Local woman's dance workshop alongside former Pussycat Doll

Shauna Coffey from Athlone experienced one of the highlights of her career so far when she performed at a festival in Scotland recently alongside former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt.

Shauna taught a workshop in leaps and pirouettes at Perform, a performing arts festival, which took place in the SEC, Glasgow, on May 6 and May 7.

Shauna explained: “I flew over to teach a workshop for the festival. It was absolutely amazing and one of the highlights of my career so far. It was a great opportunity for me to get my name and the school's name (Leinster School of Dance) out there.”

The owner of the dance school based in Moate said she got to meet both Kimberly Wyatt and Abbey Lee Miller from Dance Moms. “They were lovely. It was really cool to see my name up on the board beside two really influential people in dance.

“I grew up watching Dance Moms and the Pussycat Dolls. I think the younger me would be very impressed where I am now.”

Shauna attended the Perform festival when it took place in the RDS in Dublin last November. She is also looking forward to bringing her students from the Leinster School of Dance to Dublin to meet Abbey Lee Miller and to take part in a workshop led by her in the Maldron Hotel in Tallaght on Thursday, May 18.

Speaking about another exciting recent project, Shauna said: “I've danced in The Nan Movie with Catherine Tate the comedian. It was a long day but it was a very cool experience to be on a set and to meet a lot of famous actors and actresses.”

She wishes to take all the opportunites that come her way and to pass on all her knowledge and experience with the dance industry to her young students in Moate.

The former Our Lady's Bower student will be performing at various shows in Dublin in the coming months while the Leinster School of Dance will take to the stage in Tuar Ard Moate for their Best of Broadway show on Saturday, June 24.

Shauna started dancing when she was just five years old and is a qualified teacher in classical ballet and modern theatre dance. She is also a qualified Acro teacher with the Acrobatic Arts.

Shauna is the daughter of Philip Coffey and Jackie Coffey.