Theresa "Tessie" Burke

Following in the footsteps of her Irish-born father, Thomas Scott, who in 1942 opened the first Irish Step Dance school in Cleveland, Ohio, Tessie began her own charter school in Cleveland in 1958 after studying in Dublin, Ireland with Master Teachers. In 1966, she opened a second school in Youngstown, Ohio, and at the invitation of the Board of Directors of the Irish Centre of Pittsburgh, began accepting students for classes at the Irish Centre in 1971.

Theresa "Tessie" Burke was the first American-born woman to become certified as a step dancing teacher by the Irish Dance Commission in Dublin. For over 60 years, Tessie has taught several thousand students and has judged hundreds of local, regional, national, and World competitions. She was the only judge to award a first place to Michael Flatley in his first qualification for the World Championship in Ireland! Tessie has selflessly dedicated her life to preserving the Irish heritage through Irish Dance.

Tessie was inducted into the North American Irish Dance Teacher hall of Fame in November 2005. In 2008, she celebrated her 50th year of teaching. Her dedication was recognized by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha, when she was awarded the Gradam Rince Award of Distinction at the 2009 World Irish Dancing Championships in Philadelphia, & again at the 2013 World Irish Dancing Championships, in Boston, MA. At the 2015 Mid America Oireachtas, The Irish Dance Teachers Association of Mid America presented Tessie with an award “In Proud Recognition of 50 Years of Outstanding Contributions to Irish Dance”.