Name: Melly Timmreck, 19, of Mays Landing
Education: Oakcrest High School; attending Atlantic Cape Community College
Family: Single; parents and brother live in Mays Landing
Company: Emerald Isle Academy of Irish Dance, of Newcastle, Del.
Position: Dance instructor
Phone: 484-798-7548
Irish dance can be noncompetitive or competitive. It’s a form of cultural dance. Some people use it to build muscle and stay in shape. Others use it to have fun and meet people.
A lot of people think that Irish dance is only group dancing. They don’t realize you can do solo dancing.
I have done ballet, modern, hip-hop, jazz and dabbled in tap. Irish dance is the most strenuous, demanding dance form I’ve tried.
There are different shoes for Irish dancing. A soft shoe, called a ghillie, is meant to show big movements, jumping, spins and footwork. Then there’s a hard shoe, which a lot of people think of for clogging or tapping, or Riverdance and a line of dancers. When you’re doing that, you’re moving around the stage while you create music with your feet.
I teach a class from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday now at the AtlantiCare Life Center in Egg Harbor Township. I offer private lessons as well. The monthly tuition is $55.
Entry: When I was about 7, I happened upon an Irish dance meeting while at Girl Scouts. I loved it and told my mom I wanted to Irish dance. I started taking lessons and competing when I was about 10, rising through the seven levels of competition. I’m a two-time national champion and in April I placed fourth overall in the world championship in Germany. I was also eighth in the European championships held there.
I was recognized by Hamilton Township with a Melly Timmreck Day in May for my placing in the world competition.
I met Kate O’Brien through a mutual friend in Irish dancing. I’ve always wanted to teach, and Kate and I were practicing one day, and she asked how I’d feel about opening a school where I live. I was ecstatic.
Now she has three branches in New Jersey, and the one in Egg Harbor Township is mine. Occasionally I substitute for her at all of her schools.
About me: I dance a lot, and that’s what I love to do. I hang out with my family and boyfriend, and like to read a good book. I also work as a lifeguard at Revel casino resort. And I have lots of pets at my house.
