Lucy grew up in Kinsale, Co Cork and is the daughter of well known Irish artists Kate and Philip French. After training in dance from a very young age, she was accepted after audition to the prestigious Northern Ballet School, Manchester at 17 years old. She then undertook the three year full time Professional Teacher Training Course at N.B.S and graduated in 2002 with the N.B.S Teaching Diploma with Distinction and internationally recognized teaching qualifications from the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance. She went on to teach in Norway at Aalesund Ballettskole, and then on to Scotland at Ecosse Performers College (a full time dance college).

Lucy has also worked as a mentor for the Royal Academy of Dance in London, mentoring new teachers on their new Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies, helping to train the teachers of the future.She has worked on her qualifications since leaving college and is continually improving her professional development. Lucy has performed herself in many successful shows and has now also organised and choreographed numerous sell out shows over her teaching career including a Norwegian version of “My Fair Lady”! She has also entered many children for dance examinations under the I.S.T.D and R.A.D and holds a 100% pass rate.

Lucy is Garda vetted and a qualified First Aider.

From 2020 Lucy has been on the first committee of the Irish Ballet Teachers Association, supporting the Ballet Teachers of Ireland.

Sarah grew up in Kinsale and trained from the age of 12 at the Lucy French School of Dance. Throughout her training she studied Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Jazz and consistently assisted Lucy with classes wherever possible. Sarah left the school in 2015 but was never far away, always happy to come and help and wanting to be a part of the school.

Sarah always had dreams of becoming a teacher and in the summer of 2018 these dreams became reality when she was accepted on to the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies programme with Royal Academy Of Dance. This is a 2 year long distance programme with the Academy that Lucy mentored and guided her through. Sarah qualified as an RAD Teacher in 2021. She took over the Hip Hop side of the school in 2019 and also teaches one of the contemporary classes to the Seniors.

Lucy is very happy and extremely proud to have Sarah back as part of the teaching staff.

Alesha grew up in Kinsale and trained from the age of 7 in Ballet, Jazz and Hip-Hop at Sarah Callanan School of Dance and Lucy French School of Dance. Graduating with a first class honours Bachelor’s Degree in Music from University College Dublin in 2016, she remained committed to her passion for dance during her studies. She competed for the university at intervarsity dance competitions 2012 - 2015, placing in the top 3 each year, as well as acting as crew manager and head choreographer. She also trained with competitive Hip-Hop crew So Little Crew and competed in the All Ireland Hip-Hop Championships in 2013, placing 2nd and qualifying for the World Hip-Hop Championships held in Las Vegas each year. She has danced as a professional dancer in the Irish touring show ‘Rebecca O’Connor: Simply the Best’ in 2016, 2022 and 2023.

After returning home to Ireland from Australia, Alesha decided to pursue her passion for dance and is delighted to have the opportunity to share the joy dance brings her with the LFSOD community. Alesha is a certified teacher of the Giordano Jazz Technique at Basic, Beginner and Intermediate level through the Giordano Dance Company based in Chicago, USA. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Dance Education through the National Dance Education Organisation.

Lucy is very happy to have Alesha back as a member of staff.

So delighted that our lovely Kate is coming back to join the LFSOD Team and train to be a ballet teacher.

Kate grew up in Kinsale, trained at Lucy French School of Dance from age 8. There she studied Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop. She joined Cork Youth Ballet Company from 2015-2017, performing in “Out of the Black” and “On Pointe”. 

She left the school in 2018, went on to train at Stella Mann College of Performing Arts, Bedford. There, she trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Commercial, Tap, Musical Theatre, Acting and Singing. She graduated in 2021, with a First Class Honours in Performing Arts. 

Kate returned to Ireland, and was selected to be a part of the EMERGENCE Programme, creating an original piece of choreography for the Noise Moves Festival. She was awarded the ‘Your Next Move Award’ in 2021 for emerging Irish artists.

She went on to work with Fidget Feet, on the premiere of “House!”, and was one of the first performers to be a part of the Soar Up Project, where she trained in aerial dance. Kate worked with Connecting Arts in Greece, performing at different venues across Kos Island. 

Born in Cork, Patricia Crosbie was trained by Dr. Joan Denise Moriarty. She was a member of Irish National Ballet Company for 6 years and danced leading roles in many of the classics, including Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Cinderella. She has worked with many internationally renowned choreographers including Sir Anton Dolin, Peter Darrell, Hans Brena, Nils Christie, Brenda Last, Domy Reiter-Soffer, Royston Maldoom and Yury Demakov.

Patricia was a principle with London Ballet Theatre and Vienna Festival Ballet. She toured worldwide with the renowned rock band, The Kinks, choreographing and performing in their concerts.

Patricia taught ballet, pointe work, classical repertoire and jazz ballet on the Diploma in Dance course at Cork’s College of Further Education (CSN) for 12 years. She has conducted workshops and Masterclasses for Dance Ireland, Dance Limerick, Dance Cork Firkin Crane, Irish National Youth Ballet, Cork Youth Ballet, Cork School of Dance, LFSOD and Plan Be Movement among others.

Patricia was awarded her MA in Dance from Limerick University in 2012. She was Dance Ireland’s Associate Artist for 2015/2016 where she conceived and choreographed her ballet Journey Through the Mirror.

Sine 2002, Patricia has been Ballet Mistress with Cork City Ballet for whom she has choreographed many ballets including her critically acclaimed, full-length ballet of J M Syng’s The Playboy of the Western World.

Patricia is Ballet Tutor on the MA and BA Contemporary and Irish Dance Courses at the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance at UL since 2012 and she teaches and choreographs For Cork Youth Ballet Company since its inception.