Melissa with Kevin Duncan at 2006
All Irelands
Melissa lives in Westlake, Ohio and
teaches at the Burke/Cleveland location. She is single and
enjoys running, music and travel in addition to dancing!
She began dancing in 1980,
participating in the Oireachtas for 13 years, the final time being in
1997. Her highest placement was 4th. She qualified
for the World's 5 times, dancing at 4 of them. While
practicing her reel at the 1995 World Championships in Galway, she broke her foot. She had to fly home, have surgery, be in a
cast and on crutches for 10 weeks, and now has a metal screw in
her right foot.
Melissa sat for her teaching exam in June
1999 at Gaelic Roots at Boston College, receiving her TCRG in July
1999.
Fondest memory of
Irish dancing: "My birthday is November 20th and every
picture of me blowing out my birthday candles is me in shorts and a
tee shirt because I was always practicing for the Oireachtas! Nothing
like the last minute!"
Advice to dancers
today:
"If you want something bad enough and you are willing to put in the
practice/work, you can achieve anything!"-
Quotes: "I have
made many friends all over the World that I still keep in touch with
to do this day - I LOVE
teaching! However, it makes me more nervous to watch the kids I teach
then it did to dance myself!"
Email:
melissa.barrett@imgworld.com
|
|
 Laura started dancing at the age of 5 under the
direction of Theresa Burke. She achieved the
Championship level through annual feiseanna.
She
qualified for the World Championships on three
different occasions, but only competed once - in Salthill, Co. Galway.
Laura began teaching for the
Burke/Youngstown school in January 1998, and in the Burke/Pittsburgh
school in the summer of 1998.
She passed her teaching exam in 2001with a 98% on the written test and
100% on the music test.
Email: divided_sky7@yahoo.com |
