Our mission
empower children in the Appalachian region to help build confidence and self-esteem through the art and performance of Irish dance.
Our vision
Our vision is to provide low cost, reflexive movement, music, and Irish culture classes focused on empowerment reflexive to the emerging needs of the youth of Appalachia.
“I love dance because it has helped me overcome the obstacles in my life. The community I have at OVSCDC is beyond suportive. {…} I feel better and more like myself once I’ve spent time dancing. I will forever cherish the memories I’ve made during the last 10 years at OVSCDC.”--Senior Team Member
Our Journey
In 2006 our dance school was called “Borland’s Irish Dancers” and we were affiliated with a competitive school based in Dayton, OH. At this time our Athens, OH branch was under the direction of one individual, Sarah Borland. Sarah moved away from the area at the end of 2006, but the love of Irish dance was still present, so the Athens Irish Dancers were born.
The Athens Irish Dancers were a club run by dedicated parents who were determined to continue having Irish dance as an affordable outlet in the Southeast Ohio and the greater Appalachian region. They worked hard to assure the school had knowledgeable teachers to help our dancers continue to learning and appreciating the Irish dance art form. As a club, our school performed in a variety of community events around Southeast Ohio, learning primarily solos and ceili dances.
As an effort to gain new members and put on an Irish dance production, Sue Farley brought back the Feochadán Project as a way for the Athens Irish Dancers to grow creatively and learn about how to put on a full scale production. In 2014, the first Feochadan project as we currently know it was a great success! After “Dancing through time” our dancer numbers grew and we were able to move to a larger studio space and we officially become a nonprofit in 2015. We are thrilled to bring our 10 Year Anniversary celebration of the Feochadán performance to the community in June 2024.
Our current mission is to build confidence and self esteem in dancers of all ages through the art and performance of Irish dance. We practice from an empowering and growth mindset, aiming to be a constructive but safe space for our dancers to learn and grow into themselves. We strive to keep costs low and reflexive to the area so finances are never a barrier to engaging in the love of dance. We hope to expand our cultural offerings to include music and language learning opportunities in the future.
Come dance with us!
