Jolie Kilpatrick, TCRG

Certified Instructor

 

Jolie began dancing in Oswego, NY at the age of 14. She began her tutelage under the late Mr. Patrick Butler at the Butler Academy of Irish Dance. She was privileged to dance with Mr. Butler for seven years before he sadly passed in March of 2007. She took a short hiatus from formal lessons for two years while living on the island of Grenada in the West Indies. While her husband, Piper, studied medicine, she taught ceili lessons to the other medical students and their families.  In June of 2007, Piper, Jolie and Tristan moved back to the US and settled in Grosse Pointe, MI where Piper continued his studies and Jolie opened a small non-competitive dance school. She enjoyed teaching while continuing her own study of dance under Pattie Malinowski and what is now called the Butler-Sheehan Academy of Irish Dance.

 

In June of 2009, Piper and Jolie relocated to Pittsburgh, PA where Piper began his Family Medicine Residency at UPMC St. Margaret. While house hunting, Jolie saw the sign for Bell School of Irish Dance and decided to give them a call. She began dancing for Julia and the Bell School in September 2009. She enjoyed learning from Julia and the other teachers at the Bell School so much that she decided she would love to become one of them! After completing her competitive career, which included the Mid-American Oireachtas and the North American Irish Dance Nationals, she signed on as a full time teacher at Bell and earned her TCRG certification in 2014.

 

Jolie and Piper live in Beaver Falls, PA, with their  sons Tristan, Rennick, and Soren.