OUR TEACHING TEAM

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.

SARAH MCNALLY, teaching assistant

Sarah is a senior theater major at SUNY Plattsburgh.  She has been dancing with the Bernadette Short School of Irish Dance and Champlain Valley Irish Dance, Inc for 15 years.  Sarah successfully competed in regional, national and international Irish dance competitions and has performed in numerous local performances with Champlain Valley Irish Dance, Inc.  Sarah also studies ballet, Broadway and jazz dance genres and continues to perform in local theater and dance productions.  She currently works as a teaching assistant with Champlain Valley Irish Dance, Inc.