CHECK OUT THE MCGINLEY SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE IN THE AUGUST 2010 ISSUE OF IRISH DANCE MAGAZINE!

The McGinley School of Irish Dance is the largest Irish Dance School in Central Pennsylvania, serving hundreds of dancers over the last decade from Cumberland, Adams, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York counties. We serve students as young as 2 ½ years through adulthood. Under the direction of Lena McGinley-Crosier, ODCRN, the school promotes an environment in which children are encouraged, motivated and challenged to excel in Irish Dancing and in life. We hope that our students will form an appreciation of Irish dancing, culture and heritage that they can in turn share with others in the community.

Our Roots…

The McGinley School of Irish Dance, formerly known as Lena McGinley’s Ceili Dancers, began as a performance Irish dance troupe in January 2000. The group was created with six original members and focused solely on teaching and performance. As the dancers progressed and the school grew, Lena searched for other avenues to challenge her students. In August 2004, the school became a Cumann Rince Naisiunta (CRN, Dublin, Ireland), sanctioned school and began to implement CRN’s curriculum.

Click on the Magazines below to view the McGinley School of Irish Dance featured in Irish Dance Magazine! See how we have grown over the years.

Feiseanna…

As a member school of CRN, dancers from the McGinley School have participated in local, national and world feiseanna (Irish Dancing competitions). Dancers compete in both solo and team competitions. The school currently holds 10 Regional Championship Team Titles and 15 Regional Championship Award Winners.

In April 2006, 22 dancers from the McGinley School of Irish Dance traveled to Dublin, Ireland to compete in The Irish Open Championships. The group had a very successful first trip. Jackie Cole won the Mean Grad Over 21 Award, Garrett Faust placed 5^th in the Mean Grad Under 9 Award, Heather Jorgensen placed 7^th in the Ullmhuchan Over 19 Award, and Sydney Dombrowski placed 10^th in the Ullmhuchan Under 11 Award. The Under 12, 4-Hand Team placed 6th and the Dance Drama placed 2nd. This was a very impressive, and great starting point, at the world level.

In May 2007, the school made its second trip to The Irish Open Championships. The Irish Open Team of 15 dancers participated in the opening ceremonies to kick off the 25^th Anniversary Irish Open Championships. Emma Kate Strouse placed 2^nd in the Bun Grad Under 8 Award, Jamie Pool placed 8^th in the Bun Grad Under 12 Award, Karyssa Miller placed 6^th in the Ullmhuchan Under 11 Award, Loette Walker placed 13^th in the Ullmhuchan Under 13 Award, Veronica O’Leary placed 5^th in the Ullmhuchan Under 15 Award, and Caroline Cole placed 4^th in the Mean Grad Under 13 Award. Garrett Faust became the first American to place in an Irish Open Championship Competition placing 6^th in the Under 11 Championship. The Dance Drama held it’s 2^nd place title and the Junior Foirne placed 5^th in the Under 12 Championship.

In April 2008, the McGinley School made it's third trip to the Irish Open Championships and what a year it was! Nine of the eleven teams that competed in the Irish Open Championships, placed in the top four in their Championships. The Craobh Comortos Ceili Paiste 6-Hand (Under 12 Ceili Championship 6-Hand Team) won the Championship. This is the first World Championship Title for the McGinley School of Irish Dance and the dancers became the first American team to reach this standard within CRN. Jamie Pool went on to win the Bun Grad Under 14 Award, making him the second Award winner for the school, and Garrett Faust moved up three places in his Championship, ranking him 3rd in the Under 11 Irish Open Championship.

2009 was no different than the previous years. We made the trip over the Atlantic to vistit old Ireland for yet another Irish Open Championships. This year they were held at the beautiful City West Resort outside of Dublin. It was a fabulous venue and an awesome year for the McGinley School; the best yet! Morgan Gallaher and Garrett Faust made history winning the Ard Grad Under 11 and Under 13 Awards, respectively, making them new Champions. They are the first two Champions for the McGinley School and the first two American Champions in CRN. All 14 of our dancers that made the trip were in our dance drama, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and won their first Drama Championship. It was a thrilling experience and the audience absolutely fell in love with the story, as did we. Seven of our dancers placed in their Awards and six of our dancers placed in their Irish Open Championships, not to mention, all seven of our Ceili Teams placed in their Championships. It was another great year that would not have been possible without the support and cooperation from our dancers, parents and families.

Performances…

The performance aspect of the school has not dwindled in the past years either. The group performs approximately 70 shows per year and in 2007, Lena and Annie co-produced the schools first two-hour-long theatre show. The show was a huge success as dancers performed under the lights to a sold out audience.

Dancers from the school have performed with world class Irish entertainers such as; Cherish the Ladies, Eileen Ivers, Frank Patterson, Gaelic Storm, The Prodigal, Trinity Irish Dance Troupe, and Searson. On a local level, the school is known for their crowd pleasing and entertaining performances throughout Central Pennsylvania. Throughout the month of March, dancers from the school can be found performing at all the local Irish Pubs and restaurants. During the summer months you can find them at the local Irish Festivals and in September they perform at the PA Renaissance Faire for their Annual Irish Weekend.

Appearances in the 2003 and 2004 Harrisburg Saint Patrick’s Day Parades earned the group awards for “Best Performance” both years consecutively and in 2005, the group was awarded “Best Entertainment.” In 2006, the group took it up a notch and was awarded the "Dauphin County Commissioner's Award, Best Overall" in the parade. In their debut performance in the 2005 York Saint Patrick's Day Parade, the group won 1st place, Best Group/Organization and reclaimed the award in 2006. In the 100^th Anniversary of the Enola Railroad Parade the group was also awarded 1^st Place Large Group.

Please feel free to check out our performances page for upcoming shows.

Location…

We are proud to announce that in November, 2007, the McGinley School of Irish Dance purchased a 2800 square foot building in Lemoyne, PA and converted it into a new dance studio for the group. With much help from dedicated parents and students that helped with the moving, cleaning, and painting, along with the many hours put in by our contractor, the new building opened in January 2008. The new studio boasts a 1300 square foot dance floor that was engineered and designed by one of our dedicated fathers, Rick Shannon, and constructed by Rick, Don Faust, and Jay Crosier, with the help of Bob Schaible and Scott Fonner. Some great men that again dedicated their time and talents to our school.

McGinley School of Irish Dance

701 Pear Street

Lemoyne, PA 17043

(717) 439-2991

Info: lena@mcginleyirishdancers.com

If you would like more information about our school, whether you would like to book a performance, or join the school as a dancer, please email Lena directly.

We hope you can join us in experiencing the rhythmic beats of hard shoes combined with the elegance of soft shoes, as we weave traditional reels, jigs, and ceili dances. The group adds a modern flair, while holding strong to their traditional roots, that promises to appeal to various audiences.