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Irish dance is a ‘sister act’ at Boyle School

Mary Stachyra Lopez | Catholic Herald

Students at the Boyle School of Irish Dance practice during a class at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. MARY STACHYRA LOPEZ | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Ellen Gibbons demonstrates a dance move during a class at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. MARY STACHYRA LOPEZ | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Students at the Boyle School of Irish Dance practice during a class at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. MARY STACHYRA LOPEZ | CATHOLIC HERALD

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When Alannah Sweeney needed to help pay for her tuition as a
senior at Seton School in Manassas, she turned to a skill she
picked up as a child: Irish dance.

Sweeney’s informal classes teaching other Seton students
became so popular that when she left to attend Franciscan
University of Steubenville, her older sister, Ellen Gibbons,
a nurse, drove from Washington to Manassas each week so the
lessons could continue.

Twenty years later, the Boyle School of Irish Dance is still
going strong, teaching about 500 students throughout Northern
Virginia.

“It’s great to be able to pull from each other’s strengths,”
said Sweeney. “A lot of times I know what Ellen’s thinking
before she even says it.”

“We each have different goals. Our personalities are
different ? but I think that’s what makes it work,”
said Gibbons.

The Boyle School, named after their maiden name, reflects a
shared family life as the children of Irish immigrants in
upstate New York. The two were the only girls in a family of
eight children – all of whom took Irish dance lessons as a
way to celebrate their heritage.

“I started dancing when I was 4 years old but had watched
Ellen since I was an infant,” Sweeney said.

Gibbons, who started dancing at age 5, advanced far enough to
qualify for the world championships in Ireland by the time
she enrolled in high school. Given the choice to attend the
championships or go to high school out of state, she chose
the latter and had largely given up dance by the time she
enrolled in Franciscan University.

Sweeney followed in her sister’s footsteps during her senior
year by living with a local family when she enrolled in Seton
School. That’s when she had the idea to start offering
lessons.

“It just sort of fell into my lap ? I asked people ‘do
you want me to teach your kids to dance?'” Sweeney said.

After she enrolled in Franciscan University, she continued to
teach Irish dance, finding about 60 among her classmates.

Meanwhile, Gibbons had found new purpose teaching her
students and brushing up on her dancing skills.

“My kids are so proud of me. I dance in the basement,” said
Gibbons, a mother of five. “There I am, 40 years old, down in
the basement dancing.”

After Sweeney graduated from college and took a job at
National Right to Life, the two decided to obtain teacher
certification and make the classes more formal. The Boyle
School now operates in Chantilly, Alexandria, Herndon and
Manassas. And when the business became large enough to hire
new teachers, they found the perfect match in two of their
former students, siblings Elizabeth and Katie Francis, both
graduates of Christendom College in Front Royal.

Gibbons and Sweeney say that much of the enthusiasm came from
Catholic families like their own.

“I have a fabulous husband and a beautiful community,” said
Gibbons, a parishioner of Holy Family Church in Dale City.
“We have chosen to live out in Manassas because of the
Catholic community, many of whom are mothers with big
families.”

And while the high kicks and colorful costumes are
eye-catching, parents really like how “wholesome” Irish dance
is, Sweeney said.

“Sometimes in today’s culture, girls have a lot of pressure
about their weight and physical appearance. To win a
competition you need to be extremely strong. It’s not a thing
where they’re trying to be slight and slim,” she said. “The
focus is about being strong and powerful. That’s the thing I
really love about Irish dance. It’s not about being beautiful
– it’s about being powerful and strong.”

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