Kelly Fitzpatrick Director of Fitzpatrick Academy of Irish Dance Honored with Irish Heritage Award

QUEENS, N.Y. - Oct. 29, 2018 - PRLog -- Friday, October 26, the Queens County AOH and LAOH held their annual County Dinner Dance at Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach.

Kelly Fitzpatrick who is a board member of the Queens County LAOH and member of LAOH Division 15 was given the Irish Heritage and Culture Award for her contributions to the NY Irish community.  Kelly owns a school which holds classes in Whitestone, Astoria, Woodside and Middle Village Queens.  Each day she imparts her knowledge of Irish Dance technique and history to her students ranging in age from 4-adults.  Her students perform at many prestigious events like the NYC St Patricks Day Parade Installation, The Queens Chamber of Commerce St Patricks Day Luncheon to name a few.  Her school also marches in many St Patrick's Day Parades across the City.

In her speech Fitzpatrick thanked her parents for instilling the values of being a good and proud American and giving them Irish culture through dance.

Kelly was born in Flushing, NY, to parents Maureen and Kenneth Fitzpatrick. Being of Irish descent (her maternal grandparents are from Co. Kerry and Co. Sligo), she's always had a strong connection to Irish culture. At the age of 3, Kelly was introduced to the world of Irish Dance and has never looked back since. A large part of her life was dedicated to dancing, winning 2 regional titles and numerous medals at the All Ireland and World Championships in both solo and ceili dancing. Her love for Irish dancing ushered her into the role of a dance instructor as soon as her age allowed. In 2010, Kelly founded the Fitzpatrick Academy and is a certified Irish Dance teacher. Since it's emergence, the school has produced incredibly dedicated and talented dancers that have also seen several successes at both a National and International level. The Fitzpatrick Academy has also been actively involved in community-hosted food drives, performing at church events, nursing homes in Queens and Long Island and St. Mary's Children Hospital in Bayside, NY. She has also donated her time teaching Irish Dance to children and adults at events all around Queens. In 2018, Kelly was honored to be the recipient of the Irish Echo Community Champions Award for promoting Irish culture and dance in the Queens community. Kelly has B.A. in Communications from Adelphi University and has two sisters, Maureen and Eileen.

For more information on the Fitzpatrick Academy visit https://www.fitzpatrickacademy.com/.