Nic Gareiss
Percussive dancer Nic Gareiss (he/they) has been named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” and has been hailed by The New York Times for his “dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance.” Gareiss grew up learning footwork from Ireland, Canada, and Appalachia surrounded by fiddlers, banjo-players, and balladeers at folk festivals in Michigan – past, present, and future Anishinaabe land. This mix of instrumental music, song, and movement from rural places has become the heart of Nic’s creative work as a performer across the disciplines of traditional and contemporary music and dance. In 2020, he received the Michigan Heritage Award, the region’s highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists. His dancing has been heard on National Public Radio, including making NPR’s Best Roots Music of 2022 list for his visual album “The Thrill” with banjoist Allison de Groot.
Over his nearly 30-year career, Gareiss has performed in seventeen countries including at London’s Barbican Centre, the Irish National Concert Hall, the Liege Opera House, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Kennedy Center and collaborated with The Chieftains, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, The Gloaming, Colin Dunne, Yasmin Williams, Bruce Molsky, Sandy Silva, Bill Frisell, Jake Blount, and NEA National Heritage Fellows Phil Wiggins and Liz Carroll. Nic holds a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick. His thesis became the first piece of scholarship to center the experience of LGBTQ+ Irish step dancers, leading to a chapter in the 2017 book Queer Dance: Meanings & Makings, edited by Clare Croft published by Oxford University Press. www.nicgareiss.com // @nicgareisslfi