Meet the Team

Lisa Petri, ADCRG | Karen Petri, ADCRG

Hailing from Long Island NY, sisters Lisa & Karen Petri both enjoyed successful corporate careers in finance before the success of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance afforded them the opportunity to teach Irish Dancing full time and pursue their passion. They were introduced to Irish Dancing in 1974 by their inspiring immigrant parents, Eileen, from Ennybegs, Longford, Ireland, and Carl, from Montefegatesi, Tuscany, Italy.

Under the direction of legendary teachers such as Jerry Mulvihill, Kevin Quinlavan, Kenny Verlin, Moira Quinn, Peter Smith, and Michael & Kathleen Maguire, the girls enjoyed successful competitive careers, winning numerous MARO Championships and Solo World medals. What began as an after school hobby to keep the family involved with part of its cultural heritage blossomed into a lifetime of opportunities, friendships, and memories.

The Doherty Petri School of Irish Dance was founded in 1991 and has become one of the preeminent Irish Dance schools in the world with locations in NY, CT, CA, MD, and Belfast, Ireland.

LuAnn O’Rourke-Boyd, TCRG/ADCRG/BG

LuAnn  grew up in Yonkers, New York and studied Irish Dance since the age of six with Eileen Morr, Michael Smith and Margaret Pike.  Throughout LuAnn’s Irish Dancing career she continually ranked in the top ten regionally and competed at the National and World level.  LuAnn graduated from college with Honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Communications. A year of college was also dedicated to majoring in dance including ballet, jazz and modern technique. In addition, LuAnn was the Director of Technology Training for a large corporation until the terrorist attacks on 9/11 at which point she decided to start a family and take her part time Irish Dance school full time.

LuAnn received her T.C.R.G. (Teachers Certificate Rinci Gaelacha) from An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha of Ireland in 1994. LuAnn later received her A.D.C.R.G. from An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha in 2007 which allows her to adjudicate Irish Dance competitions throughout the world. LuAnn judges many feiseanna throughout the United States and Canada. Additionally, she has recently judged the North American Championships  held in Orlando, FL in 2016 and the prestigious Irish Dancing World Championships being held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2018.