OUR STORY
2012
Founding of Mayne Irish Dance
In 2012, Charmayne Dulley founded 'Mayne Irish Dance' in Sunbury, Victoria offering classes in the backroom of her parent’s home with a handful of students. The school quickly began to grow and soon moved to a local Sunbury studio which would become it’s home for the following two years before moving to it’s current home at the Sunbury Specialist School.
In the same year, Charmayne began a class specifically designed for ex-competetive dancers to further refine their skills for the purposes of public performance. This class of students, later known as Mayne Company, would go on to perform at a variety of dance industry events across Melbourne and set the ground work for the school’s performance resume. It was as a member of Mayne Company that Jared Ellis joined the school. Jared is a lifelong friend of Charmayne and began as an assistant teacher in 2012.
2015
The Inaugural Pacific Belt
In 2015, a lifelong ambition was fulfilled when the school successfully planned and hosted it’s very own Irish dance competition, an unprecedented feat for a relatively young school. The Pacific Belt grew quickly to become one of Australia’s largest privately run competitions hosting dancers from across Australia and New Zealand. The Pacific Belt is held annually with the support of the entire Pacific Irish Dance community.
2017
The birth of Pacific Irish Dance
After 5 years of Mayne Irish Dance it was announced in 2017 that the school would become Pacific Irish Dance. Originally named from it’s founder, it was time for the school to adopt it’s own individual identity and recognise the contributions of all its teachers now and into the future. Read the official announcement. 2017 also saw the official formation of The Pacific Parents and Friends Association, an organisation tasked with arranging and supporting community activities for the school.
