Welcome Irish Dancers To Your Wellness Academy.

About us

As a dancer, have you ever struggled to know how to cope with the nerves of performing? Or maybe you've reached a plateau in your dancing and are looking to improve your technique. If you're a dance teacher, perhaps you're looking for additional resources to aid your dancers in various ways outside of drilling hornpipes and reels night after night.

That's where we come in. The coaches at the From Head to Toe Academy offer dancers a holistic approach to their well-being, from internal self-talk and motivation all the way down to their turnout.

While physical fitness is seen to be at the forefront of what makes a great dancer, we can all agree that it is merely one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Our mission at From Head to Toe is to help dancers reach their full potential in both dancing and life.

As members of the Academy, dancers will learn an integrated approach to health and performance. Rooted in up-to-date scientific and evidence-based practices, our classes and workshops will help dancers develop mental skills like confidence and resilience, as well as train the body. Our strength & conditioning classes will enhance technical Irish dance skills, our nutrition coach will teach dancers best practices to fuel themselves properly, and through our mobility and flexibility sessions, yoga classes, and breath work, we will share our ultimate recovery methods with dancers.

In my experience as both a competitive and professional dancer, student, and educator, I believe that these core pillars, Training, Nutrition, Recovery, and Mindset, are vital to the overall health and well-being of any individual, especially dancing athletes. – Chloey Turner, founder.

What happens in the studio is your domain. The Academy has been designed to take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation for both dancers and teachers for what additional resources might make for the best, most well-rounded, fittest dancer from their head all the way down to their toes. Our easy-to-follow videos can easily be incorporated into existing class schedules or viewed on your own time.

Meet Your FHTT Coaches

Chloey Turner

Head to Toe founder
Mobility & Mindfulness Coach
Positive Mental Health Ambassador

Chloey, originally from England and now living Stateside, toured the world as the principal lead dancer in Riverdance for 12 years, co-founded the weighted activewear brand KiloGear CUT and is a qualified personal trainer, 500 hour yoga instructor, meditation teacher and flexibility coach, with 20 years in the fitness/wellness industry.

"Towards the end of my professional dance career, I would often think of ways in which I could give back to the Irish dance community. Between thinking of the things I was doing well throughout my career and then the aspects I needed a lot of help with, from managing stress and anxiety to flexibility for example, the academy was then born! The expert team we have are just incredible at what they do. As well as there being many tools in the academy on demand library to help dancers and teachers to optimise their practice in the studio, outside of the dance studio we are absolutely the place to be.

I truly believe in taking care of the human being so that the dancer can then also thrive."

Today, Chloey also advocates positive mental health and wellbeing through various workshops and classes both online and in person. "Some personal highlights so far include speaking at The Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit in Dublin, Ireland. Delivering my Resilience talk to Littlewoods Ireland, TTM Healthcare, and a Wellbeing workshop for the Irish Olympic Boxing team as well as a number of Irish Dancing schools across the world."

Frances Dunne

Strength and Conditioning
Irish Dance technique

Frances specialises in helping dancers harness the power of connecting brain and body. Through sensory and nervous system work, movement patterning, and adaptive conditioning methods; she helps dancers understand how to overcome their challenges, and optimise their performance both athletically and technically. Also a current lead dancer in Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, she hopes to educate, enlighten and empower dancers in their journey. To equip them with skills and attributes that transfer to all areas of life, and help them understand how to achieve any goal they set their mind to.

Mitchell DeSimone, EdD, CMPC, TCRG

Sports Psychology

Dr. Mitch DeSimone is a retired professional and competitive Irish dancer and holds both a masters and doctoral degree in Sport & Performance Psychology. A Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, he actively works with professional, collegiate and youth performing artists and athletes and all those who support them to help develop mental habits and routines that simultaneously promote elite performance and positive mental health. Mitch is a Performance Psychology Specialist at the United States Military Academy West Point, working to support elite performance and mental preparation for US Army cadets, officers and athletes. In addition, he teaches Irish dance and operates a small private practice in performance psychology.

Dr. Meghan Brown

Nutrition for Dancers

Dr Meghan Brown is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, with particular expertise in Dance Nutrition. She completed her PhD in the area and continues to research in a range of topics to advance our understanding of how nutrition can support both health and performance. Alongside her teaching and research commitments, Meghan is passionate about improving nutrition knowledge and providing nutrition support to dancers as a registered Sport and Exercise Nutritionist.

Maggie Darlington

Barre/Pilates instructor

Maggie has a lifetime of experience within the Irish Dancing world. She began dancing at the age of 3, and went on to win many titles including the World Championships in solo dancing as well as teams. As a professional Irish dancer she has toured the world for over a decade with the Grammy winning production Riverdance, as their principal dancer. Having always approached life and dance with the idea of “everything in moderation”, she is excited to join the head to toe team promoting a more balanced and mindful place for dancers. Maggie has always believed cross training and trying new things is important to be successful in life as well as dancing. She is a 200 hr yoga instructor as well as Barre instructor and is excited to offer classes that promote balance and stability with the body for dancers.

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Testimonials

Kayla S.

“ The From Head to Toe Academy has been nothing but wonderful. As a senior Irish Dancer, who had to take time off from dancing, the weekly classes have helped tremendously to regain my strength, stamina, flexibility, and mobility. With continued support from all the coaches at the academy, I will be back to dancing in no time. The monthly sessions with Dr. Meghan Brown and Dr. Mitchell DeSimone immensely aid in the other side of an athlete’s performance when it comes to nutrition and dance psychology. The entire team's expertise at From Head to Toe Academy is truly a gift. Words can’t describe the gratefulness felt to be able to learn from these professional and caring women, coaches, and mentors. ”

Shannon Morrissey

“ Chloey and the feis app’s latest meditation track release really has the power to change your performance. I started using this for the past week since its release and the noticeable difference in my calmness and ability to put my best foot forward has been amazing. I look forward to continuously using this in my preparation for the world championships in Dublin. Not being my own worst enemy is my number one goal. ”

Sal Spanier

“ I wanted to again thank you this year. I have been injured since nationals with a major ankle sprain and then a quad injury. I really struggled with mindset and giving myself grace during this period. However, leaning into your mindset and affirmations with gentle stretching and yoga helped me greatly.

Taking time to allow myself grace and just enjoy the Act that I have the ability to get up and dance and to tune out the negative Nancy in my head allowed me to amazingly achieve and exceed my personal goals at this year's Oireachtas. ”

Youcef Belouazani

“ The meditation track really helped me become a better dancer! I was feeling so nervous and frightened about the fact all irelands was so close and I listened to the track! The part where it said think when you were dancing and felt pure joy really hit me and I thought back when I was 3rd at worlds! It made me feel like anything was possible and so I continued to listen especially the night before all irelands! I agree this had helped me win all irelands and become my biggest accomplishment to this day! It’s amazing and I definitely recommend it to everyone else. ”

Savannah Carranza

“ Thanks to Head to Toe Academy, over the past year, my dancing has improved so much. Head to Toe has especially helped me improve my turnout, pointing, and flexibility. Specifically, the guided exercises on the video library help me keep a routine and really focus on the exercises I am working on. The live classes help me because I receive feedback on my form from the knowledgeable instructors. All of this really helps me to improve my dancing overall. The Head to Toe Academy has been a game changer for me and I am so thankful for everyone there. ”

Ren Middlebrook

“ I just wanted to drop you a quick message - I’m at a second day of a feis weekend, woke up feeling tired and sore and just not “there”.

Your feis day warm up video was PERFECT for getting me feeling flexible and explosive and ready to dance. And I LOVE your message for us at the end. Thank you so much for helping me to feel prepared. ”

Lauren. Kelly Hendry school UK

“ Chloey, I just wanted to say a huge huge THANK YOU for the workshop you gave us on Sunday at the studio! I found it so beneficial and has really helped me focus my mind and realise I can enjoy competitions and not just fear them. Thanks so much again! ”

Maura Gray. TCRG Connecticut

“ Chloey and Fran of Head to Toe Academy bring the perfect combination of passion and skill to the studio. Through their combined experience of both competitive and performance excellence, their detail oriented approach addressed not only the physical needs, but also the mental needs of our dancers. Chloey and Fran successfully catered to a variety of ages and skill sets in on room, without leaving anyone feeling unattended to or bored. Additionally, both were approachable and personable with all of our students, quickly setting the expectation that questions were welcomed and self-accountability is a necessary tool to making their lessons effective. Students left the workshop immersed with new information, feeling happy and motivated. I, as a dance teacher with decades of experience, was thrilled to have learned so many new tools that I can practice consistently with my students moving forward. Thank you, Chloey and Fran for such a spectacular weekend! ”

Cathleen Rubin, TCRG Philadelphia

“ Chloey has a very playful and powerful teaching style. She makes the workouts and training fun while pushing the dancers to the next level. She’s an engaging teacher who uses age-appropriate words and examples to teach hard concepts to dancers both young and old.

Chloey’s experience as a professional dancer and trainer is evident in all her teachings: from proper mind-body warmups, to pre-performance mental preparation to post-performance cool downs and mental assessments, Chloey helps dancers prepare for all parts of Irish Dance. As a teacher, I appreciate Chloey’s ability to educate the dancers on their muscle groups and how and why they need to work in Irish Dance. ”

Dance mom, London

“ I just wanted to say how much my daughter enjoyed it and what a wonderful thing you are doing for all the dancers. The routine, the focus and the physical exercise is so important for their mental health, so just wanted to say a huge and heartfelt thank you. Also to say I think you have a real gift for communicating with the dancers - it’s wonderful to see and I hope it gives you some joy in your heart. Many thanks again. ”

Karen, Dance mom, NC

“ The work Sarah had done with Chloey and From Head to Toe academy has been nothing short of transformational. We are so proud of her and consider ourselves so lucky that she’s had the opportunity to connect and work with Chloey ”

Dance mom, London

“ Caoimhe found Chloey absolutely fantastic and such a big help! She said it was like she read her mind! She’s written down everything as soon as she got in the car, so thank you. ”

For any interested dancers, parents, or teachers, this brochure offers more information on what we do, testimonials, and a sample weekly schedule.

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