One of Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, Nic Gareiss (he/they) grew up at folk festivals learning Appalachian, Irish, English, and Canadian step dance surrounded by fiddlers, cloggers, and folk singers in what some folks call Michigan. This mix of traditional movement, music, and song has become the heart of Nic's creative work as a contemporary folk performer. Hailed by the New York Times for "dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance," Gareiss has been called "the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald. In 2020 Nic received the Michigan Heritage Award, the region's highest distinction bestowed on traditional artists. Holding a MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Nic's thesis was the first piece of scholarship to query the experience of fellow LGBTQ+ Irish step dancers. He has performed in seventeen countries including at composer Steve Reich's 75th birthday celebration at the Cork Opera House, as well as at London's Barbican Centre, Paris' Salle Gaveau, the Munich Philharmonic, Jacob's Pillow, and Fall For Dance North, which presented Nic's collaboration with dancer Caleb Teicher at rural farms, parks, and vineyards. More recently, Nic's visual album with banjoist Allison de Groot made NPR's yearly list of best roots music. Entitled The Thrill, it serves as an ongoing mutual aid project for Appalachian flood relief and can be experienced on Bandcamp. www.nicgareiss.com / @NicGareissLFI