The Stillson School of Irish Dance has an active show team which has performed throughout New England as well as on the Elipse lawn of the White House. They have been featured dancers accompanying such renowned Celtic performers as SOLAS, CHERISH THE LADIES, TRINITY DANCE COMPANY, LIZ CARROLL, BILLY MCCOMISKEY and MICK MOLONEY, and EILEEN IVERS.
In existence for twenty years, the school is the only certified school of Irish dancing in the state of Maine. The school’s dancers compete all over New England and place in the NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL IRISH DANCING CHAMPIONSHIPS annually. Dancers have placed in the North American Irish Dance Championships, as well as competed in the All Ireland Championships, The European Championships, Great Britain Championships and The World Irish Dance Championships. Students of the Stillson School of Irish Dance are proud to have performed with Cherish the Ladies, Solas, The Trinity Irish Dance Company, Natalie MacMaster, and Eileen Ivers among many others.
The Stillson School of Irish Dance is under the direction of Carlene Moran Stillson ADCRG / TCRG. She is accredited by An Coimisiun in Dublin, Ireland and a member of IDTANA. (Irish Dancing Teacher’s Association of North America) and The New England Region teaching organizations.
The Turning Point is a 1977 drama film centered on the world of ballet in New York City, written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. The film stars Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft, along with Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Tom Skerritt. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The script is a fictionalized version of the real-life Brown family and the friendship between ballerinas Isabel Mirrow Brown and Nora Kaye. Isabel’s daughter Leslie Browne, who went on to become a principal dancer with New York’s American Ballet Theatre, portrays herself in the film.