MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS
Megan’s love of dance began when she was introduced to Ballet at the age of two. She grew up dancing in various styles including Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Modern. By the age of 14, she was already teaching under her mentor. At 16, Megan found Irish Dance and quickly advanced in competitions to the champion level. During her time as a competitive dancer, Megan won several Regional Oireachtas Championships, 2 North American National Championships, 2 Great Britain Championships, placed 2nd at the All-Ireland Championships and 4th at the World Championships, where she medaled each and every time she competed.
Megan has performed with true legends of the Irish music world to include The Chieftans, The Eileen Ivers Band, Seamus Kennedy and Cherish the Ladies. Her career allowed her to perform at some of America’s greatest venues like Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center.
Megan has been an accredited TCRG since 2008 and received her ADCRG credentials in 2024. She has been the owner and director of the Harper Academy of Irish dance since its formation in 2016. Over the many years that Megan has been teaching Irish dance, she has taught Oireachtas Champions, North American National Champions, British National Champions, All-Scotland Champions; Minor, Junior & Senior Belt winners and many All-Ireland & World medalists.
MEGAN HARPER-FUENTES
ADCRG / OWNER & INSTRUCTOR
HAYLEE KIRK
TCRG
Haylee began dancing at the age of 5 in a noncompetitive program in Massachusetts. When her parents moved to Florida at age 7, she joined the Harling Irish Dance Academy under the direction of Maureen Harling-Welty of Chicago. This is where Haylee's love and passion for competitive dance flourished.
After moving to Pennsylvania in 2008, Haylee became the top dancer in her age group in eastern PA for 9 consecutive years and qualified each year for the Worlds since age 12. Haylee became a two-time Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas Champion, placed 3rd at the North American National Championships, 2nd at the Great Britain Championships, 4th at the All Scotland Championships, received 2 World Medals, and was 6th at her final World Championship.
In addition to competing, Haylee took part in several performance opportunities. She was part of a dance troupe in Florida that performed annually at the Florida Renaissance Festival. She also performed in the Magic Tree House production in West Palm Beach and took part in the New Jersey Tap Festival. She was an original cast member in the Studio2Stage’s “That’s Dancing” production where she performed for 3 consecutive years. Haylee was also selected to take part in the Riverdance Summer School program in Boston.
Toward the latter part of her career, Haylee joined forces with The Harper Academy to retire competitive dancing under her former teacher Megan Harper. Haylee earned her TCRG in 2023 and looks forward to inspiring and sharing all her experiences with the next generation of dancers.