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Thomas P. Bracken, A.D.C.R.G. A native of Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, Thomas Bracken began Irish step-dancing at the age of four. He attended the Sheehan School and later joined the famed Inis Ealga School in Dublin. He is a recipient of many regional, national and world medals as both a dancer and a teacher. The Bracken School of Irish Dance was founded in Ireland in 1980 by Thomas Bracken ADCRG. Thomas is a graduate of University College Dublin and has specialized in education and the Arts for the past 25 years. His experience as a senior high school administrator facilitates the educational foundation of this dance school. He also holds the highest accreditation afforded to an Irish Dance teacher which is the equivalent of the Masters Degree. Thomas has conducted master classes throughout the US, Canada and Australia for the past 20 years and he had the honour of judging at the World Irish Dance Championships on a number of occasions.

A seasoned performer, Thomas has performed at such world renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London. His students have performed throughout mainland Europe and have featured in a number of television specials, folk dance festivals and charity events throughout the US and Canada. They have also performed with such world famous acts such as the Chieftains and Cherish the Ladies and most recently the dance school performed with both the Phoenix and San Diego Symphonies for their sell out winter pop concerts. A number of Mr Bracken’s former students now grace the stage in both Riverdance and Lord of the Dance and have toured the world extensively. The School has achieved great success in competition throughout the years. The school boasts a World Champion and 1st runner up as well as numerous medals. In 2005, the school’s senior mixed ceile team placed second in the North American Championships and took seventh place at the World Championships in Ennis, Ireland, with two of its’ students placing 5th & 7th in solo competitions. In July 2006, John Smith of the Bracken School, Poway Ca., outshone competition from the 2006 All Ireland and World Champions to accomplish a personal ambition and bring great honour to the Bracken School by placing first in the North American Junior Men’s Championship. The school was ranked #12 in North America by Irish Dance Magazine International in its league of most successful Irish Dancing Schools. Whilst the school is very accomplished in competition and performance, it has at its grassroots the mission to introduce this cultured art form to as wide a group of people as possible, so that they may enjoy it and add it to their cultural experience in life. We share the joy and discipline of an age old genre of dance which has become a modern Broadway sensation. It has to start somewhere and nowhere better than the local community. This great dance phenomenon has grown from local classes worldwide to become the very popular art form of today.