New Rochelle Teen Named North American Irish Dance National Champion

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — An Ursuline student is basking in a well-deserved time in the international spotlight and sharing the moment with her hometown.

A New Rochelle resident and Ursuline middle school student, Kyleigh O'Keefe, has been named the under 13 North American Irish Dance National Champion. 112 dancers from the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the U.K. qualified to compete and 100 attended the event. With the win, she is qualified to dance in the World Championships in April of 2023.

"I was speechless after I won," O'Keefe said. "I’ve been working so hard towards this goal for a very long time. I think I’ve been training to win a championship title since before I could even tie my own shoes."

She dances for The Flynn Irish Dance School in Yonkers, taught by Bridget Flynn.

"Everyone has the desire to win, not everyone has the determination and discipline it takes to prepare to win," Flynn said. "Kyleigh not only has both but she is incredibly coachable and is a pleasure to work with. She is a role model and always willing to help my other dancers when they are working on new skills. Kyleigh is a gifted athlete but what has set her apart is her ability to quickly learn new pieces and her willingness to go home and work until she has perfected them. She’s worked extremely hard focusing on the details and working outside of class on her stamina and strength, which definitely showed this year."

Flynn said the win is especially meaningful both because it was a result of years of hard work and because of the signal it sends to other young dancers just starting out.

"Winning this National title is so important because it shows not only all my dancers, but many dancers all over the world, that it is possible to get to the top," Flynn explained. "She is my first dancer to be on a podium [in the top five] regionally, nationally and internationally and it’s so great for the other dancers in my school to see that hard work pays off. The younger girls really look up to her and now believe they can work hard and achieve all of their goals too. I’m so proud of her and delighted to have been part of her journey every step of the way."

O'Keefe said similar inspiration helped her dance her way to the top.

"Bridget told me when I first started dancing at 4.5 years old that I had what it took and if I just kept working hard it would happen," O'Keefe said. "She’s always believed in me and I’m just so grateful for Bridget. I love her so much. She lets me help pick pieces for my dances and then puts it all together in the most beautiful choreography. Bridget is my only teacher. Most champions tend to come from really big schools with many teachers. Bridget does it all herself from the beginners on up. She also gives us all individual material to complement our dancing styles to give us the best chance at being successful. Because our school is so small, we all support each other and work really hard."

O'Keefe has been top 4 regionally, top 10 nationally and top 40 in the world for the last five years. This was her first Championship win at a major.

Some of her past results include:

• 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 4th at the Mid-Atlantic Region Oireachtas (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
• 11th, 5th, 8th, 6th at Nationals (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
• 5th at the All Scotlands (2018)
• 18th and 28th at the All Irelands (All Irelands Medal Holder (2019, 2020)
• 38th at the World Championship in Belfast, April 2022

O'Keefe's determination and work ethic aren't just reserved for the the studio and stage.

She is a straight-A student and a rising 8th grader. As a 7th grader, she also ran Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Indoor and outdoor track for The Ursuline School, where she was All League and a scoring distance runner for the Koalas all three seasons.

The Flynn Irish Dance School, located at 990 McLean Ave in Yonkers, is accepting new students. More information can be found here.