About Us

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Melissa’s journey in dance began with ballet and tap, eventually expanding to include jazz, tumbling, hip-hop, cheer, and contemporary. As a junior high cheerleader, her team earned the state championship title. In high school, she served as a drill mistress for the pep club as a sophomore and returned to cheerleading in her junior year, where her team won first place and qualified for nationals in Daytona. During her senior year, Melissa joined the drill team, earning both state and national championships. After graduating, she made the cheer team at Ricks College.

Melissa went on to earn a degree in Family and Human Development from Utah State University and became an ACE-certified aerobics instructor. She taught aerobics and worked at Early Head Start before taking a break to raise her first child. When her daughters began taking ballet and Irish dance classes, they quickly fell in love with Irish dance, sparking Melissa’s own passion for the art.

Melissa discovered the Crawford School of Irish Dance in Salt Lake City, where she not only enrolled her daughters but also began taking classes herself. Competing at the Preliminary Champion level, she taught young dancers alongside her own training. Over time, all four of her daughters excelled in Irish dance, reaching the champion level. Melissa began designing and creating custom Irish dance dresses and costumes for them.

When the Crawford School transitioned to new ownership under Kieran Hardiman and Alan Scariff—former Riverdance performers from Ireland—Melissa and her daughters continued to flourish under the Scariff-Hardiman School of Irish Dance. Her daughters consistently placed in the top five in the Western region, earning qualifications for National and World Championships under An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG). They competed in prestigious events worldwide, traveling to destinations like London, Montreal, Chicago, Seattle, and Boston. Her oldest daughter made history as the first girl from Utah to place at the World Championships in London.

Inspired by their teachers and experiences, Melissa and her daughters are committed to giving back to the community by sharing their love of Irish dance and other dance forms.

Melissa’s passion for dance also extends to cheer and drill. Her two younger daughters pursued these paths, achieving great success. One became a cheerleader in junior high and high school, serving as head cheerleader during her senior year at Layton High School, where Melissa volunteered as head cheer mom. Her youngest daughter danced competitively before joining the Layton High drill team, where she served as head drill captain. Melissa supported her daughter as the head drill mom.

In addition to her involvement in dance and cheer, Melissa is a certified High Fitness instructor and enjoys leading group fitness classes. Her dedication to fitness, dance, and community continues to inspire those around her.

Jill Crawford started Irish dancing, performing and competing at the age of 6 (1983) until 2002 in Denver,CO with the McTeggart Irish Step Dancers. Her teacher, Maureen McTeggart Hall, was from Ireland and was also one of the first teachers to bring Irish dance to the Western United States. 

By the age of 10 Jill was in Open Championships and qualified for the Worlds competition held in Ireland. Jill's performing experience not only includes multiple St. Patrick's Day performances, schools, shows and festivals, but also dancing with the Micheal Collins Pipes and Drums Band, performing with Natalie McMaster, Cherish the Ladies ,Suicra, and other traveling Irish music groups. 

She has attended many dance camps over the years in which she was taught by top teachers from Ireland and England.  When Jill was 18 she started teaching for Mrs. Hall and soon decided she wanted to become a certified teacher (TCRG). So after studying for and passing a rigorous certification exam through the An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha  (Irish Commission of Irish dance) in 2002, she moved to UT to teach for the McTeggart school located in SLC.  

In 2005 she started the Crawford School of Irish Dance reaching up to 200 students, and was the director and teacher for that school until 2012. Her students performed all over the state and also competed throughout the western region qualifying and competing for Nationals and World levels. Jill co-taught/directed the Rhythm of Ireland Dance Company and Celtic Journey Irish Dance Company which performed for such companies as O.C. Tanner and Melaluca's large company events. She also hosted and ran the Utah State Championships and Feis competitions for 6 years in SLC.

Jill sold the school so she could spend more time raising her 4 young children.  Now that her children are a little older she is ready and excited to be returning to the Irish dance world.   Her love for Irish dance never left her and she wanted to be involved with teaching again. She's taught different community classes over the past few years and now has the opportunity to teach at Rise Academy of Dance. 

Mckenna began her dance journey at age 8, studying ballet and Irish dance at Excel Dance while also training in gymnastics at North Davis Gymnastics. Soon, her passion for Irish dance took center stage, leading her to the certified Crawford School of Irish Dance. Mckenna fell in love with the intricate and rhythmic art form, which felt natural to her, and quickly progressed through the competitive ranks. By age 11, she was competing as an Open Champion in An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG).

Mckenna consistently placed first in local feisianna and ranked in the top five at the Western Region Oireachtas each year. In 2014, she made history as the first female dancer from Utah to place at the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Championships) in London.

In her junior year of high school, Mckenna chose to explore other creative pursuits. She joined her school’s show choir, performed in numerous concerts, and landed the lead role in the school play during her senior year. Her love for theater expanded into local productions, where she starred in plays with Kaysville Theatre and CenterPoint Theatre in Centerville.

To broaden her dance repertoire, Mckenna trained in tap, jazz, ballet, acro, and ballroom during college. She began teaching shortly after, working as a dance and tumbling instructor at several other local studios before teaching at Rise. Mckenna is certified in all levels of Acrobatic Arts as well as aerial and back handspring instruction, and is a certified acrobatic dance judge. She continues to find joy in helping students develop their skills. She has been teaching Acrobatic Arts for 5 years at Rise Academy of Dance.

Mckenna is a certified teacher through the CLRG. She graduated from Weber State University with a degree in Dance, Sports medicine, and health promotion. In addition, she is certified as and a personal trainer, with specialized certifications in stretching and flexibility, nutrition, weight loss, and athlete specific programming through NASM. She has worked as a personal trainer at eos fitness, and stretchologist at a StretchLab.

Mckenna’s unique blend of artistic talent, technical expertise, and teaching passion continues to inspire her students and drive her own growth as a professional.

Danielle began her dance journey at the age of three in ballet and gymnastics, at age 6 she found Irish dance at a local studio, where her passion quickly grew. This love led her to the Crawford School of Irish Dance, where she excelled, reaching championship by the age of 10.

Competing under An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), Danielle showcased her talent on the world stage, participating in regional, national, and world championship competitions. From 2012 to 2014, she consistently placed in the top five at the Western Region Oireachtas and became a two-time World qualifier.

After years of dedication to Irish dance, Danielle expanded her artistry by training in musical theatre, jazz, contemporary, and aerial arts. Her diverse training reflects her commitment to developing a well-rounded skill set in the performing arts.

Danielle is a certified Acrobatic Arts Instructor and holds her TCRG certification through An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha, allowing her to share her expertise in Irish dance as an instructor. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing with a minor in Accounting from Weber State University, combining her passion for dance with a strong academic foundation.

Aleaya began her athletic journey at the age of 3 with gymnastics training.  She then took ballet and Irish dance. After a year, her passion for Irish dance took center stage, and she dedicated herself fully to it.

During her Irish dance career, Aleaya excelled, achieving Open Champion status and qualifying for both national and world competitions under An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG). She traveled to prestigious events, including the World Championships in London, England, and Montreal, Canada, as well as competitions in Seattle, California, Colorado, Arizona, and beyond. While she loved Irish dance, at age 12, she then decided to explore other forms of movement.

Aleaya expanded her training to include tumbling and cheer.  Her hard work and dedication paid off as she made her junior high and high school cheer teams. Her teams consistently earned first-place honors throughout all four years. She become the head cheer captain in her senior year.

While in high school, Aleaya combined her love for tumbling with teaching by working at Velocity Tumbling Gym, where she trained and coached students. She later earned her certification in Acrobatic Arts and has been teaching Acro and private cheer lessons for three years. Aleaya is passionate about helping her students build confidence and discover a love for cheer and Acro, just as she did. She also occasionally substitutes as an Irish dance instructor, continuing to share her versatility and expertise.

Aleaya holds an associate degree in General Studies from Weber State University and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business. She is also an assistant manager at a local bank.  With her diverse background and dedication to teaching, Aleaya inspires her students to reach their full potential both in and out of the studio.

Taila started Irish dancing at 2 years old. She started competing when she was 4 and was very successful. She became an open Champion and competed in Regional competitions and North American Nationals when she was 7 and 8 years old.  She then decided to take some other classes and pursue a different style of dance. She danced and tumbled at Light Box and then took a cheer class and tumbling class at Clay’s tumbling and cheer.  She then decided to try out for a competition dance team.  She spent the next 4 years dancing and competing in solos and team dances.  She did very well and danced on their top team. While there she learned Acro, hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and lyrical. She then decided to try out for the Layton High Drill team. She danced on the high school drill team for 4 years.  She has been on the All-State drill team 2 years  and competed at many conventions and solo competitions winning top scores.  She was the Head Drill captainand they won regain and got 2nd and 3rd overall in state each year.   She was 2nd runner up at Miss Drill and got 1st place her entire senior year in her solo competitions.  She is currently on the Weber State Dance team who has competed for national and world titles with a 1st place overall.  She has had training from several conventions, clinics, and other camps.  She has been a student at Rise Academy and has taught Acro and dance technique privates at Rise Academy.  She has Choreograph solos, drill team routines and competitive dance routines at several studios and drill teams.  She does private lessons with many students to help them with their dancing technique and tricks.  She is now a freshman at Weber state University studying Architecture.