INSTRUCTORS

Our goals are to provide students with the skills of traditional Irish Step Dancing and confidence when performing. At the end of every class, we want our students to leave with a feeling of accomplishment, motivation to practice, and eagerness to come back and continue to advance their knowledge and skills. With our combined experience and passion for teaching and sharing our love of Irish dance, we take pride in sharing our experiences and love with our dancers.

SARAH DONNELLY, OWNER & HEAD INSTRUCTOR

Sarah started dancing when she was 8 years old with the Carrigan School of Irish Dance in Helena, MT. Eventually her dance school merged with the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance from Chicago and Milwaukee, and became the Tiernan Irish Dancers. She performed in Helena for several years and traveled to different states for competitions.

After graduating from Capital High School she moved to Missoula to attend classes at the University of Montana. Upon settling into her Missoula life, she founded the Missoula Irish Dancers.

During her sophomore year Sarah decided to study abroad in Cork, Ireland. While abroad she took lessons from renowned teachers Peggy McTeggart and Sheila Hayes.

Currently she not only teaches for the Missoula Irish Dancers, but she is also the instructor for the Céilí class offered at UM for the Irish Studies program.

ANNE-MARIE CUNNINGHAM, TCRG/ADCRG

Anne-Marie lives in Austria and regularly travels to Missoula for workshops.

She studied dancing in London with Theresa Kinsella and won several regional and national titles and consistently recalled at the World Championships. In 1996 she joined the original cast of Riverdance. After touring with the company for 10 years she passed the TCRG exam.

Anne-Marie began her teaching career by assisting at a school in London and then taught most weekends in various cities in Europe. During that time she was also teaching in Germany, Prague, Austria and Poland. Anne-Marie organized the first Coimisiun school in Tokyo, Japan in 2003 and taught there over the course of 3 years.

Anne-Marie was asked to return to Riverdance again for a brief stint, which is how she ended up in Austria.

From 2008 - 2011 Anne-Marie was President of RTME, the European equivalent of IDTANA and has since remained as an officer of the committee. She was also an elected member of the Coimisiun for 4 years attending meetings on a monthly basis in Dublin, making decisions on the rules and regulation of Irish dancing worldwide. Anne-Marie now has her ADCRG and is now an adjudicator in various countries.

THERSA O'KEEFE

Theresa is from the eastern Iowa area and is a clinician at Missoula Therapist. After moving to Missoula she was excited to discover that we have a local Irish dance school. She grew up dancing with what is now called the Mullane Godley Irish Dance Academy. Theresa attended several feiseanna for solo competitions when she was younger and then started focusing more on competitive ceilidh and performing as she got older.

Theresa has proven to be an excellent MID instructor for our intermediate through advanced levels for several years.

McKENZIE CARTER

Kenzie is the latest in a four-generations-long family tradition of musicians, performers and starving artists. Her love for performance art began when she attended her first symphony at the age of 4 months old, for which her mother was the pianist. Though she engaged in many forms of artistic expression as a child, Kenzie did not unearth her passion for dance until she joined the céilidh class that Teacher Sarah was instructing at the University of Montana in 2018.

Kenzie officially started working for the MID in the Spring of 2022.

Growing up in a rich musical environment has made it so that technque, musicality, and stage presence are second-nature to Kenzie. As an instructor, Kenzie's mission is to nurture all of the skills required to succeed in Irish Dance.

Kenzie is an instructor for the MID's beginner classes-beginner intermediate classes.

FIONA CARSON

Fiona's dance experience started when she was 8 years old and she instantly fell in love with it. Fiona danced with McTeggart Irish Dancers in Colorado for 10 years. Her experience at McTeggart ID resulted in her not only loving to perform, but also loving to compete.

Fiona has competed all over our country, but also other areas such as the Worlds in Belfast. She has also been successful with placing at Nationals for several years.

Irish dance has shown Fiona what it's like to be a part of a "dance family" and she can't imagine her life without her dance family.

Fiona is currently a student at the University of Montana which is where she discovered the Missoula Irish Dancers.

The MID are lucky to have Fiona for an instructor for all levels.

ANOUK ZUNKER

At 7 years old Anouk insisted on becoming an MID student after attending a Celtic festival in Denver when visiting her Denver family.

Although her initial interest was in the performance aspect of dancing, Anouk decided to attend a feis in Seattle, WA. Her first experience at a competition revealed a new side of Irish dance for Anouk to explore. She continued to compete all over the Pacific Northwest and successfully reached the Preliminary Championship level. However, when Covid-19 hit and feiseanna were put on pause, Anouk rediscovered the joy in performing with her peers in the community.

After Covid-19 Anouk continued to excel with her Irish dance skills but ultimately decided to focus on being a TA and the performance aspect of Irish dance in and around the Missoula Area.

The relationships that Anouk has formed with both herself and others through dance have been some of the most impactful and formative in her life. Through teaching, Anouk hopes to help her dancers find a similar sense of home and happiness with Irish dance.

All of the MID levels and classes appreciate Anouk's expertise.

KRISTINA WOESSNER

Kristina Shields Woessner grew up in Missoula, MT and began her dance career at the age of 2 at Danceworks under Jan Snow. She continued her 17-year dance career for classical ballet training under Monica Mudgett-Vere Schute, Pam Copley and Michele Antonioli.

Kristina's deep passion and appreciation for all forms of dance are evident in her teaching and coaching of our beginner classes.

As a professional, Kristina works with patients diagnosed with rare genetic conditions. When not teaching dance or working with patients, Kristina's spends her free time with her loved ones in the great outdoors in and around Missoula.

CORMAC O SE´, TCRG/ADCRG

We are associated with Cormac O Sé and O'Shea Irish Dance in Minnesota.