BCA

Sep52021 by BCANo Comments

Bluegrass Ceili named Readers’ Choice for favorite Lexington dance studio

Community, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!! The Lexington Herald Leader's 2021 Reader's Choice Awards were announced August 15 and thanks to our community, Bluegrass Ceili Academy was named your favorite Lexington dance studio. "We feel the love and we thank you for voting for us," said academy director Megan Moloney. The Reader's Choice Award was the second big recognition for Central Kentucky's community-based Irish dance program in August. Earlier in the month, Irish Dancing Magazine named Moloney one of 23 teachers worldwide receiving their 2021 Excellence in Teaching award. "One of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is 'though she be but little, she is fierce.," Moloney explained. "I think it fits Bluegrass Ceili Academy perfectly -- though we are a small, community-based program, it's clear that…

Aug22021 by BCANo Comments

Bluegrass Ceili’s Megan Moloney recognized for excellence in teaching

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Instruction

The founder and director of Lexington's community-based Irish dance school was recently recognized with a global excellence in teaching award. Bluegrass Ceili Academy's Megan Moloney is one of just 23 individuals worldwide who were singled out for Irish Dancing Magazine's 2021 Irish Dancing Teacher Awards. "It's such an amazing thing to be able to share my chosen art with others. It's an even more amazing thing when you can see the impact you have on them. And when you're recognized for that impact at a global level? That's so very special," Moloney said. In April, Irish Dancing Magazine announced they were seeking nominations for dance teachers with qualities that reflect a standard of excellence that goes beyond competitive results. Students from Bluegrass Ceili Academy nominated Moloney for not only her…

Jul212021 by BCANo Comments

Irish dancing in Lexington… all the way through the summer!

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington

With Bluegrass Ceili Academy, we're finding way to keep you Irish dancing in Lexington all throughout the year. Our winter and spring class sessions at Artworks at the Carver School are just one option for our dancers, who have kept on their toes this summer with drills classes, preparation for grade exams and competitions, as well as a few performances. Here's a look at a few of the the opportunities our youth and adult dancers have had since the beginning of May. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEVxlbbNBf4 In May, we wrapped up our spring classes with a performance onstage at Lexington's MoonDance Amphitheater as part of the Kiddie Kapers and Company spring dance recital. Our Saturday summer drills class not only focuses on the fundamentals, but on creating fun new choreographies, such as a…

Jan152021 by BCANo Comments

Virtual Irish dance workshop brings dancers together Jan. 16

Uncategorized

Join us via Zoom For the last three years, we’ve been honored to host a percussive Irish dance workshop in Lexington over MLK weekend. Because of COVID-19 and travel restrictions in Ireland and around the nation, we won’t be able to meet in person this year, but want to get together with friends near and far. On Saturday, Jan. 16, join with dancers worldwide for a FREE mini-workshop featuring a specially created Zoom percussive dance that we’re turning into a virtual challenge. Then our workshop alumni are invited to stay online for a chance to chat and catch up with dance friends. Zoom login details will be sent to all registered participants via the email you provide. Click here to register online. Here’s what’s on tap for our percussive Irish dance workshop Schedule…

Aug302020 by BCANo Comments

Connecting globally to serve our Lexington Irish dance school community

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington

Photo from January 2020's Percussive Irish Dance Workshop What classes look like at our Lexington Irish dance school over the last few months are certainly different than the last time we were in our Artworks studio. Video lessons and review, Zoom classes and outdoor instruction are all ways we’ve kept our dancers moving over the summer. As we head back into classes this September, there are more changes coming for Bluegrass Ceili Academy and we’re excited to share them with you. Focusing on fundamentals This fall, the classes for both our youth and adult dancers at our Lexington Irish dance school will focus on the fundamentals of Irish step dancing. Different from the ceili dancing we usually teach, this year’s instruction will include learning what we call “solo” dances --…

Jul122020 by BCANo Comments

Irish dancing in Lexington amidst a pandemic: Staying healthy at dance

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington

Irish dancing in Lexington, and around the world, has changed in the post-COVID 19 world and Bluegrass Ceili Academy is adapting to change with it. We'd like to share with you some of the steps we're taking. While hand sanitizer was a staple in our classrooms before March -- with all the hand-holding our choreography requires, it kept the flu and other bugs away -- it's now just one of multiple health precautions we have to take. Masks, social distancing, sanitizer and hand-washing are all things we're asking our dancers to do. What Irish dancing in Lexington looks like now For our community-based Irish dance school, dancing together now means a number of different things. Since March, we've taken our dancing to the computer screen with recorded classes on Google…

Jan32020 by BCANo Comments

Why join our Lexington Irish dance community?

Instruction

Perspective. Experience. Community. Mission. It’s what matters. It’s also why you should join our Bluegrass Ceili Academy Irish dance community. While Bluegrass Ceili is Lexington’s newest Irish dance school, our program brings more than two decades of expertise to Central Kentucky. We’re invested in a community-based approach for our students. But why does that matter? Perspective matters The love of dance and music knows no age limit. That’s why we offer Irish dance classes for children and adults in partnership with Lexington Parks and Recreation and with the support of LexArts. We know extracurricular activities can be expensive and so we've created a program that focuses on art and tradition, and not the pageantry of the dance world. With the help of our partners, we strive to keep our classes and…

Nov132019 by BCANo Comments

Bluegrass Ceili Academy’s award-winning kilt design heading to production

Bluegrass Ceili Academy

The email header read: "We have a tartan contest winner." The headline: "Sing it out loud." But what was inside the email was the news dancers at Lexington's Bluegrass Ceili Academy had been waiting for. The school's "Heart Sings" tartan design was selected the winner from 360 designs in Sport Kilt's October contest. The design was among the top five most popular entries receiving votes from the public during the month-long contest. "We're thrilled to learn that our design, which represents the spirit and history of our community-based dance program, was selected for production by Sport Kilt," said Megan Moloney, director of Bluegrass Ceili Academy. "Knowing we'll be able to wear a custom-created, American-made dance costume that represents who we are, what we stand for and the community we call…

Nov42019 by BCANo Comments

Percussive Irish dance workshop in Lexington returns with new classes

Instruction, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington, Uncategorized

A two-day Irish dance workshop in Lexington Jan. 18-19, 2020, will explore the roots of Irish and percussive dance styles. The event returns for the third year to Artworks at the Carver School and for the first time features classes on percussive improvisation and Appalachian flatfooting. Whether you tap, clog, Irish dance or just enjoy a good toe-tapping tune, we invite you to spend your weekend making music with your feet. Join us as we bring acclaimed dancer and instructor Mary Beth Taylor to Lexington from Dublin, Ireland, for two days of traditional old style Irish séan nos and set dancing classes. Taylor will be joined this year by Julie Shepherd-Powell, an award-winning Appalachian flatfoot dancer, and Carla Gover, a Kentucky Folklife Program master artist in traditional dance, who will teach…

Oct162019 by BCANo Comments

Our “Heart Sings” in Bluegrass Ceili tartan designed for SportKilt contest

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Community, Uncategorized

The "Heart Sings" tartan represents the past, present and future of Lexington's community-based Irish dance program. Click and vote for it here until the first week of November. Dancers at Lexington's Bluegrass Ceili Academy regularly rock the Big Blue, a tartan from U.S.-made SportKilt. Now we're taking a chance on getting our very own tartan made and we need your help to do it. SportKilt recently announced its "Put the Art in Tartan" contest, allowing individuals to design their own colorful patterns. "[T]artans have been worn to express family, region or individual pride for nearly 2,000 years," according to the contest website. Taking on the tartan challenge As a proud part of SportKilt's #ClanBrave, Lexington's community-based Irish dance school submitted design for the company's tartan contest. And while the design…