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ABOUT US

TRADITION. PERFORMANCE. EXCELLENCE.

The Stillson School of Irish Dance is under the direction of Carlene Moran Stillson ADCRG / TCRG. In existence for over thirty years, the school is the only certified school of Irish dancing in the state of Maine. The school's dancers compete all over New England and place in the New England Regional Irish Dancing Championships annually. Dancers have placed in the North American Irish Dance Championships, as well as competed in the All Ireland Championships, The European Championships and The World Irish Dance Championships. Students of the Stillson School of Irish Dance are proud to have performed with Cherish the Ladies, Solas, The Trinity Irish Dance Company, Natalie MacMaster, and Eileen Ivers among many others.

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MEET THE TEAM

You’re in Great Hands

Stunning miss Charlotte 3rd in prelim u1

CARLENE STILLSON TCRG, ADCRG

Director / Instructor

Carlene began dancing at the age of four for her aunt, Patricia K. Lenihan, in Connecticut. Carlene is now the director of the Stillson School of Irish Dance, which remains the only certified school with An Coimisiun in the state of Maine. In Carlene’s 30 years of teaching, she has produced successful teams, figure choreographies, multiple New England Oireachtas Champions, top-ranking North American champion dancers, and World medal holders. Among these great achievements, Carlene is most proud of her four beautiful daughters. In the past fifteen years, Carlene has adjudicated across North America and Australia, including the North American Championships, Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas, Southern US Regional Oireachtas and the most recent Southern England Oireachtas.  Carlene is a lifelong critical care nurse with over 38 years experience, and is now a licensed Nurse Practitioner.

MAIRÉAD STILLSON TCRG, ADCRG

 Instructor

Mairéad is the oldest daughter of Carlene Stillson. Mairéad began dancing at the age of two. Over her competitive career, she placed 2nd at the New England Oireachtas, top 20 at the North American Championships and the All Ireland Championships, and qualified for numerous World Championships. Mairéad has spent thirteen years as a principal dancer and dance captain of Busch Gardens Williamsburg's production of Celtic Fyre. Mairéad is proud to have been part of the original cast of Rockin' Road to Dublin, where she was also the understudy for the lead role. In the fall of 2015, Mairéad was cast in the European tour of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games and went on to perform with the show on Broadway. Her proudest accomplishment is getting to perform the lead role of 'Morrighan' on Broadway in front of her family and the Stillson school. She graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in Psychology. Mairéad received her TCRG certification in the spring of 2016 alongside her sister Deireann, and is delighted to be a part of the teaching staff at the Stillson School of Irish Dance. Mairéad recently received her ADCRG certification to judge Irish dancing competitions in the Spring of 2024! 

 

Photo by Brian Doherty

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DEIREANN STILLSON TCRG

Instructor

Deireann is the second daughter of Carlene. Deireann has been dancing with the Stillson School since the age of three and has enjoyed competing both solos and team dances as well as performing with various well-known groups such as Eileen Ivers, Cherish the Ladies and in Downtown Disney. Throughout her career, she has been a two time World Qualifier, a top nationalist, and placed in the top ten at the New England Oireachtas. Deireann attended and graduated from Elon University with the class of 2016, obtaining a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and Finance. She now works as a Senior Internal Audit analyst at Albemarle based in Charlotte, NC. She enjoys splitting her time between her corporate job and working with the students at our studio in Maine. Deireann earned her TCRG certification with Mairéad in the Spring of 2016 and is enthusiastic about teaching all the talented members of the school.

BRIDGET STILLSON TCRG

Instructor

Bridget is the third daughter of Carlene and has been a dancer in the Stillson school since she was 3 years old. She competed in solos and teams all over the globe and performed on stage alongside great artists like Eileen Ivers and Gaelic Storm. Through her competitive career, she was a national competitor, placed 3 times within the top ten at her New England regional championship and finally accomplished her goal of becoming a world qualifier at the age of 21. Bridget is a Marist College graduate where she studied Psychology and now works at  as an admission counselor at Boston University. She earned her TCRG in January of 2018 and looks forward to watching all the students grow and reach their goals!

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