Bernadette Short, ADCRG

Bernadette Short came to Montreal from her native Dublin in early 1974. From age 6 she was a pupil of the renowned Peter Bolton School of Irish Dance in Dublin and participated in many festivals and competitions throughout Ireland until moving to Montreal.  There she became involved in passing on her knowledge and passion for Irish dance and culture to her new friends across Quebec. Over the years she has fostered and spread the traditions of Ireland enriching the community where she lives and abroad. She is not only an Irish Dance Teacher but is also a qualified Adjudicator, much in demand across North America. She has judged major championships around the world including the World Championships and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the school she created. 

 

marie short, ADCRG

Marie, grew up dancing in her mom's Irish dance school. Although  never pressured by her mom, Marie worked her way up through the different grades of competition.  While in college, Marie auditioned for and was accepted into Trinity Irish Dance Company, and toured with the show over a period of two years.  Between shows and academic pursuits, Marie continued to dance at the Championship level, both locally and internationally .   She also competed successfully at the Eastern Canadian Championships, the North American Championships, European Championships, All-Ireland championships as well as the World Championships.

After retiring from competitive dancing, Marie qualified as a certified teacher of Irish Dancing in December 2004. Since then, Marie works alongside her mother, in both the administration and teaching aspects of the school.  Marie graduated from Concordia University with a B.Sc. in Exercise Science and uses her background in fitness to work on conditioning programs with the dancers in the school.

In 2013 Marie became a certified adjudicator of Irish dance and now adjudicates at competitions throughout North America.

Favourite Quote: "The true purpose of competition and sports is to inspire you to be your absolute best, not to have a shelf full of medals and trophies"

Anne Marie Keenan, ADCRG

Anne-Marie started dancing at the age of 3 in Jazz Ballet. At age 5, she began Irish Dancing at the Bernadette Short School of IrishDancing. Anne- Marie had an extensive Irish Dancing career with many accolades to her name. She is a 7 time Eastern Canadian Champion, two-time European National Champion, North American Champion as well as placing at  8 consecutive World Irish Dancing Championships. Anne- Marie has also had the pleasure of performing with Nathalie McMaster, at the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann shows in Montreal and at  the "Just For Laughs" festival.  Anne-Marie qualified as a certified teacher of Irish Dancing in the fall of 2010 and qualified as a certified adjudicator in the fall of 2017.

Favourite Quote: "Your feet will bring you to where your heart is..."

Kathleen Irving, TCRG

Katie began Irish dance classes with Bernadette at age 4 and progressed through the different grades of competition.  After a short break from the dancing during Katie's high school years, she returned with a renewed motivation at age 17.  At this time, Katie worked diligently and competed successfully at the Eastern Canadian Championships, the North American Championships and the World Championships.  After having completed her undergraduate degree at McGill, Katie auditioned and was accepted into a show entitled the Magical Dance of Ireland and performed throughout North America and Europe.  Katie has been a teacher with the Short School since 2000 and has been a certified teacher of Irish Dancing since the spring of 2010.

Natasha Woytiuk, TCRG

Natasha danced for the Bernadette Short School of Irish Dancing for over fifteen years before retiring from competition in 2013 and passing her T.C.R.G examination.  Among other achievements, she has placed top ten at the World Championships, top five at the North American Championships and has won the Eastern Canadian Regional Championships twice. She also earned medals at other international level competitions such as the All-Ireland, the All-Scotland and the Great Britain Championships.

Aside from Irish dancing, Natasha has also completed the pre-professional program of dance at Ballet Divertimento and holds a degree in dance education from l'Université du Québec à Montréal. She has also had the pleasure of performing in television programs such as "So You Think You Can Dance", “Voulez-Vous Danser?” and "L'Échelle du Talent", and often performs with Short School colleague and dance partner Lucas Lawton in their dance company IDanceDuo as well as other international touring companies such as Murphy’s Celtic Legacy, Celtic Illusion and the world famous Lord of the Dance.

Favourite Quote: "If you can plan for it, you can do it!"

ALLison walker, tcrg

Allison began dancing at the age of 6 under the instruction of Bernadette Short at our Chateauguay location. At the age of 12, she competed in her very first Eastern Canadian Oireachtas. By 13 she was successfully competing at various championships across Canada, United States and Ireland, including the North American Championships and the All Ireland Championships where she would receive a recall medal. In 2010, Allison competed in her first World Championships. She decided in 2012 to retire from competitive dancing to focus on teaching. Allison has been teaching in the school since 2007 and earned her TCRG certification in 2014.

Favourite Quote: "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work"

LUCAS LAWTOn, tcrg 

Lucas began dancing with Bernadette Short when he was seven years old, and hasn't stopped since! In his 16 years as a competitive Irish dancer Lucas achieved five world medals, as well as top five placements at the North American Championships, the All Ireland Championships, the All Scotland Championships, the Great Britain Championships and topped off his competitive career by placing 5th in the world in the Senior Mens category at the World Championships in 2016. 

Lucas began assistant teaching with the Short School at the age of 18.  Since retiring from competition, Lucas has achieved his TCRG certification and has already begun passing on his passion and love for Irish Dance to the students of the Short School. Lucas is a graduate of Communication Studies at Concordia University with a minor in Canadian Irish Studies where Lucas looked to deepen his understanding of Irish culture, art and history which he looks forward to passing on to all of those at the Short School! 

Favourite Quote: "Do it with passion, or not at all" 

Mike keane, tcrg 

Mike began his dancing career in 1994 when he took his first dance classes with Bernadette, and it was love at first step. His passion propelled him through a 16-year career, where he successfully competed both locally and internationally. He is a 7-time Eastern Canadian Champion, has two top 10 placements at the North American Championships, placed 4th at the All-Ireland’s in 2007, and placed 12th at his last World Championships in 2010. After retiring, Mike took same time off from dancing, but never strayed very far.

Mike graduated from Concordia University with a Joint Major in English Literature and History in 2010. He returned to assist in teaching in 2016, and successfully passed his TCRG in August 2017. Today, Mike works his day job in marketing and ecommerce for a fashion retailer, and teaches primarily out of our NDG location, where he took his first steps on his Irish Dance journey.

Favourite Quote: "Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come"