhythm. As long as he keeps his interest and keeps working hard I think the future looks bright for him."
Ability apart, Danny also believes Joe also has the right character to help him succeed.
"Even though he is quite young he has definitely got the personality. He does have a bit of character, which will help him thrive. He has a lot of good things going for him."
Looking ahead to next Easter's world championships, the qualification sessions for which take place in Coventry in early December, Danny said: "Hopefully he will get into the top three and if he won it that would be great. As long as he doesn't make any slip-ups or mistakes. But the standard of dancing he is up against is very high and just like the Olympics, even the best can fail."
And Joe is not the first pupil to move from the other side of the world just to be taught by Danny.
Craig Ashurst is current student who came from Melbourne to perfect his dance steps. Unlike Joe, Craig, who is 20, supplements his studies by working as a professional Irish dancer and last year Lara Upton from Perth spent eight months studying with Danny. Home-grown graduates also include Lord of the Dance superstars John Carey and Catriona Hale and eight former pupils are currently appearing in Lord of the Dance.
"I do get a lot of requests from students abroad give them the opportunity to train at the highest level," added Danny.
Asked why he thought that was, he said: "I think it is our results. You can put it down to the achievements we have had over the years. Everyone wants to join a winning team and we seem to have been able to do that for many years."
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Danny Doherty School of Dance, who have academies all around the Midlands, can call 024 76 545091.