Instructors
Meet
Helen
Helen is a fully qualified dance teacher with both the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and the Royal Academy of Dance. Helen is working towards her Fellowship which is the highest teaching qualification awarded by the ISTD.
Helen started dancing with Aedeen O’ Hagan School of Ballet and Karyn Yates Dance School, in Carlow, at age 10. At 16, for her transition year in secondary school, she attended full time dance training in Inchicore College of further Education where she achieved a Level 5 QQI in Dance Studies. At 19, Helen attended Deborah Capon College of Dance in Whitstable, Kent for 4 years studying ballet, modern theatre/Jazz, tap, musical theatre, singing, drama, dance history, anatomy and physiology, child development and dance education. Upon graduation, Helen had received her DDE teaching qualifications with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) in ballet, modern, tap and national (folk) dance. During her time in college, Helen performed in pantomimes, college productions, (twice playing leading roles), and won two college choreography competitions.
Helen then embarked upon her and performance career by dancing in various shows and events in the UK, Greece, and China. Helen returned to Ireland in 2008 where she began her teaching career. She has since taught in numerous schools all over Ireland including The Ballet Barn (Aedeen O’Hagan School of Ballet), The Bray Academy of Dance, The Kilkenny Academy of Dance, Encorps Stage School, Tallaght and KYDS, Carlow and also opened her own schools in Portlaoise, Tullow and Castledermot. She has spent a summer in Wales teaching ballet for the Baronoswky School of Ballet. Helen has performed in, and choreographed for, many shows and productions around the country on both a professional and voluntary basis. She also teaches dance and movement as part PE in numerous primary and secondary schools around Leinster and worked on various dance projects with Carlow Little Theatre, Carlow Youth Services, Athy Family and Youth Services, Aspiro Choir, Carlow and the University of Limerick.
Always wanting to push herself to the next level, Helen gained her Registered Teaching Status with the Royal Academy of Dance in 2017 and became a Licentiate of the ISTD in 2018. In 2021, she gained her teaching Diplomas in both Yoga and Pilates. Helen also auditioned successfully in 2021 for Team Tap Ireland and will represent Ireland in the IDO World Tap dancing competition in Germany. Helen has recently been approved as a mentor with the Royal Academy of Dance for student teachers.
Meet
Lauren
Lauren has been dancing since the age of 3 training in Ballet and Modern learning from Helen Dunne, Aedeen O’hagan and Adele Mealey. She then moved to England to further her dance training at Morea Performing Arts where she studied for 3yrs while gaining both professional and teaching training. During college she trained in many dance styles such as Ballet, Musical Theatre jazz, Contemporary, Commercial, Tap along with singing and acting lessons too. While at college she performed at many events such as ‘Can you dance’, ‘Jack and the beanstalk’ pantomime and end of year shows while also learning from many amazing teachers and choreographers from the industry. She also completed her ISTD modern DDI and ISTD ballet DDE and is currently studying for her ISTD Tap DDE. Lauren has also taught many workshops over the years and choreographed pieces for end of year shows. She has been a part of TV work for Amazon prime and has currently finished filming for Disney’s new upcoming movie ‘Disenchated’ that will be released in 2022. She also has upcoming work with Roisin.Whelan.Dance (R.W.D) which is a contemporary based company in Ireland.
Meet
Laoise
Laoise started her training in the Ballet Barn with Aedeen O’Hagan and Adele Mealey and then continued her training with Helen Dunne. Laoise has certificates in Intermediate Ballet with the RAD and Intermediate Modern with the ISTD. Currently she is working towards her Diploma in Dance Education with the ISTD. She is also a qualified Primary School Teacher. As part of her degree, Laoise completed a specialism in the area of supporting children with Special Educational Needs.
As a member of Portlaoise Musical Society and Portlaoise Pantomime Group, she has been involved in a number of productions and concerts locally. She performed as a featured dancer with ‘Richard Mansworth’s Productions’ in their summer pantomimes and Christmas Cabaret. While undertaking her degree in Mary Immaculate College she performed and competed with the college dance team ‘Midance’. Whilst performing with the ‘Midance’ Jazz and Contemporary teams, Laoise was also the choreographer for the Contemporary team.
It is an honour for Laoise to share her love of dance and performance with all of our students and she takes pride in upholding the holistic and child-centred ethos of our dance school in her teaching. Laoise thoroughly enjoys working as part of a team of teachers who are committed to ensuring that all of our students develop a love for dance.
Meet
Aoife
Aoife started ballet at the age of 4 where she trained with Aedeen O’Hagan and Adele Mealey. At 11, she began Modern Dance with Helen Dunne and continued to take classes when starting college. She enrolled in the Dance Studies course at Inchicore College of Further Education in 2018 where she studied ballet, modern dance, tap, contemporary, dance history, human development and anatomy for a year, achieving a Level 5 QQI qualification. Through an Erasmus program at Inchicore, Aoife was selected to study contemporary dance at La Briqueterie Centre de Développement Chorégraphique in Paris. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Religious Education with English in Dublin City University. She is a choreographer for the competitive ballet team and a member of the jazz team for DCU Dance Society, competing with them at the annual Intervarsities events. She has previously volunteered as a teacher for weekly beginner classes in her university’s dance society, teaching jazz and ballet. Aoife is also currently working towards her Diploma in Dance Education (DDE) in both Modern Dance and Tap with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). Aoife is passionate about dance and is grateful for the opportunity to share this with others through teaching with our team.
Contact Info
Phone: +353 85 817 9291
Email: info@espiradance.com