ORLANDO, Fla. — A former Irish dance champion-turned-teacher wants to share his Irish culture with Central Florida despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
What You Need To Know
- Declan Magennis opened an Irish dance school in January 2020
- The former dance champion moved from Ireland to Orlando
- The COVID-19 pandemic forced him to close the school for about 3 months
- Business is good now, though, and some students are heading to U.S. Nationals
Declan Magennis moved to America from Ireland to start the Magennis Academy of Irish Dance in the United States back in January 2020. However, he never imagined that around this time last year, a pandemic would shut him down for three months and cancel competitions.
Despite the challenges, Magennis and his students have managed to pull through.
“And I thought that was me done as I had just opened up my school and coronavirus happened,” Magennis said. “Thankfully it was two, three months of online classes, and then since we reopened, we've got so many more kids now... We're up to almost 30 kids.”
Some of his students are headed to the U.S. Nationals in Phoenix and are hoping to qualify for the World Championships happening in Belfast, Ireland, in 2022.
