Growing up in West Virginia and Hong Kong, Karen was involved in piano,chorus, tennis and enjoyed traveling the world with her family. She graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies, with a primary focus on Mandarin language, and a minor degree in music with an emphasis on piano performance. After graduation, Karen spent the next two years working for two exporting companies in Taiwan before returning to North Carolina and joining Nortel Networks. Karen stayed on with Nortel for seventeen years, working in various marketing positions, including a year in Tokyo, Japan, supporting both the international and domestic sales teams. Following her son’s footsteps, Karen began taking Irish dance lessons in 2008 and quickly became hooked on Irish dance and now thoroughly enjoys performing and competing. In September 2009, Karen began working with Danny Tighe and assumed ownership of the school in November of that same year. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Karen is leading and developing the school while maintaining a strong family environment. In her spare time, Karen leads the children’s choir at her church, plays on local tennis teams and continues to play piano both at church and for her own enjoyment.

Danny started dancing at the age of eight along with the rest of his brothers and sisters. After placing in all the competition levels, he obtained his TCRG certification in 1978 from An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha in Dublin Ireland. He instructed at several schools in New York and then founded the Danny Tighe School of Irish Dance, here in North Carolina, now known as Trionoide Academy.

Terra Scarlette Beek-Kenakin began dancing as soon as she could walk! Terra has trained for 17 years in ballet, tap (two styles), hip-hop, jazz, modern, and Irish dance and won four scholarships for her dancing. She’s been teaching dance to students since she was 11 years old. Terra trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts , the Boston Ballet, and others. Terra then shifted gears to train in Irish dance after watching an old beat-up tape of The Lord of the Dance—and the rest, as they say, is history. After only one year of competition and at eighteen years old, she became an Open Champion by way of competing across North Carolina (after only four preliminary championships of which she won the last two consecutively and with a perfect score of 300). Terra was featured in the international publication Irish Dancing Magazine as a “Girl You Should Know” in the March 2007 issue. She has performed with Cherish the Ladies, placed highly in the regional Oireachtasi, and done a workshop with Colin Dunne. Terra holds a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill. Terra loves to choreograph and perform Irish dance. Terra teaches all levels and is the academy's artistic director and choreographer. Under her leadership, Terra is advancing the academy in a new and exciting direction, and is now pursuing her own TCRG certification.She is thrilled to be a teacher and part of the Tríonóide Academy: “Experience is needed with teaching—but what is more important than the imperative skills required is the eagerness and passion needed with which to teach them.”

Tríonóide Academy of Irish Dance, LLC  |   Cary, Apex and Wake Forest, NC  |   Email:  karen@trionoide.com  |   Phone:  919-676-2968  |   Address: 4305 Wood Valley Drive  Raleigh, NC  27613