Denise
Foster Fumagali, TCRG - Director
Denise
Fumagali
is the director of Applause! Applause! Performing
Arts Center and the Aoibhneas an Rince Irish Dancers. She
began her
dancing career in Ballet and Tap classes at age 4 and added
Jazz and
Irish dancing along the way. What started as a
mother’s
attempt to expose her child to the culture of her Irish
roots soon
landed her in Ireland, dancing in the World Championships.
Throughout
the last thirty plus years of Irish dancing, she has been a
student of
Maureen Malcom in Virginia and Michael Smith from Boston and
worked
with master teachers from Canada, England, and
Ireland. She has
danced in both local and international competitions.
Most notable
among her accomplishments are her title as Washington, D.C.
Senior
Ladies Champion (1982, 84) and her placements in regional
and national
competitions which qualified her to dance in the 1982 and
1984 World
Championships in Ireland.
After
graduating
from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a B.A.
in
Elementary Education, she has returned to dancing as a
teacher.
She is a member of Cecchetti Council of America, which
qualifies her to
teach the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet. She is also
certified
with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha to teach Irish
dancing.
After 11 years of teaching first grade and kindergarten in
Fairfax and
Loudoun County Public Schools, Denise resigned in order to
devote more
time to teaching classes and directing the company at
Applause!
Applause! Performing Arts Center.
In 2006, Denise became an
independent certified instructor with the Baby Signs®
program.
Maureen
Eck - Irish
Maureen
Eck
started dancing with her 2 older
sisters when she was 4 years old. During her dancing
career, she
was a
student of Maureen Malcom in Virginia, Michael Smith from
Boston, and
Pauline Malone in Maryland and worked with master teachers
from Canada,
England, and Ireland. At 10 years old, she qualified to
dance in
the
World Championships in Ireland. After taking time off
from
dancing and
graduating from Clemson University, Maureen returned to Irish
dancing
as a teacher with the Aoibhneas an Rince Irish Dancers.
In
addition to
her classes at Applause! Applause! Performing Arts Center,
Maureen
teaches 3rd grade at Silverbrook Elementary in Fairfax
Station.
She is currently working on her certification with the
Irish
Dancing Commission.