Last Update: 29Jul10

Staff Jan “Nanny” Ginley - Executive Director. Years ago, when Jan and her husband Gene signed up for ceili dance lessons, she thought it was just an addition to the various forms of social dancing that they were already involved in, little did she realize that it would turn into a continued lifetime involvement in Irish Dance. Through the years, Jan has provided encouragement to her daughter and granddaughters in pursuing their dance dreams. Following her retirement, Jan chose to volunteer her time to coordinate the northeastern Pennsylvania class of the Butler Academy. Since the founding of Scoil Rince na Connemara, Nanny, as she is now called by everyone at the school, has continued to handle the administrative functions as well as head the costume creation department and special events coordination. Molly Ginley Molly Ginley – Director and Instructor, Beginner through Novice Molly’s involvement with Irish dancing began as a preteen under the tutelage of the O’Donnell family and the late Maureen McDade McGrory of Philadelphia. With their guidance, her knowledge and love of Irish dance blossomed. Molly co-founded an Irish dance performance group in northeastern Pennsylvania to further promote Irish dance in this region. In competitions, she advanced through to the open level. After a hiatus from dancing to pursue other interests, Molly started to lessons with the late Patrick Butler of the legendary Butler Academy. While a student of Mr. Butler, she achieved wins in both solo and figure competitions. After five years of lessons, Molly continued to assist Mr. Butler with his classes in northeastern Pennsylvania and benefit from his extensive knowledge of Irish dance. Molly has furthered her dance training by attending workshops with noted teachers Donny Golden and Michael Smith. In addition, she has participated in dance teacher training courses with CLRG examiner Tony Nolan and CRN examiner Carmel Doherty. Kerrilee DeHart – Director and Instructor, Prizewinner through Championship, Lead Choreographer. Kerrilee began dancing at the age of 4 starting with tap, ballet and jazz. At the age of 10, she took an interest in Irish Dancing and started with the local dance group that Molly had founded in northeastern Pennsylvania. When her talent for dance became apparent, she set her sights on competitive dancing. Kerrilee began dancing with the late Pat Butler in 1994 and began competing the same year, quickly moving up through the competitive categories, reaching the highest level of competition (Open Championships) in just 4 years. She has competed extensively throughout North America. In addition, to numerous championship victories, she has placed in the regional Oireactas and participated in the North America Nationals. In 2002, she was diagnosed with compartment syndrome in both her calf muscles which put an official end to her competitive dancing. Surgery to her legs allowed her to begin a new focus as a teacher of Irish Dance. She has attended dance workshops in Virginia and Boston with renowned teachers such as Dan Armstrong, Tony Nolan, Michael Smith and Donny Golden.