Our Staff

Owner / Head Teacher
Esther Pujol
​esther@palomairishdance.com

​​Esther Pujol reached the highest level of competitive
Irish dancing while training at one of the top schools in the world.  She has competed nationally and has had the pleasure of
performing at Carnegie Hall as well as with Grammy-award winners Eileen Ivers and Natale McMaster.  

She passed her Teacher's Certification Exam through An Coimisiun Le Rince Gaelacha (Dublin, Ireland) in May 2015 and registered The Paloma School of Irish Dance that year.  She was privileged to have her first Regional Champion by Nov. 2015. 

Esther is married and has two sons who both do Irish dancing. Esther is also the President of the Paloma Irish Arts Foundation 501(c)(3) non-profit and the Chairperson of the Rose & Shamrock Festival.​  

Esther believes strongly in the importance of using innovation to help others and has pioneered ​many new ideas to benefit the dancers as well as the community.  She opened up one of the first consignment shops of its kind for her dance families, began a unique boys program at her school, headed the inaugural Celtic Night at the Barnstormers, and started many other inventive programs with the goal of serving others and helping dancers build confidence and self-esteem through being successful at Irish Dancing.

Costume Director
Heather Volpe
stepdowntheline@gmail.com

Heather Volpe manages all elements of Irish dance clothing including the Paloma uniform, costumes for performances and Paloma spiritwear. She coordinates the non-profit Step Down the Line consignment store of Irish dance clothing and supplies. Heather also serves as the treasurer for the Paloma Irish Arts Foundation and is the co-chair and feis entry secretary for the Rose and Shamrock Festival. 

Heather has four children who dance for Paloma, and she enjoys watching them dance and compete and also likes trying her hand at sewing their competition outfits. She holds a bachelor's degree in theology from Franciscan University of Stubenville. She homeschools her four children, assists with their local co-op group, is an educational consultant for the K12 program and manages her own Pampered Chef business.