In 1993, she began teaching Irish dancing in the garage of her old Willow Glen house when her friends from the Irish Social Club asked her to teach their children.

Greene, who was then practicing law, thought it would be fun to start a dancing school with her childhood dance mate, Maureen Golden. She didn't know that Riverdance, an Irish dancing troupe that made its debut at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, would soon turn Irish dancing into a craze.

Now, thanks to her good timing, she has about 200 students, and less than half of them are of Irish descent. To accommodate the increasing number of students, Greene moved from the garage where she started her dance classes and now rents a studio on Union Avenue.

"I always dreamed I could make a career out of it, but I never knew it could be a reality," says Greene, co-owner of the Golden Greene School of Irish Dancing.

Her parents immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1960. They enrolled her, her sister, Dieidre, and one of her two elder brothers, Michael, in Irish dancing classes, hoping to familiarize them with their heritage.

Michael gave up in a week; Dieidre continued dancing until she was 16. Greene stopped when she began studying at San José State University. After she earned a law degree from Santa Clara University, she devoted herself to practicing law and hardly had time for her favorite pastime.

When her friends suggested that she start a dancing school, she thought it would be nice to start dancing again. But her business grew quickly just through words of mouth. In 1998, she quit her full-time job and focused on the school. Her two sons, Aidan and Mick, just started learning Irish dancing, too.

Although Greene's is a small business her students do get around the world thanks to dance competitions. Just as she had traveled all over the world to compete in Irish dancing contests, her students have traveled to Scotland, Ireland and around the United States to compete with dancers from other countries. About 150 of her students will participate in a regional competition in Phoenix in late November. If they win, they can compete at the world championship in Ireland next April.

Photograph by Sean Penello In the Groove: Elizabeth Connor and Brianna Small do a jig.

In addition to preparing for competitions, her students are also busy performing at various festivals and fundraising events. They will perform at Simonds Elementary School on Oct. 19 to raise money to research Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. And of course their busiest season is around traditional Irish holidays. Although St. Patrick's Day is five months away, their schedule is fully booked for the day.

"I don't force them to perform or compete," Greene says. "Dancing should not be a chore but something they can enjoy."

For more information, call 408.264.1157.