Community

Mar192024 by BCANo Comments

The joy of sharing dance: Bluegrass Ceili Academy gives back to Lexington

At Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Lexington's community Irish dance school, we celebrate our culture through dancing and we share it throughout the region. March and the St. Patrick's season might be our busiest time, but you can find our dancers spreading joy year-round. Our dancers bring the joy of Irish dance to senior centers, festivals, parades, and more – because everyone deserves a performance that makes their hearts sing! Why Bluegrass Ceili Academy gives back Giving back to the community is what we're is all about. We see dance as a powerful tool for connection and celebration. Here's what sharing our passion for Irish dance brings to Lexington: Building community: Dance connects people. Whether it's residents at a senior center tapping their toes or parade crowds clapping along, our performances create a sense…

Feb42024 by BCANo Comments

Vote Bluegrass Ceili Academy in Smiley Pete’s Best of Lex Awards!

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Community

Calling all dance enthusiasts, community supporters and lovers of a good step about! Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Lexington's community Irish dance school, is thrilled to be nominated for Best Dance School in Smiley Pete's Best of Lex Awards, and we need your help to get to the top of the podium! VOTE NOW! For eight years, we've been Lexington's heart and soul for all things Irish dance. From (not so) nimble beginners to seasoned step-dancers, our academy fosters a welcoming environment where everyone can learn, grow and celebrate the rich tradition of Irish dance. Here's why Bluegrass Ceili Academy deserves your vote: Dedicated instructors: Our passionate and qualified instructors share their love of Irish dance with every step, nurturing talent and fostering a supportive community. Inclusive atmosphere: We welcome dancers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, creating…

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…

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…

Jul142019 by BCANo Comments

Summer doesn’t slow down for this Lexington Irish dance school

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Community

From festivals to competitions to free classes, Bluegrass Ceili Academy, a community-based Lexington Irish dance school keeps the activities going all summer long. While our 2018-2019 classes wrapped up at the beginning of May, our dancers have kept dancing all summer long. On May 10, our youth Irish dance class took the stage at the Lexington Opera House for their year-end recital. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxTQBERlKgh/ The next day, our adults and a few of our youth dancers traveled up I-75 to Cincinnati for the Queen City Feis. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxU1OSwlRpR/ Then it was back home for the final night of Opera House recitals -- this time our Lexington Irish dance school team dancers took to the stage. (Be sure to scroll through all three photos below!) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxWC4-eFAeh/ Summer is festival season and there's no…

Nov132018 by Megan MNo Comments

Got shoes? Our Lexington Irish dance program will take them!

Community

While our community-based Lexington Irish dance program has had a lot of support at filling our used shoe bin over the past year, we can still use your help. If you have lightly used or outgrown shoes you could donate, we’d be happy to have them. What do our Lexington Irish dance students need? Our students are mostly ages 4-9 and while our bin is full of itty-bitty shoes, we're looking for donations of children's sizes 10 and up. Have other sizes? We'll be happy to accept those, too. Why do we need your donations? Currently, none of the dance supply stores in Lexington stock ghillies or hard shoes, and local competitions where vendors may be selling shoes are hours (and months) away from the start of our classes. We're also a…

Aug12018 by BCANo Comments

Bluegrass Ceili Academy awarded LexArts community arts grant

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Community, Uncategorized

Lexington's community-based Irish dance school, Bluegrass Ceili Academy, has been awarded a community arts development grant by LexArts to provide scholarships to dancers for the 2018-2019 class year. "We're truly honored for the generous support of LexArts, through its Fund for the Arts, which is funded in part by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government," said Academy director Megan Moloney. "With this grant, we'll be able to bring Irish dance to more students in our community, including both children and adults." According to LexArts' website, since its inception, the organization has raised millions of dollars in support of the local arts through its annual Fund for the Arts. In turn, LexArts underwrites general operating expenses for a variety of arts organizations and offers competitive Community Arts Grants for arts projects…

Mar252018 by Megan MNo Comments

At Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Irish dance makes our hearts sing all year long

Community, Local Events

“Do what makes your heart sing.” At Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Irish dancing does just that – makes our hearts sing and our spirits soar. In honor of a community leader, it’s now our motto. Alltech’s Dr. Pearse Lyons was an inspiration and a friend to so many in our community. I was fortunate to know him and spend time with him and his wife Deirdre at a number of events over the past decade. While he left this world on March 8, his immense influence carries on. This St. Patrick’s season Bluegrass Ceili Academy’s dancers answered Dr. Lyons’ call to "do what makes our hearts sing.” It’s a charge we will continue to carry with us beyond March, through the rest of this year and as we build our…

Dec132017 by Megan MNo Comments

It’ll be a foot-stomping good time at our Irish dance workshop in Lexington

Community, Irish Dance Classes in Lexington, Local Events

[caption id="attachment_985" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Mary Beth Taylor brings more than 20 years of experience teaching traditional Irish percussive dance to Central Kentucky for a weekend workshop January 13-14, 2018. Photo courtesy of http://www.irishdancedublin.com/ by Silvia Vitali.[/caption] Do you tap, clog, Irish dance or just enjoy a good toe-tapping tune? If so, spend your weekend with us making music with your feet at our Irish dance workshop in Lexington. The Bluegrass Irish Society, Bluegrass Ceili Academy and Kentucky McTeggart Irish Dancers are honored to bring Mary Beth Taylor to Lexington from Dublin, Ireland, for two days of traditional old style Irish séan nos and set dancing classes. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR THE WORKSHOP Meet the instructor for our Irish dance workshop in Lexington We're excited to bring Mary Beth…

Nov222017 by Megan MNo Comments

Happy Thanksgiving from our Lexington Irish dance school

Bluegrass Ceili Academy, Community

With Thanksgiving 2017 upon us, we at Bluegrass Ceili Academy wanted to thank our Lexington Irish dance school family for all that you bring to our community. We've had a busy year so far and there's still a lot coming up this fall and early in 2018, so we're excited to share some of those events with you. But first... all of the things for which we are thankful: Our students: From our beginners, to our returning students, to our adults, we are grateful for each and every pair of feet dancing across our studio floor. Our parents: In case your dancers haven't said so, we say "THANK YOU!" for choosing to make our Irish dance classes part of your child's cultural growth. Our partners: Our Lexington Irish dance school is…