Spring North Irish Dance Workshop 2019
Registration form click here
We are so excited for our 3rd annual Spring North ID Workshop featuring 2 professional performers: Mitchell DeSimone and Samantha Merrit. Register early before April 18th, however registration will remain open until May 2nd with an additional fee. 17 hours of classes, great food, beautiful setting and exceptional lodging. This will be an intensive you don’t want to miss. It will feis prep you and get you to be a greater performer at this very low price!
Timber Wolf Camp is located in Lake City, Michigan, which is outside of Cadillac. Classes, lodging and meals all in the same place!
Summer 2018 Class/Camp Schedule
Summer classes offered weekly in Cadillac at 601 Chestnut Studio:
Tuesdays starting June 12th:
5:30 Beginner
6:30 Advanced Beginner
Thursdays:
5:00 Intermediate
6:00 Drill
Cadillac Camp: Mon-Fri 1-4PM July 23rd
McBain Camp Mon-Fri 9-12PM July 30th
Manton Camp Mon-Fri 1-4 July 30th
Register by calling 231-920-9976
or emailing/messaging from this site.
Spring into New Irish Classes
A new beginner class starts on 4/9/18 at 6:15 at our new location: 601 Chestnut Street in Cadillac. This class is for 6 year olds and up. A Pre-School class (3-5 year olds) will start on Tuesday 4/17/18 at 5:30 PM. Both classes will go for 8 weeks.
It’s a great time to get into Irish Dance and learn new things!
Fall into Irish Dance
It’s almost here…Labor Day. For the NLID, it is the last performance of the summer. For the NLIDA, it is time for classes to begin again. I am so excited to return to both McBain and Manton again this year and also resume classes at the Cadillac town studio on 13th Street. I get to welcome back many students in the various offered classes, though I was able to see lots of students at summer camps this summer.
One of the best things about Irish is that once you complete and perfect a step, another one is coming. It is very rewarding and focused. Each dancer knows what they need to do and where they are heading. This is not true with other dance genres. The hardest thing about Irish is if a dancer doesn’t practice or has to miss class. Irish keeps continuing and if you don’t practice or miss class you can fall behind. The dancer that thrives on that, is the Irish Dancer.
I am believing for an epic year at NLIDA. We have a new Story Piece in the works called Patrick’s Purpose and competitions right around the corner. We will also continuing bring The Irish Prodigal to different places. Lots of performances up ahead as well
Upcoming Weekend Workshop May 12th!
Once again Mitchell DeSimone from Lord of the Dance will come and help dancers become fine tuned in their technique, steps and Irish Dance abilities. Dancers can arrive to the lovely Ketunnen Conferance Center situated on acres of woodland in Tustin, Michigan on Friday May 12th at 1:00 PM. Classes will begin at 2:00 but dancers can arrive anytime that day. The official welcome will be at dinner at 5:30 PM. The workshop will end at 3:00 PM Sunday.
2-3 Classes will be held each hour by different teachers depending on ability and need. Molly Kujawa (Champion dancer with 35 years of experience) and Gina Dewey (Open level dancer with 13 plus years of ID experience) will be teaching classes along side of Mitch each day. Class schedule can be found below. There will be classes on hard/soft shoe drills, jumps, step perfection, feis prep, performance focused, traditional set, Ceili, and more. There will also be classes on the penny whistle and bodhrain (you must provide your own instrument). We will also have a craft class in the afternoon as a fun alternative.
Food and lodging will be provided from the Ketunnen Center. Though our meals will be taken cafeteria style, they will be nutritious and yummy in a very nice setting. Lodging is dorm style, however the largest room has 3 bunk beds. It will be very easy to place your dancer with companions she chooses, since there are multiple rooms. Bathrooms are communal but private. Boys will be housed in a separate building. The whole weekend will be comfortable for all and easy to manage.
If your dancer would like a parent to attend as well due to age. There are premium private rooms for moms for an additional cost. As a parent you can attend and just pay lodging and meals. The center is a wonderful place to come with a good book and enjoy a weekend of solitude!
As the director/owner of the NLIDA, it is my hope that each dancer will come away from the weekend enriched, and inspired. I plan on adding much more than just Irish Dance to the weekend in terms of encouragement, inspiration and self growth!
Below are the paperwork links for registration:
SpringNorthIrishDanceIntensiveRegistrationForm.pdf
Summer Camps Coming!
NLIDA is offering 2 summer day camps. It is a fun and fantastic way to learn Irish and Culture at the same time. Games, Crafts, Steps, and friendship!
McBain Camp: June 27 -June 30th 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This camp is for beginners and continuing dancers. It is held in the McBain Elementary Cafeteria. Call (231) 779-9976
Cadillac Camp: July 25 – 29th 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This camp is for beginners and continuing dancers. It will be held at the 13th Street Studio in Cadillac. Call to register!
New Beginner Class Registration Now Open
New Beginners classes
Classes starting on Monday April 11 at 6:00 PM and Thursday April 14th at 4:30 PM at the 13th Street Studio. Session will go for 6 weeks for $60. Each class is an hour long filled with step
s, rhythm and Gaelic language.
There will be 3 open summer camps in July and August.
Dates TBD and coming soon.
BOOKING NOW FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Looking for some Irish culture to enhance your St. Patrick’s Day event, fundraiser or party? We have several bookings already, so don’t miss out on some real Irish fun! Call now so the dancers can truly bring some excitement to your event and will cater to your needs.
Lord of the Dance Workshop Coming!
The NLIDA will be welcoming a member of Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance for a special workshop January 6-8th, 2016 in Cadillac. The NLID troupe will be undergoing an intense workshop with Mitchell DeSimone, who will come to Cadillac after finishing up on Broadway. There will be a special community Workshop for Irish Dancers beginners – Advanced on Thursday January 7th, 2016 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Advanced Registration Required. Cost to outside students is $25 per hour. The first hour will be for soft shoe and second hour for hard shoe! If you are an Irish Dancer you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn from this talented young man!
Wrapping up 2015 with Stomping and Kicking!
The NLID have had a busy fall and now are hunkered down in the studio to learn new steps and get ready for the Holiday Blitz on December 11th. This is a day of non-stop dancing to Assisted Living Centers and more! If your group or event needs some added Christmas cheer, give us a jingle and we will bring some Celtic to your party!
It is never too early to start thinking about St. Patrick’s Day. Irish Dancers are the best crowd pleaser you can ask for!
Special Irish Dance Workshop coming in January for Irish Dancers. Look for details to come! Unbelievable guest teacher!
NLID will be at Havenshire Faire Festival
Classes are starting for NLIDA, and the troupe is perfecting their dances for this upcoming celtic festival! We will be there Sunday, Oct. 4th from 10AM to 2PM. If you want to learn some Irish Dance, you will get the chance as well! Look for the link below and bring your whole family out!
https://www.facebook.com/havenshirefaire/videos/1650115505223663/
New Location and Class Times for NLIDA
Northern Lights Irish Dance Academy
has a new location in Cadillac!
Classes will now be held at 9116 East 13th Street
Next to Kiley Chiropractic/Across from the Soccer field
New Fall Irish Dance Class
Mondays for 6 weeks
5:00 – Continuing Irish Dance – this is for anyone who has taken class from NLIDA at any location.
6:00 – Beginning Irish Dance – little for no Irish Dance experience ages 6-18
7:00 Adult Irish – this is for beginning adults or teens! You have always wanted to try…here is your chance!
Starting September 21st – October 26th
Thursdays for 6 weeks
4:30 Beginning Irish – little or no experience ages 6-18.
5:30 Ceili Folk Dance Class- this is a fabulous class for exercise, Irish culture and dance! We will only work on group dancing, not solo! This is similar to square dancing. Ages 5 – adult.
6:30 Adult Irish Dance – Rare opportunity for me to be able to offer two adult times! Take both classes or just one. This is for beginning adults or teens!
Starting September 24th –October 29th
$10/session $60/term
Call today and reserve your spot at 231-779-9976! Check out the rest of the site to learn more about NLIDA.
Making the Summer Brighter!
Several performances down and we are excited to shine our lights at our upcoming venues! The Cadillac Arts Festival loved our Summer Performance today just 
as the rain stopped and heavens departed! If your group, festival or party needs a little Irish flair, we are starting to book up for the fall and winter.
If you are looking for Irish Dance lessons, regular classes will resume in mid September. Classes are for all ages and sizes; call to register today.
We are happy to run a workshop or special class to get your studio or area interested in Irish Dance as well. There will be a workshop up near Iron Mountain in October; please check the Schedule. This is a great way to introduce Irish Dancing to your dancers!
Two fabulous camps down and one to go! If your child from 6-18 is interested
in trying Irish Dance, a camp is the perfect place to start. There will be a camp at the Cadillac YMCA August 10-13, 2015; please call 231-775-6639 t
o register. If you would like us to have a camp in your area, please contact us directly and we will work something out.
Tapping into Summer!
Wow! I have to say that was an awesome St. Patrick’s Day tour. With 10 performances in over 4 days, the troupe leaped and shuffled their way into much applause. Now, we are tapping into our summer performances and perfecting dances that will bring joy to our summer venues!
Can we come this summer and bring toe-tapping music and energetic Irish dancing to your event? Call today!
St. Patrick’s Day Here WE Come!
If you are looking for dancers on or near St. Patrick’s Day, please call quickly! Our line up is looking awesome and the Show pieces this year are vibrant! We will be dancing for four days throughout northern Michigan (Petoskey, Traverse City, and multiple shows in the Cadillac area) and hope to bless hundreds with our love of Irish Dance.
Contact Gina Dewey: 231-779-9976 for some Irish Dancing fun!
Holiday Blitz 2015
Every year we take a day and perform for all the local assisted living and senior centers. This year we did 5 with 11 performances in each! I was truly amazed at how awesome these young people did each and every performance. This year we added some dazzle to our heads with reindeer antlers, wreaths and snowmen! Everyone loved it. St. Patrick’s Day is already booking, so contact soon, to see these Northern Lights shine at your event!
5th Irish Dancing Tale Available!
It is finally here and ready for you to read! Go to Triskelt or Amazon and find the last of the Irish Dancing Tales.. This story shares of teamwork and Ceili dancing. Learn how one member of a Ceili team learns about pride. Ceili dancing has been passed on through generations and is an important part of Irish Dancing and the Irish Culture. Enjoy this story whether you love dancing ceilis or you never have!
NLIDA goes to Troy for Michigan Irish Competition Feis
How does an Irish dancer get better? Practice!! Also, we can put our steps to the test by competition! Once again, NLID took to the road but this time to join some fellow dancers down south for a competition. For many this was a first, but for all, it was fun!
Now it is back to studio for preparation of the Holida
y Blitz! Want some Irish dancers for your holiday event? We begin our Holiday Blitz on December 10th. Call now for us to come and brighten up your event!
Irish Dance Stories NOW available
Reading stories has always been a love of mine and writing them is another. I believe have every child’s Irish dance story written and have read them to my students multiple times. So what does one do when, you run out of stories to read? Create your own! After a busy summer of writing, Gina Dewey and her illustrator mother, Sharon Iavasile, have 5 Irish Dance Stories! All them are based on a proverb that builds character and morals.
For years I have watched my mother Sharon Iavasile paint and take art classes. I am the proud owner of many of her water colors which hang on my walls. When I told her she was going to start painting Irish dancers, she was a bit hesitant, but now she is in full swing. It is great fun giving life to my stories through my own mother’s hand. She loves seeing purpose to her years of classes as well.
Three of the stories are already available on Amazon. One is about to be published and the other is about to be illustrated!
One Brick at a Time
A Choice of the Heart
Mary’s Heart
If you have an Irish Dancer, these stories are a must, young and old! If you just love Irish dancing and want to encourage someone young, these books are for you as well.
Welcome Fall! Welcome Back to Irish Dance
After a nice summer break, we are back in the swing of things ALMOST!
We have two class sites up and running but the third will not begin until October.
McBain Irish Dance Club is up and running strong. Dancers are back on their toes and excited about a new school year.
Classes held at home base are loud and energetic. New faces abound!
The Northern Lights Irish Dancers are gearing up for their next performance at
Emanuel Lutheran Church in Cadillac for their Harvest Festival on October 10, 2014
We will be dancing from 6:00-6:30 with some new and old dances!
Information on additional Cadillac City classes coming…
Irish Dance Camps
I will be holding 3 Irish Dance Camps this summer.
The first one is beginning on June 16th – June 19th at the Cadillac YMCA from 9-12. Register at the YMCA at 775-6639 as late as Monday morning!
The second camp will be held at McBain Elementary starting Monday, June 23 -26th from 9-12 each day. Please register through me for this camp at 779-9976. Normal price for the camp is $50 for the session, and an additional $10 for a optional T-Shirt.
The last camp will be at the YMCA again on August 11-14th. Again register through the YMCA to partake.
Each camp will be filled with Irish steps, Ceilis, games, crafts and language/culture learning! Age is 6-17! If you have a 5 year old that can handle it, that is fine. We have a ton of fun and the kids just love it!
Please pass this on to whomever might be interested and call Gina with any questions: 231-779-9976!
New Class on a New Day at a New Place!
Starting May 20th in Cadillac
Tuesdays
Beginners Class at 4:30 -5:30
Knights of Columbus Hall on 13th Street
Love to have you join! Tons of exorcise, fun and learning!
Contact Gina for more information: 231-779-9976
New Beginning Class on March 20th
Come Thursday, March 20, 2014 to the Cadillac YMCA for beginning Irish Dance lessons!
4:30-5:30 PM
Register at the YMCA or call to reserve your spot: 231-775-6639!
Booking now for St. Patrick’s Day
Call now to enhance your program with some traditional Irish Dancing! The Northern Lights will brighten up your celebration with either our 30 minute or hour program. Your audience will thoroughly enjoy our modern and traditional dances and they will learn about the Irish culture and tradition as well.
We can cater to whatever you have going on and are happy to discuss your event to give you an entertaining program.
Gina Dewey, Director
231-779-9976
Happy New Year!!!!!!!
Great Wolf Lodge here we come! We were invited to perform for the guests at GWL in Traverse City, MI for a couple of hours. What fun to spend a couple of hours on New Year’s Eve swinging, kicking and tapping for loads of people in bathing suits! The dancers gave two great performances and then we led the crowd in a Ceili where many had their first Irish Dance lesson! Our stage was perfect and and the location was ranked high in the unique category. We had a brand new dancer with us, who performed well, despite the odor of chlorine! Everyone had fun with the poppers, horns and hats while dancing. It was somewhat challenging to get all the poppers to go off in sync at the end of a rigorous treble reel, but the audience loved it. We will back to GWL on March 16th for our St. Patrick’s Day tour. The dancers are of course thrilled and will certainly enjoy their free passes to the water park by then!
Holiday Blitz!
Wow! I don’t think it ever made it to the forecasted 16 degrees…it stayed under 10 all day! It didn’t stop the NLID! Regardless, boy did the Northern Lights sure glow today. We had 4 fabulous shows with 13 terrific dancers daring the arctic weather.
Our first stop was one of our favorite assisted care facilities: Belle Oaks. Our newer dances did great for the first time and our older ones got even better. We had a new dancer with us today and though she was nervous, Cassie shined like a true Northern Lights dancer.
Next we visited some old friends at the Cadillac Senior Center. Lots of folks braved the weather just to see us dance. It was awesome. The best part was on our way out we noticed a photo on the wall from 2008 of one of the first times we performed there. What a change and so memorable. We really have had some fun Irish Dancing.
After lunch, we headed to Sunnyside Assisted Living. We were eager to get there, because we have a grandpa living there waiting to see us dance. The dancers danced all 12 dances exceptionally well and we enjoyed yummy treats afterward.
The last place of our snowy, chilly day was to First Baptist Church of Cadillac. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they host a free meal. Though we were only able to dance in soft shoes, we pulled out lots of beautiful numbers for a full hour of dancing and singing. The audience was thrilled…perhaps it was the warm meal and surroundings, but I do believe the smiles were a bit brighter from watching the dancers.
We so enjoy being able to share our love of Irish dancing with our community and bringing joy to those who need a smile. I am always amazed at how the dancers perform and keep all their steps in their head after a day of 4-5 shows. Thank you God for this time and this awesome thing you gave us to share. It really is a fun way to spend a day!
We will be at the Great Wolf Lodge December 31st from 3-5! Come on out and see us!
The Event of the Summer in Grand Rapids
We have been coordinating this event for the International Association of Assessing Officers at the DeVos Convention Center in Grand Rapids for months. It took a bit more work since we were dancing at 7:45 AM and only for 20 minutes. Nine dancers braved the intense performance and did splendidly for the 4000 or so that showed up!
From the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) website: The Northern Lights Irish Dancers provided a very entertaining start to the #IAAO2013 Opening Ceremony/Annual Business Meeting this morning!
We did not do a typical show with a myriad of solos and performance pieces. We did a show full of performance pieces only, which proved to be challenging to the dancers, but what an awesome show! They worked super hard rehearsal week and perfected all 6 dances!
We were so excited to have our Mary and Anna, our Minnesota dancers join us! What fun we had with them! It was just like old times!
See the video of this perfomance on the Video Page.
All photo credit goes to Robert Bruni with Ambience Photographer.
Great Job Northern Lights Irish Dancers!
Black Iron Days Drop in Dancing!
Not even a thought to dance with a bunch of black smiths, but the folk band was playing and a reel was requested…irish dancers cannot NOT dance when a reel or jig is in the air. The jig was harder to come by but one musician had a fiddle and she just picked it up and and began…then every dancer there just got up, ran over, and danced. So very cool!
Anna, Dot & Mary do the 3 hand reel!
Petoskey here we come!
The Bay Harbor Festival in Petoskey has welcomed us back for a third year! The crowd was thick under the tent and though our stage was missing we endeavored to dance soft shoes in the grass to a very happy crowd! This is a great kid festival with much to do and we enjoy being a part of it every year. Each show has its own flavor and combinations, but it is always fun when it changes the moment we get to a place. The dancers have learned much about spontonaity!
Of course they might love Petoskey so much for our lunch at the beach!
Irish Dance Camp #2 2013
August brought us another wonderful Irish Dance Camp at the Cadillac YMCA! We had 15 dancers attend and really had an awesome week. It was a week filled with solo dancing, ceili dancing, games and crafts. The dancers had great hard working attitudes and pushed in to learn a pretty difficu
lt ceili called the Antrim Reel.
We added snacks this time and boy did that help the little ones with their energy! I was really proud of the 3 five year olds who hung in there all week and
performed. Usually I only take 6 year olds.
Irish dance camp is a great way to get a dance down quickly and really focus on particular steps. I am amazed at how well dancers do in an intense format.
We can’t wait for next year!!
Irish Dance Camp One 2013
Happy Dancers!
June 17-20, 2013
Wow what a great week of Irish Dancing! Sixteen kids ages 5-15 joined us at the YMCA in Cadillac, Michigan to learn some Irish steps, ceilis, culture & language. This year we divided into 3 levels since we had a new and intermediate dancers to learn either the jig, reel or slip jig. We learned the Harvest Time Jig as our Ceili and worked on Walls of Limerick as well.
All the dancers made T-Shirts and other crafts. The geography of Ireland was learned as well. We played several games to learn the Irish language and everyone was counting and speaking Gaelic by the end!
Camp 2 is August 12-15! Return campers are welcome since we run a completely different camp! Hope to see lots of you there. Please contact the YMCA in Cadillac to register: 231-775-3369. If you have any questions regarding the Northern Lights Irish Dancers contact Gena directly: 231-779-9976.
Clare and the Red Hat Ladies
We had the honor of tapping our feet at a very special luncheon in Clare at our favorite hotel: the Doherty! A room filled with red & purple enjoyed our half hour show even though we thought the ventriliquist beforehand was hilarious. The dancers are still repeating her jokes!
As always our dancing has to include recreation and this time, we made a stop to General Jims! Who-ah!
- Private Jubilee Ray
