Doherty Petri School of Irish Dance

Founded in 1991, by Karen and Lisa Petri, the Petri School of Irish Dancing has grown quickly and has become one of the preeminent Irish Dance schools in the world. The school has over 140 dancers aged 4 to 21. Classes are offered to beginners through champions at the Petri Studios in East Northport and Garden City, New York and Bethel, Connecticut. Dancers from the school have performed at numerous venues around the tri-state area including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, & Madison Square Garden. The school is especially proud of its international competition accomplishments. In 2005, Gabriella Wood, became the first Long Islander and only the fifth American woman to ever win the World Championships of Irish Dancing in its 35 year history. In June, 2005, Gabriella won the prestigious North American Feis Commission Minor Cup Championship in 2006 and was honored as the top North American Dancer under the age of 13. She also won the Junior Cup and the Senior Belt in subsequent years.. In 2009 Gabriella won the World Champioship again. She has also won the British National Championship, Great Britain Champioship, she has won the North American National Champioship 5 times and the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas 7 times. In 2010, Julia O'Rourke became the second female dancer from the school to win the covoted World Championship title in Glasgow, Scotland. At the young age of 10, Julia won the prestigious All Ireland Championship, the Great Britain Championship, the North American National Championship 6 times and the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas 8 times. Julia was the featured dancer on the  on Irish Step Dancing movie "JIG" produced by Wellpark Productions. The documentary followed her for one year in preparation of her first World Championship in 2010. After multiple injuries Julia repeated has World Champion in 2014 and 2015.After placing 2nd in 2016 she reclaimed the crown in 2017. In 2012, Melanie Valdes became the third dancer from the school to win a World Championship. Melanie followed up on her success by winning the World Championship in 2014, 2015,2016.After placing 2nd in 2017 Melanie reclaimed the crown in 2018. Melanie has also won the prestigious All Ireland title three times, the North American championship five times, the All Scotland title and the BritishNational Championship. Melanie is a seven time holder of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Melanie has won the North American Feis Comission Belt, a competition open only to champion dancers, four times. She won the MINOR CHAMPIONSHIP in 2011 and swept the JUNIOR TITLE IN 2012, 2013 AND 2014. In 2016 Melanie won the Senior Belt Championship The Petri School teams have enjoyed great success over the years. The school's Dance Drama Team won the North American National Championships in 1998 and silver in 2004. The team won the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in 1997, 1998, 2003, and 2004. The Dance Drama Team also placed 7th at the 1998 WorldChampionships. The school's Figure Choreography Team won the bronze medal at the 2001 North American National Championships.In 20__ the scool's Dream Team placed second at the World Website: https://petrischool.com Teachers:  Lisa Petri ADCRG, Karen Petri ADCRG   Associated with Doherty Petri School of Irish Dance, Belfast: https://www.facebook.com/dohertypetri/