Rhythm in the Desert

One of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," Nic Gareiss (he/they) 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. They reimagine movement as a musical practice, recasting dance as a medium that appeals to both eyes and ears. Born, raised, and residing in what some people call Michigan, Gareiss engages many percussive dance traditions, weaving together a singular dance practice marked by his love of clog, flatfoot, and step dance footwork vocabulary; improvisation; and musical collaboration. Gareiss received the 2020 Michigan Heritage Award, the region’s highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists. They have performed in seventeen countries including at London's Barbican Centre, the Irish National Concert Hall, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Kennedy Center and collaborated with The Chieftains, The Gloaming, Phil Wiggins, Colin Dunne, Liz Carroll, Bruce Molsky, Sandy Silva, Bill Frisell, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. Nic's graduate thesis was the first piece of scholarship to center the experience of LGBTQ Irish step dancers, he holds a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick.