Hunter Moreland

Instructor

Classes Taught: Irish Dance

Hunter began dancing at the age of three and explored a variety of genres before specializing in Irish Dance. Hunter competitively danced for 6 years at the Quinn School of Irish Dance in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she competed across the country, winning many titles and advancing to the Open Championship level. She danced there until she came to West Virginia University in 2014 and joined the WVU Irish Dance Team. She was part of the team for two years before she became the team captain. While at WVU, she studied abroad in Ireland at University College Cork, where she worked very closely with professional Irish dancer Margaret McCarthy. There she had the honor of performing at many locations across Ireland, including Blarney Castle and for Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla at an Irish-British relations dinner in Dublin. Hunter graduated from West Virginia University in 2021 with Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration degrees. When she is not teaching, Hunter works as a nuclear pharmacist in the Morgantown area. This will be Hunter’s sixth year teaching Irish Dance at Morgantown Dance.

“After retiring from competing in dance competitions,” says Ms. Moreland, “I wasn’t ready to stop dancing. When the opportunity arose to begin teaching at Morgantown Dance, it was a no brainer for me. The transition from dancer to teacher was an easy one; teaching was a chance to continue my Irish Dance career while educating others about Irish Dance and Irish culture. I have had amazing opportunities to perform around the world, but I am most proud of teaching this style of dance that I love so much to my students and instilling the passion I have always had for Irish dance within them. I love watching my students learn to love Irish Dance as much as I do!”

As far as here teaching style, Ms. Moreland says, “As with many genres of dance, Irish dance requires a lot of practice to progress. I always encourage my students to practice outside of class time to benefit the most during class. It is important to work hard for what you love but have fun along the way. With that being said, I structure my classes so my students can gain the most knowledge while also keeping the class lighthearted and fun. It is important to me that my students feel that they learned something and leave with a smile on their faces at every class. As long as my students come every week with a desire to learn and have some fun while doing so, they will succeed in my class.”