The nearly 2-year-old McMenamin Irish Dance Academy, now located at 1926 E. Capitol Dr. in Shorewood, has entered into a lease agreement for property at 3948 N. Maryland Ave. -- the space formerly occupied by Napoleon's just south of Capitol Drive. Napoleon's, at one time one of the largest game stores in the Midwest, was a one-stop shop for board games, puzzles, chess sets, role-playing games and more. It closed in March 2005 after 25 years of business.

The new McMenamin Irish Dance Academy studio, which is more than double the current space, will open in October 2006. Construction and renovations are currently underway. The larger studio will enable McMenamin Academy to expand its class offerings for beginning and advanced dancers. It will also allow the instructors to implement new training and fitness programs and provide dancers with state-of-the-art facilities for instruction and training for competitions and performances throughout the world.

Last week, the Shorewood Foundation approved a $5,000 grant to help support the growth and expansion of McMenamin Irish Dance Academy to the newly acquired space in the Village of Shorewood. "We are most grateful to the Shorewood Foundation for their support of our school," said McMenamin-Johnson. "We are pleased and proud to remain part of the Shorewood community and are humbled by the support and confidence of the Shorewood Foundation."

McMenamin Irish Dance Academy was founded in January 2005 by lead instructor Aine McMenamin-Johnson. With nearly 100 students enrolled for classes, McMenamin Irish Dance Academy is the only Irish dance school based in Shorewood and along the North Shore. McMenamin also has a studio in Brookfield.

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