Teaching
Nathalie Turkington
A late starter in the world of Irish dance, Nathalie’s competitive career took off pretty quickly with the Haughey McAuley Academy, reaching the top grades in Irish dancing within just a couple of years, to enter her very first world qualifier feis. A successful solo championship dancer with Haughey McAuley and also in Essex under the instruction of Frances McGahan ADCRG, reaching top 20 in the Great British championships, Nathalie was also a senior ceili dancer from the age of 14, when she was entered into her very first world championship. Nathalie competed for over 15 years, including many world championships (Ireland, America and Glasgow) as a ceili team member, and solo dancer.
Nathalie passed her TCRG exam with honours in November 2010 - under the instruction of Michelle Haughey Edwards ADCRG and Owen McAuley ADCRG - before pursuing her own dance academy career when the Edinburgh Irish Dance Academy was formed in June 2011.
As a nanny by day, Nathalie’s communicative skills when interacting with children, are a real asset within the class, and children of all ages feel secure and comfortable with her approach to teaching.
Daniella Taylor
Daniella - also a previous championship dancer and top 10 in the World Ceili Dancer- is Nathalie’s younger sister. She is also in the field of nannying and has a qualification in Beauty Therapy. Daniella teaches the majority of our dance classes, with her creative flare and passion for new steps coming to the fore. Daniella passed her TCRG exam in January 2014 with excellent grades and is now helping to expand the Edinburgh Irish Dance Academy.
As a nanny by day, Daniella’s communicative skills when interacting with children are a real asset within the class and children of all ages feel secure and comfortable with her approach to teaching.
As a team that work well together, Nathalie and Daniella feel it is important to have a real element of fun in their classes too, from warming up to the dancers favourite pop songs, to using props such as pom poms and ‘magic scarves’ with the younger dancers. They encourage the children to have fun!