The McTeggart Children’s Irish Dance program began in 1995. We offer classes for beginners through elite competitive dancers, ages 4 and up.

FREE TRIAL CLASS

We offer free trial classes in January, April, and August for prospective new students to try Irish dance. Sign up for our email list to be the first to hear about free trial classes and enrollment periods.

SCHEDULE

Students start their Irish dance journey at a free trial class, and then enroll in a Beginner Class appropriate for their age and dance experience.

  • Lexington youth beginner classes are offered on Sunday afternoons, either 3:00-4:00pm or 4:00-5:00pm.

  • Berea youth beginner classes are offered on Wednesdays, 5:30-6:30pm.

Teachers assist parents in determining which class section is right for their child. Parents/guardians will receive enrollment information during their child’s free trial class.

ENROLLMENT & Cost

You may email us to inquire about classes and cost.

There is a one-time registration fee of $25 when you first join the school, and then families make two separate monthly payments which total $60/month. We offer discounts for multiple dancers in a family.

Child-centered dance education

We work with each new family to find a suitable class for their child – based on their age and ability. We have class options for very young children, teens, and children who have previous Irish dance experience. As children progress through our curriculum, they are invited by a teacher to extend their class time. We staff our classes to maintain a low student-teacher ratio and often break into smaller groups for more focused work with a teacher.

Other costs

Beyond classes, our students have opportunities to perform and compete. Performances and competitions are entirely optional. We provide a consignment shoe closet for beginner families to buy used shoes, and our beginner performance and competition costume costs $40-$50. There is no cost to the child to participate in performances; that’s a free value-add for our students. To pay for the venue for our annual recital, we do charge admission fees for tickets ($6 to $8 per ticket). As a child progresses and wants to participate in competition, there are competition entry fees, choreography fees, and either rental fees or purchase costs for Irish dance costumes. But, that’s a ways down the road! For beginners, we keep costs low and want to make Irish dancing as accessible as possible.

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FREE TRIAL CLASSES

We periodically offer free trial classes for potential new students. Stay tuned here and on our social media for free trial class opportunities: www.facebook.com/mcteggartky, www.instagram.com/mcteggartky

Trial Classes include a meet-and-greet with instructors, a mini introductory dance class, information about how to enroll in classes, and time for Q&A about the McTeggart Irish Dancers and Irish dancing in general. For the free class, children should wear comfortable, non-binding clothes (modest athletic shorts are preferred), and thick socks on their feet. If they own ballet slippers or jazz shoes, they are welcome to wear them, but there is no need to make a special purchase.


Given that she has 5 sisters of her own, it is heartwarming and a great joy to us that Isabelle considers the teachers and dancers at McTeggart a part of her family.

We were delighted to see our daughter fall in love with Irish dance when she first watched the McTeggart dancers team perform at her elementary school. Being filled with great anticipation, she began counting the days until we could take her to the next open house.

Since that day, we as family have jumped in with both feet in support of Izzie. Together we have traveled to watch her compete, witnessed her rise to new challenges, and our vocabulary has certainly expanded as it now includes some interesting new Irish words and dance terminology.

To be sure, it has been a wonderful year of watching her grow and mature as a dancer, but it has also been a tremendous blessing to behold the power of dance unfold in her life. Being a part of McTeggart has not only fanned the flames of our little girl’s passion, it has taught her applicable life skills such as gracefulness, teamwork, self-discipline, and service to others both on and off the stage.
— Justin & Mary Trent