Nic Gareiss

• Celtic
• Dance
• Old Time

Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” dancer and musician Nic Gareiss has been hailed by the New York Times for his “dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance” and called “the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald.

Gareiss draws from his deep love of sound and gesture from across the North Atlantic: from a capella percussive dance pieces, simultaneous song and flatfoot numbers following the legacy of fellow Midwestern singer and dancer John Hartford, and virtuosic improvisations interpreting traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, Gareiss offers warmth, finesse, and do-it-yourself folk inventiveness through the medium of dance as music.

Nic received the Michigan Heritage Award, his state’s highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists and a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for traditional singer of the year. He has performed in sixteen countries with artists including The Chieftains, Bruce Molsky, Liz Carroll, The Gloaming, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, Bill Frisell, and Phil Wiggins at venues such as London’s Barbican Centre, the Munich Philharmonic, the Kennedy Center, and Steve Reich’s 75th birthday at the Cork Opera House. Always jubilant, often puckishly queer, Nic Gareiss is swiftly becoming recognized as a singular artistic presence in traditional dance and music.