About Us
McCartney Irish Dance offers classes for students of all ages, dance experience, and cultural backgrounds. We are dedicated to promoting and preserving the tradition of Irish dance through our classes and performances. Our classes are centered around a belief that teachers, dancers, and parents share a mutual respect for and responsibility towards one another. We believe that each dancer has their own unique potential, and we strive to help our dancers achieve their own personalized goals.
McCartney Irish Dance is a certified school with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (the Irish Dancing Commission in Dublin, Ireland), and an active school with the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America. Our classes are a great fit for both competitive and recreational Irish dancers.
About Our Director
Meghan McCartney Scott, T.C.R.G. specializes in Irish dance education and percussive dance performance. She grew up in the Lansing area, and was an original member of the Irish Dance Company of Lansing (IDCL). After nine years in the Company, she graduated after her senior year. Alongside her involvement in the IDCL, she studied Irish dance under the tutellage of John Heinzman, A.D.C.R.G, and went on to become an Open Champion, the highest level that can be attained in Irish dancing. She competed in both the North American Championships and World Championships as a solo dancer.
After retiring from competition, Meghan moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina and attended Mars Hill University through a dance scholarship, where she became a member of their prestigious traditional dance team, the Bailey Mountain Cloggers. While on the team, Meghan explored the intricacies of many traditional dance forms that are linked to Irish dance, such as flatfooting, precision clogging, and figure dancing. She helped the Bailey Mountain Cloggers win two National Championships in Maggie Valley, North Carolina before graduating from Mars Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2008. She also had the pleasure of traveling with the Bailey Mountain Cloggers to Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain, where she performed and competed in the World Folk Dance Festival.
Meghan has performed at theaters and festivals across North America, including multiple performances at the world renowned Wheatland Music Festival, in Remus, Michigan. She was a guest dancer for many well known traditional musical groups including Eileen Ivers, the Gibson Brothers, the David Munnelly Band, Jamie Laval and Ashley Broder, and Liz Carroll and John Doyle.
After a rigorous examination process with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha, Meghan was awarded her T.C.R.G. in December of 2016.
While Meghan has mostly focused her dance education on Irish dance and Appalachian clogging, she has also studied other styles of dance from a wealth of percussive dance talent, including learning body percussion and Cape Breton step dancing from Sandy Silva, French Canadian step dancing from Benoit Bourque, Ottawa Valley and Marley dancing from Sheila Graziano, and rapper sword dancing from Sharon Leahy of Rhythm in Shoes fame.
Currently Meghan resides in Williamston, Michigan with her husband and two young daughters.
TESTIMONIALS:
Meghan is an outstanding instructor! Highly recommended! - Adult student
“Meghan is very knowledgeable about Irish dance, whether dancing competitively or just for fun, and has a passion for the art of Irish dance. She is a patient and kind instructor. Meghan knows how to break down the steps and focus on the details and intricacies of each step and then pull it all back together so that the dancer just flows through the dance. She is a perfectionist, but she doesn't overwhelm the dancer with her high expectations, instead she meets them where they are at and dances the rest of the way along side them until they build their confidence and are ready for the next level of instruction. My daughters really enjoy working with her!” - parent of dancer
“My daughter loves working with Meghan. She's knowledgeable about irish dancing, she's experienced, and she's fantastic with children” -parent of dancer