An Irish dancer has said she is 'absolutely not' deterred from dancing despite online racist abuse she has received.
American Kaitlyn Sardin has been Irish dancing since the age of seven when she joined the Watters School of Irish Dancing.
She has around 120,000 social media followers and recently shared a clip of her dancing to her own original choreography.
The clip, which was taken during a gallery opening in Florida, saw Kaitlin mixing traditional Irish dancing mixed with other styles of dance and music.
‘I still love it'@scorplanes received racist abuse online after a video of her went viral - but says it will 'absolutely not' change her love of Irish dancing pic.twitter.com/NU340yBRMG
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 28, 2024
Kaitlyn grew up in Orlando and holds a number of champion titles.
She told Lunchtime Live the reaction to her dancing has been very mixed.
"I've had so much support but also there's been a lot of racist comments underneath the video, which has definitely been shocking," she said.
"I've had a lot of, 'Go back to your country' and a lot of, 'This isn't Irish dancing' which has been crazy."
'Troll accounts'
Kaitlyn said the majority of the comments don't seem to be coming from Irish people.
"A lot of them have actually been non-Irish people that I've noticed,” she said.
"A lot of them don't even have the Irish flag anywhere, they'll have other flags.
"There's also been a lot of American hate comments as well.
"I noticed from some of the comments that people were saying how this is the first time a lot of these profiles have ever talked about Irish dancing, so it definitely felt like a lot of troll accounts".
'I've had to mute my videos'
Kaitlyn said the comments are very hurtful.
"I've never seen some of the things that they've called me in person," she said.
"I've had to mute most of my videos online so I don't see the comments.
"It was definitely hard the first day, it just was non-stop".
'I still love it so much'
Kaitlyn said the comments she gets online can vary depending on the type of dance she does.
"When I've used different styles there's definitely a different [reaction] - I'll use my arms instead of keeping my arms down," she said.
"I'll also have all the normal footwork of Irish dancing and I'll still make sure the technique is there.
"So I think a lot of people aren't used to seeing arms moved as well as the type of music that I use".
Kaitlyn said none of these comments take away from her love of Irish dancing.
"Absolutely not - I still love it so much even since I was little it's always been something that has been very special to me.
"There is something special about it and it makes me really happy to continue Irish dancing."
Kaitlyn said she has been to Ireland several times.
