The DeNogla School of Irish Dance is located right in the middle of Verona. While everyone passes it at least once on a normal day, not many people know a lot about the school or Irish dance in general.

Irish dance is a type of recreational and competitive folk dance that has been popularized by the world-famous “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance.” While it is very popular in Ireland, of course, it is also popular in many other countries around the world. The DeNogla School was founded by Alison and Jennifer nagle in 1993. Over 20 years later, this academy still has over 400 students who compete at statewide, regional, national and international levels. Of those 400 students, three attend VHS: Carli Lavoie, Amber Harrington, and Kaitlyn Keane.

Carli Lavoie, a freshman at VHS, has been dancing for nine years at the DeNogla School of Irish Dance, and got into it simply because she and her mom thought it would be a fun activity for her to try. While there are many aspects of Irish dance that Carli enjoys, she especially likes Irish dance for all of the friends she has made from it.

“Its so much fun to be able to travel to all different fun places with your best friends.” Through Irish dance, she has been able to travel to a number of different states and as far as Ireland. When she was ten, she placed 11th in the nation, qualifying for the World Championship, and her goal for this season is to do the same. Carli believes that Irish dancing has taught her many life skills that she can use not only in the dance world, but in the real world as well.

Amber Harrington, a sophomore at VHS, has also been dancing at DeNogla for most of her life. Like Carli, her favorite part about it is how she has made “a family of friends” and gets to travel all around the world with those people. Over the years, Amber has danced less than she used to, but still practices 2-3 times a week, which is certainly a sizable commitment. On top of Irish dance, she manages schoolwork, lacrosse, and time with her family and friends, which she admits is sometimes hard to manage. However, with that said, she always wants Irish dance to be part of her life, and when she has kids of her own, wants them to follow in her footsteps.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Keane has a different connection to DeNogla than Carli and Amber. Her mom is her teacher and co-founder of the entire school. While Kaitlyn sometimes loves the fact that her mom is her teacher, it also is difficult at times. “If we get into an argument at home, that conflict carries into dance class.” Kaitlyn has been dancing for 12 years, carrying on the tradition which has been in her family for many generations. She practices 7 times a week for 2-5 hours each day, and this time and effort has definitely paid off for her. Over this past summer, Kaitlyn became a professional dancer by being one of 80 dancers out of the 400 who tried out to make the exclusive Studio2Stage program. Like Amber, Kaitlyn always wants dance to be a big part of her life. Once she retires from competing, she hopes to continue her professional career with touring on a worldwide show and later receiving her TCRG which is a certification to become and Irish dance teacher, continuing her family tradition for yet another generation.