Our Teachers
Our teachers are all qualified T.C.R.Gs (Irish Dancing Teachers) or A.D.C.R.Gs (Irish Dancing Adjudicators, includes T.C.R.G. qualification) who hold positive Blue Cards for working with young people. Our assistant teachers, studying for their teaching qualification all hold BLue Cards as well. Our teachers and school are registered with The Irish Dancing Commission (An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha), AIDA Inc. (Australian Irish Dancing Association) and AIDA Qld Inc.
Kate Hartley
A.D.C.R.G. B.G.
Kate is our longest serving teacher, having taught at QIA Dancers since 1997. She is a registered and highly regarded Irish Dancing teacher, adjudicator and examiner (A.D.C.R.G. B.G.), and an experienced and passionate promoter of Irish culture, music, and dancing. Kate's own Irish Dancing career began at the age of five and she went on to compete at the prestigious World Irish Dancing Championships. She has a special way of bringing out the best in her students, both as dancers and as young people, supporting them in refining their technical dancing skills and nurturing them socially and emotionally. And in this way, Kate continues to pass on her extensive knowledge, passion, and love of Irish dance to her students.
Anita Plaza
A.D.C.R.G
Anita has been teaching with QIA Dancers since 2001 and is an integral member of the teaching team.
Anita, a registered teacher and adjudicator, has been a passionate and dedicated Irish Dancer since the age of six, starting her own successful dancing career in Northern Queensland.
She has a keen sense of rhythm and a love of the intricacies of hard shoe dancing which she now passes on to her students.
With an eye for fine technical detail, a calm, gentle manner, and a special level of patience for our beginner dancers, Anita is able to help students to perfect the art of Irish Dancing in both solos and ceilis.
Kiriana MCKay
T.C.R.G.
Also one of the newest members of the team, Kiri has been dancing with QIA since the age of four. Kiri has won State Solo and Ceili Championships, earned a North American Nationals medal, and placed in the top ten nationally.
After retiring from competition after placing 38th at the 2023 World Championships in Montreal, Kiri passed her T.C.R.G exam in 2024. She is passionate about helping dancers reach their potential and passing on all she has learned over her years of dancing.
Combined with her career as cardiac scientist and a lifelong interest in health and fitness, Kiri is committed to supporting students' achieving their goals.
Kathleen downey
assistant
Having been an avid fan of Riverdance in the 1990s, Kathleen followed in her older sibling's footsteps and started dancing at QIA in 2000.
She danced at a State, National and World level in both solo and ceili dancing, earning top 5 placements in Queensland and top 20 in Australia before retiring in 2023. One of her favourite things about dancing is the immense satisfaction that comes with feeling yourself improve as an athlete and artist. Memories made at class and in competition with her ceili team mates are particularly close to her heart and, while proud of all the multiple ceili state titles and national medals with teammates, a highlight of Kathleen's career was placing 8th at the World Championships ceili competition in Montreal 2023 alongside her teammates.
Kathleen treasures the friendships she has found in her dancing family and is keen to share her love of Irish dance with the next generation.
Rebecca Connor
t.c.r.g.
Rebecca has been a member of our teaching team since successfully completing her Irish Dancing Teaching qualifications (T.C.R.G.) in 2019. Rebecca started dancing at the age of 6, in Mt Isa in far North-West Queensland, moved to Brisbane and danced with QIA Dancers from 2006, and retired after competing in the World Championships in 2016. From a young age, she knew she wanted to teach and pass on her absolute passion for Irish Dancing to the next generation of dancers. Rebecca especially loves working with our youngest dancers as they get their first taste of Irish Dancing and get hooked by the movements, rhythms, and music! When not teaching Irish Dancing, she is busy in her role as a primary school teacher.
Tara ChouDARY
T.C.R.G.
Tara is one of the newest members of our teaching team, having successfully completed her Irish Dancing Teaching qualification in 2024. She started dancing with QIA Dancers at about 3 years of age, and now has over 20 years of experience competing at both National and International levels. Most notably, Tara proudly represented QIA Dancers at the North American Nationals and the World Championships in both solo and céilí dancing. She has a flair for choreography and combines up-to-date choreography trends with beautiful rhythms and traditional techniques. Tara brings a genuine love of Irish dance into every class and is passionate about nurturing each student’s skills, confidence, and self-belief in a supportive and encouraging environment.
daniel macmahon
assistant
Daniel has been dancing at QIA Dancers since he was three, representing the school at a State, National and World level. In his 20 year competitive career, Daniel earned prestigious State Champion titles in both solo and ceili team dancing, and top 5 placements Nationally. In 2013 at the World Championships in Boston, Daniel represented QIA in Solo competition, and ten years later earned a top ten medal in ceili competition alongside his teammates in Montreal, 2023.
His favourite thing about Irish dancing is the pure joy and relief it brings. From the music, to the sense of achievement after nailing a move or step, to the pure, and somehow happy, exhaustion after a great class, competition or display.
He has a particular passion for the precision of ceili dancing and the technique, tradition and team spirit it fosters. With a focus on rhythm and fine footwork, Daniel assists the QIA Teaching Team in helping our dancers realise their potential.