Tipperary-based dance school celebrates ten years since it first opened its doors
AOK-DANCE has been in business ten years this year and founder Aoife O'Keeffe tells Tipperary Live all about the Clonmel-based dance school.
Tipperary dance school AOK-DANCE, which is based in Clonmel, celebrated its ten-year anniversary earlier this year.
The school specialises in ballet, contemporary dance, lyrical dance and contemporary ballet.
The school is owned and run by Aoife O'Keeffe. Aoife started her training in her hometown of Clonmel, and continued her studies at Firkin Crane, Cork, under Alan Foley, director at Cork City Ballet.
She then moved to London where she was accepted for postgraduate studies in dance at the world famous Trinity Laban
Conservatoire of Music and Dance, graduating in 2004.
Aoife performed and choreographed throughout the UK, Europe and USA. She has taught dance at University of Sussex in Brighton, as well as various cities along the south coast of the UK, working with various age groups, as well as teaching children with special needs.
Aoife has also taught for various groups in Ireland, including numerous primary, secondary, and special needs schools.
AOK-DANCE has been running in Clonmel since 2015, and has already enjoyed huge success and growth in that time. The school operates from its dance studio in Gurtnafleur Business Park. In addition to numerous classes in ballet and lyrical dance, there are also classes for boys only, adult dance, one-to-one, as well as pointe, jazz, acro, and progressing ballet technique.
There are also classes for additional needs students, as every child deserves the chance to dance. Hundreds of students have been part of AOK- DANCE over the past decade.
The school places an emphasis on encouraging creativity, building confidence, nurturing a love of dance, and opportunities for all. In a world full of pressure in young peoples lives, bringing joy to all students is vital.
With older students, relevant topics are explored through dance, and the school is a safe environment where they can be themselves. As such, building confidence and encouraging creativity amongst children and young adults is central to the school.
Over the years, the school has enjoyed great success at home and abroad. As well as local performances and annual summer shows, students have performed regularly in the RDS in Dublin, as well as competing in various competitive circuits with great success in Ireland, England and Scotland.
Most recently, the school competed at ADC, with six groups from the school taking part and all six finishing first in their categories, while one of the students from the school won the senior title award.
The school has been invited to perform at numerous contemporary dance events. Many students in the school take annual ballet exams, with an emphasis on these being stress-free, and a positive experience. The school was recently a finalist in the
Tipperary Business Awards. Earlier this year, the students celebrated in style with a ten-year anniversary party in the Talbot Hotel.
The school is very much looking forward to competing at the upcoming Lyrical World Championships in Belfast, as well as the ADC Finals, and are very excited to have been shortlisted in the Golden Dance Awards to the top five schools in the country for Contemporary Dance School of the Year, as well as Tipperary Dance School of the Year.
Most importantly, AOK-DANCE looks forward to welcoming new students through its doors and watching them grow and develop as dancers and as young adults. The school welcomes new girls and boys, and is currently open for enrolment for September, details can be found at www.aok-dance.com.