Waterford – Jenny Walsh

Heya! My name is Jenny and I’m a 20-year-old physiotherapy student. Hailing from the Déise, (the home of the ‘blaa’), I’m a proud Waterford girl, and even prouder to be the 2016 Waterford Rose. One of my biggest passions in life is dancing. I’ve tried just about every style over the years, with ballet emerging as my firm favourite. I love competing and performing, gracing the stage for the first time at just four years of age, and I’ve appeared in numerous different musical theatre, pantomime and ballet productions since, including the classical ballet ‘Giselle’ where I danced the leading role with Centre Stage School of Ballet and Performing Arts. I joined the Richie Hayes stage school when I was 13, and can honestly say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! Apart from gaining top-class training, it was here that I met some of the people that I’m lucky enough to still call my best friends. After completing my Leaving Cert, I went on to take a year of full-time dance training in the College of Dance, Dublin. In 2015, I returned to the books and my love for academia (some say I’m mad!), and began my degree in Physiotherapy in UCD, having been awarded a J.P. McManus All Ireland Scholarship. I’m also a part-time dance teacher and choreographer in TheatreBox Stage School, Waterford. A quick-fire, random peek into my life would reveal that I’m a proud gaelgeoir, a self-confessed shopaholic, and an Instagram fanatic. I’m absolutely thrilled to be fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a Rose, and my adult-self ambition to represent my family, friends and home place in the Rose of Tralee Festival.