Stacey Booth
Stacey has danced throughout her life, training and teaching in the UK and then here in Ireland. She holds Licentiate qualifications in varying dance genres with the IDTA and the ISTD and has vast experience in choreography, adjudication, and teacher training.
Dance, theatre and the education of children and young adults have spanned Stacey’s entire thirty-four-year career to date. She currently teaches tap and ballet, and most enjoys creative choreography for shows, festivals and competitions in varying genres. She believes that dance can be a powerful platform for the social education of young people.
Animal welfare, the countryside and family are important aspects of her life.
Stacey Booth LISTD LIDTA MBATD
Svetlana Blinova
Sveta was born in the centre of Russia. She went to Dance school when at 7 years old and is very grateful for her time spent there.
At 18, Sveta went to college to study different types of dance. She holds a Diploma from The Tambov branch of the Moscow State Institute of Culture. Sveta went on to work for a professional Dance Company for 15 years and at the same time was teaching dance.
In 2004 Sveta came to Ireland and worked as a ballet teacher at The Gallagher School of Ballet. Since 2010 Sveta has been teaching ballet at The Dance Academy Limerick. Sveta is passionate about dance & really enjoys teaching.
Alice Marshall
Alice Marshall, originally from Gloucestershire, England, began her dance training with the Annette Adams School of Dance in Bristol.
Showing great promise at the tender age of 11, she performed with the Royal Ballet at the Bristol Hippodrome.
At 15, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the London School of Classical Ballet, where she was taught by the legendary Molly Lake and Travis Kemp, both of whom were among the first dancers to perform for the Royal Ballet, founded by Dame Ninette de Valois.
Jean ODonoghue
Jean ODonoghue started ballet in the Gallagher School of Ballet when she was 5 years old and went on to study dance in her transition year at Inchicore College, Dublin. She completed a year of Dance training in Colaiste Stiofan Naofa in Cork. She holds a first class honours degree in dance from the University of Limerick.
She holds teaching qualifications with the IDTA and received a distinction in her Licentiate teaching exam. She has many years of performing and teaching experience. Jean teaches jazz, lyrical and ballet in the Dance Academy.
Eimear McCartney
Eimear began dancing at the age of 4 with the Gallagher School of Ballet, now The Dance Academy Limerick. She trained in ballet, jazz and tap, undertaking exams with the RAD and the IDTA. She holds a Licentiate Ballet qualification (disctinction), a diploma in anatomy and physiology and is currently working towards Tap Associate exams.
Eimear has danced with Team Ireland (tap) and has enjoyed many years performing and teaching with The Dance Academy Limerick, as well as local musical societies.
Eimear has lived in 4 countries, is a primary school teacher, loves to play music and adores her dogs!
Ashling Hughes
Ashling began her dance training at the age of 4 with this ballet school (formerly known as the Gallagher school of Ballet).
Since beginning her dance career she discovered a great love for dance. She attended ballet, tap and jazz classes over the years. Ashling went on to further her dancing with the Monica Loughman ballet company after successfully auditioning in Galway and Dublin at the age of 12. She has toured Ireland as part of the junior company in The Nutcracker ballet.
As Ashling furthered her dance training she began assisting in dance classes which led to completing her dance teaching qualifications with the Dance Academy under the IDTA exam board (Professional Ballet teaching diploma and anatomy exams completed with a distinction in all).
Ashling's passion to teach and work with children led to her becoming a primary school teacher after finishing school. As well as this, sport has played an important role in her life, playing football for many years too!
Laura O'Dwyer
Laura began taking ballet lessons at the age of 7. Since then, she has studied various other dance styles, such as modern jazz, lyrical and tap. She holds an Associate Ballet teaching qualification with the IDTA, having achieved distinction in each element of this qualification, and also holds a diploma in anatomy and physiology.
Laura was a founding member of Mary Immaculate College Dance Society (MIDANCE). She graduated from MIC in 2017 as a primary school teacher and later returned to complete a Masters in Education, for which she was awarded a First Class Honours degree. Laura has completed postgraduate research investigating how play can contribute to oral language development in early childhood.
Outside of dancing and teaching, Laura enjoys reading, travelling and obsessing over musicals!
Aisling Donovan
Aisling started ballet at the age of 4 with the Gallagher School of Ballet and continues to take classes at The Dance Academy Limerick.
Aisling studied different styles of dance during her time in this school (modern jazz, tap and ballet) and has fond memories of performing in shows with the Dance Academy. Fun fact: Aisling has been both a snowman and Gaston (complete with the hairy chest) in our shows over the years!
Dancing has been a huge and enjoyable part of her life and she loves being a part of the children’s first experience of dance as she teaches Rag Doll and Beginner Ballet classes in this school. As well as being a primary school teacher, Aisling is currently completing teacher training to obtain her teaching qualification with the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA).