WORKSHOPS & SESSIONS
The Saline Celtic Festival holds a variety of music and dance workshops on Friday night and throughout the day on Saturday Festival weekend. Workshops include Tin Whistle, Sea Shanty Singing, Bodhran Drum, Fiddle, Step Dancing, Contra Dancing, Ceili Dance, and "Try An Instrument" Workshops. They're led by local experts in their fields, and are open to beginner through advanced-level participants! Try one or many, and bring your own instruments to learn more about how they work.
2023 Workshop Schedule
Friday Night:
Workshops that will be in various locations around the festival beginning at 6:00pm - please plan to arrive at 5:45 P.M so you can get to your workshop on time!
6:00 pm Contra Dance - Maeve Devlin, music by Michael Bean - Highland Dance Stage, Building G
Ottawa Valley Step Dance - Moire Kosmalsk - Dublin Dance Stage, Building F
Intermediate Fiddle - Sarah Vaujin, Saline Fiddlers Artistic Director - Foyer C-D
Bring your own fiddle!
Sea Shanty Singing - Banjo Betsy & Friends - Sessions Area - Building D
Beginning Tin Whistle - Tristan Pruss (DIMA) - Foyer E-F
Whistles available for purchase or bring your own, must be in the Key of D.
Bodhran Drum - Elizabeth Collins - Foyer D-E
Bring your own drum or use our”pizza box” drum.
7:00 pm Ottawa Valley Step Dance Demonstration - Explorers Home School Dancers - Dublin Dance Stage, Building F
7:15 pm Adult Irish Dance Class Performance led by Jen Paruk- Dublin Dance Stage, Building F
7:30 pm Participatory Ceili with Maeve Devlin, music by Michael Bean (DIMA) - Highland Dance Stage - Building G
Session led by DIMA in our new Session Area! Building D
Saturday:
1:00 pm Learn the Irish Jig - Jen Paruk, Alumna of U of M's LIAM Irish Dancers - Dublin Dance Stage, Building F
Try and Instrument Petting Zoo - DIMA musicians - Foyer D-E (ends at 3:00 pm)
1:30 pm Intermediate Fiddle Workshop - Sarah Vaujin- Artistic director for the Saline Fiddlers - Foyer C-D
Must bring and be able to play your own fiddle!
Tin Whistle - Tristan Pruss, DIMA - Foyer E-F
Whistles for sale at the workshop or bring your own, must be in the Key of D.
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2:30 pm Participatory Celi - Motor City Irish Dance
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3:00 pm Storyteller David Kiley, Michigan Irish Repertory Theater - Foyer C-D
Irish Dance Presentation Motor City Irish Dance - Dublin Dance Stage
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3:30 pm Purcell Irish Pipers - Uillean Pipes Demonstration - Foyer E-F
4:00 pm Participatory Ceili Dance- called by Maeve Devlin, music by Michael Bean - Dublin Dance Stage
5:00 pm CommonWealth Dance Collective - Dublin Dance Stage
We couldn't do it without them.
AACTMAD is the Ann Arbor Community for Traditional Music and Dance, a nonprofit participatory membership organization that enriches people's lives and sense of community through traditional music, dance, song, and related arts.
As a longtime supporter of the workshops offered at the festival, they have provided funding, advice, encouragement and many folks who share their passion and wisdom at the workshops.
The Detroit Irish Music Association (DIMA) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Irish music and culture in Southeast Michigan. Since 2010, it has proudly been based at the Green Wood Center, on Ann Arbor's east side.
DIMA has long supported and nurtured the Workshops at the festival as well as several generations of traditional musicians in the Detroit area, going back to the 1970's.
Thank you!