Shani (Brandt) DuFrain is the daughter of professional jazz pianist, composer, and music authority: Mark Christopher Brandt. As a result, art, music, and rhythm, have been an integral part of Shani's life from day one. Her understanding of music, proficient rhythm, and performance skills, are a direct result of the training that she received from Mark while she was growing up. This consistent and early exposure to music and art of all styles and cultures deeply engrained a love of dance and movement that followed her through early interests- even including non-dance sports, such as karate and Krav Maga.

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Shani first started Irish dance at the age of 8 with the Boyle School of Irish Dance. After only one class,  Shani fell in love with the combination of Irish music and the unique style of movement, and she knew she never wanted to go another day without it.  

 

As a competitor, she advanced through the grades (levels) in feiseanna (Irish dance competitions) in numerous different states, and competed in several Irish dance championships. In the 2010 Southern Region Oireachtas, she numbered among the top 10 dancers for her age group, receiving 6th place. She went on to place in the top 50 in the North American National Championships the following summer in Tennessee. She also participated in the international All Ireland's (Oireachtas Rince na h'Éireanne, 2011) in Killarney, and the World Irish Dancing Championships (Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, 2011) in Dublin, before retiring from competition.

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As an amateur performer under the Boyle School, she performed on two different occasions aboard Carnival cruise ships through Isle Inn Tours in the Caribbean and Mexico, alongside numerous Folk and Irish musicians and singers, including Harry O'Donoghue, Seamus Kennedy, and Fiona Molloy to name a few. In both 2009 and 2010 she danced with her teammates in a week-long line-up of St. Patrick's day shows spanning several of the Florida Keys, at the request of Fiona Molloy and with the talented bodhran (a traditional Irish drum) player David Klawes. Additionally, Shani has had the joy of performing in countless festivals, shows, weddings, and private parties, even opening for Riverdance at Wolf Trap with her dance classmates.

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In the midst of competing and performing under the Boyle School, Shani also had the privilege of participating in workshops with renowned Irish dance legends Anthony Sharkey and Colin Dunn (previous lead dancers in Riverdance), and Katherine Skehan (of Lord of the Dance). She also attended several workshops under Ann Kerr, who famously instructed Michael Pat Gallagher (also a previous lead in Riverdance). Additionally, she had the honor of being a volunteer student teacher at the Boyle School, beginning at the age of 12 until she graduated from high school in 2010. She assisted as a teacher's aid in countless Irish dance classes and events, Irish dance summer camps, and even several workshops with Anthony Sharkey.

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After graduating high school, Shani auditioned for both Raglan Road at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Riverdance, and she received call-backs from both shows. It was the experience of a lifetime to attend the Riverdance call-back and dance on the famous Abbey Theater Stage in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. It was not long after this experience that Shani decided to pursue the route of teaching professionally, in order to spread the joy of Irish Dance to dancers of all ages. Consequently, she took a year to study for the vigorous 3-day "Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rinci Gaelacha (TCRG)" exam, successfully passing the exam and thereby attaining her Irish Dance teacher certification in 2012. She then began working for her previous teachers, Alannah Sweeney and Ellen Gibbons at the Boyle School. During that time, she also received a Career Studies Certificate in Group Fitness Teaching through Northern Virginia Community College.

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Shani got married in January of 2013, and after a brief hiatus from teaching Irish dance, she opened Phoenix Irish Dance Academy (PIDA) in 2016 with Rachel Wolf. She and Rachel choreographed a dance drama about the history of Vikings in Ireland for the Manassas Viking Festival, and their students were greatly applauded for their performances of the dance drama by more than a thousand festival attendees in May of 2018 and 2019. Shani and Rachel's students also performed many times alongside the wonderful Irish singer Tim Trant. Shani resigned from PIDA in September of 2021 in order to have more time to spend the formative years with her five young children, and she now teaches Irish dance on a very small scale through her school: Virginia Academy of Irish Dance. Her first graduating VAID student performed Shani's choreography and steps live with Tim Trant at Sinistral Brewing Company in Manassas for St. Patrick's Day 2024.

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Aside from competition, live performance, and teaching, in 2015 Shani sang on the title track of Mark Christopher Brandt's album, Joie de Vivre. Additionally, her hand claps, and her footwork and steps, may be heard as percussion on several tracks from the same album, accompanying Mark Brandt on piano, and Dan Leonard on guitar. This album was featured in the international Irish Dance Magazine (May, 2015). More recently, Shani also sang on Mark's album Joy (Released October, 2021), which is inspired by the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

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Shani was a certified POP Pilates instructor from 2018-2020. Her other areas of study include adult health and development, pre- and postnatal fitness, nutrition, aerobic conditioning, strength training, pilates, kinesiology, and functional training. She continues to study and apply these topics daily in order to enrich not only herself, but also her current and future dancers. 

 

Shani welcomed her fifth child in April of 2022, and she spends her spare time with her husband Blaise, her four other young children, and her Australian Shepherd dog.