The Duffy Academy of Irish Dance - Hadley, Massachusetts

Susan M.

My daughter loves learning Irish dance here. Her Irish dance lesson is always the highlight of her week. Ms Alycia and her assistants are so talented and absolutely great with kids. We appreciate how relaxed and welcoming the studio is while still pushing the dancers to grow and improve. It’s the perfect balance in my opinion.

J K.

We were excited to start dancing here because it seemed fun to try something so different from our previous ballet/tap, but unfortunately it was not a good fit. Nowadays my expectation for a paid lesson is that the teacher would have some training in childhood development, to ensure lessons and methods were appropriate - this was not the case. The instructor couldn't even stay present in the class for more than 5 minutes at a time, needing a teen assistant to keep taking over. Everything was very chaotic and unclear, always running late or canceling, or spending class time on fitting tshirts or cleaning plastic shower curtains with sponges - really can't make this up. Communication was horrible, can't tell you the number of times her phone 'lost' our emails or text messages. Although she really does mean well, it is not executed.

Matt H.

Nothing but good things to say about this place. Been wonderful experience for our daughter. The shows are fantastic and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Holyoke is a blast. Most importantly the girls there are happy kind and supportive of each other. The parents are really nice and supportive as well.

Meghan A.

We so badly wanted to love this dance studio, but it didn’t work out for a few reasons. First off, the communication is the worst I’ve ever seen in a dance studio. You’ve got to text or email (or both) multiple times to get any questions answered. If it’s a question or concern that she doesn’t want to answer, you’ll never hear from her.

We had a rehearsal for my kindergartener and a parent there (not the owner but the owner’s friend who think she owns the place) ripped my daughters shoes off her feet, and knelt down and screamed in my daughters face when she thought I wasn’t looking. Never ever ever would I think about doing that to a five year old child I didnt even know. The owners husband watched the entire thing and said nothing.

When I voiced concerns on this, of course the owner had her friends back, which led us to leaving. When i asked for a refund for the month and uniforms I ordered (that weren’t even ordered yet), she didn’t give me what she owed me back, but an amount she thought was sufficient.

The teacher is an amazing dancer, though she rarely teaches class and leaves it to the teens to teach the young ones. The studio is chaotic with no exact start times or end times for class and everytime there’s an announcement it leaves parents reaching out for questions to be answered and last minute planning for everything.

We had such high hopes, but left there extremely disappointed in the entire thing.

Emily P.

It's not easy to find a place where your child is pushed and learns so much, but where she also feels supported and treated with complete kindness. Miss Alycia is amazing for the kids. We're on year three... it's easy to start, even with no experience, and is such a nice community to be a part of!

Carrie M.

Miss Alycia brings unbelievable talent and energy to her classes and students...her passion for Irish Step is absolutely contagious!☘️

Jason S.

This is the best for dancing exercise. My 3 kids love coming and learning while getting their energies out!

Rina

You all are so good at what you do, the dancers are so good and you all are so good at what you do