Portrait of an Artist: Ewan Foster '15

Ewan H. Foster ’15 will step onto the stage at the World Irish Dancing Championships this year for the fifth time in his dancing career. The Leeds native has been dancing competitively for 10 years and somehow still finds time to be a full-time Harvard student. On Saturday he’ll be on the stage in Boston, ready to wow thousands with his love of Irish dance.

The Harvard Crimson: How did you first become involved with Irish dance?

Ewan H. Foster: My little sister, she always did dancing. Because my mom’s Irish I think she just forced her into it, and because we didn’t have much of a family around I would get dragged along and I’d have to watch and stuff. And then one night the dancing teacher’s mother got drunk, and she was a real strong Irish lady and apparently—I can’t remember this, but she wouldn’t let me leave until I said I’d come and try out…. So I tried out.

THC: What do you look forward to most about this upcoming competition?

EHF: I don’t know, really. I guess it’s just fun to do it. You don’t really think about it. It just feels special. It just feels like something else when you can just dance and everybody’s watching. You’ve got a couple thousand people watching you, and it’s just great. It’s like I get to show them what I can do.

THC: How do you find time to compete and excel in Irish dance while dealing with the Harvard workload?

EHF: I struggle with that one. It’s really hard. As my dad always says, it’s all about spinning the plates. There will be weeks at a time when I can’t go to training because I’ve got midterms and exams and things, and there are times I’ve had to reschedule exams and miss classes and I’ll just go practice. I think you just have to kind of commit yourself to both at the same time. It’s hard because dancing is in Norwood, so it’s about an hour away, so the journey time adds a lot to it. I don’t know—I think you just have to love them both enough that you’ll make it work.

THC: Do you have any other hobbies outside of dance?

EHF: I volunteer at the Cambridge fire station, so that’s something. And I’m hoping after the Worlds to start doing boxing quite seriously, so that will be something to pass the time. Not too much really. I guess I just hang out with my mates.

THC: What is your favorite memory from years of Irish dancing?

EHF: That’s a hard one. I guess when I won the regionals for the first time. This [was] in England, I was fifteen or sixteen, and I went from last [place the first time I went] to the second year [winning] first. I felt good doing that. It was great. You come off the stage, and the crowd is still smiling. I like that feeling.