Blackthorn Academy of Irish Dance

Come dance with the Meese tomorrow night at 7:30pm! Free ceili class for all!

📍420 W. 12th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401
💰Free!
🕖 7:30pm to 9pm
👟 Wear comfy shoes and clothes and bring a water bottle!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the National Dance Week Kickoff Party last Friday! Your energy and excitement made the night one to remember.

The fun isn't over yet! National Dance Week runs through Sunday, April 26, and our amazing dance community has a lot to offer. Check out the online National Dance Week Guide to find dozens of workshops, classes, performances and social dances happening throughout Eugene all week long. Some dance studios, including Rebelle Movement and Flex Studios LLC, are offering FREE classes this week!

Access the guide and learn more at eugene-or.gov/4146/National-Dance-Week. We can't wait to get moving with you!

Image: dancers from Elite Dance Company performing at Friday's Kickoff Party.

We'll be putting on a quick performance this Saturday starting at noon. Come celebrate National Dance Week with us!

We hope to see you at the National Dance Week Kickoff Party this Friday, but the dancing doesn't stop there! Swing by Kesey Square 12-1:30 p.m. this Saturday, April 18, for a series of free outdoor performances. Blackthorn Academy of Irish Dance, Eugene Scottish Country Dancers (from Eugene Folklore Society), Carlos Rasmussen and Thrill The World EUG will showcase their unique dance styles. Produced by Harmonic Laboratory as part of the Artistic Encounters series.

As promised, the rest of the pictures from our JCPenney Portraits champ photoshoot. We’re starting off strong with our best picture, the one that inspired this to begin with.

Western U.S. Region Irish Dance Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America CLRG Irish Dancing Commission

Our champs had a fantastic idea and on a whim we decided to follow it! We booked an awkward photoshoot at JCPenney Portraits and showed up in our best outfits for awkward family photos. Chaos ensued.

What you see here is part one of the results of that photoshoot, all the portrait photos. The landscape ones will be posted tomorrow, and you’ll want to look for them because there is an absolute GEM in there.

Western U.S. Region Irish Dance Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America CLRG Irish Dancing Commission

PSA to all cat-owning dancers: the Irish dance outfit from Build-A-Bear Workshop fits cats! Mochi is ready for her first class!

(she was not left in the outfit, she had it on for pictures only and then it was removed much to her dismay, this is not an ad)

☘️ ST. PATRICK’S DAY 2026☘️

We had a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day this year! We put on a total of 18 performances over eight days so we are absolutely exhausted. We danced for care homes, schools, a race, parties, and even a campaign! Every year we have more dancers join us so it’s not surprising that we had more dancers than ever before dancing with us on stage this season. We loved dancing at every single performance and are already booking more shows throughout the rest of the year!

Western U.S. Region Irish Dance CLRG Irish Dancing Commission Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America

Come dance with us, Corvallis!

Our spring dance at C3 is TOMORROW! Join us as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

The Blackthorn Academy of Irish Dance is joining us for a performance of soft-shoe and hard-shoe dances!

WHEN: Friday, March 20th, 2026 from 7pm - 9pm
Performance by Blackthorn Academy of Irish Dance from 7pm-7:30pm
WHERE: Corvallis Community Center
HOW MUCH: $5 at the door

This is an 18+ event that is inclusive for adults with disabilities. All are welcome!
Co-sponsored by Corvallis Parks & Recreation

Corvallis! Come hang out and dance with us next Friday!

Our spring dance at C3 is coming up! Will you be there?

WHEN: Friday, March 20th, 2026 from 7pm - 9pm
Performance by Blackthorn Academy of Irish Dance from 7pm-7:30pm
WHERE: Corvallis Community Center
HOW MUCH: $5 at the door

This is an 18+ event that is inclusive for adults with disabilities. All are welcome!
Co-sponsored by Corvallis Parks & Recreation

❄️ HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ❄️

We had our annual holiday party yesterday and it was a blast! Alex surprised everyone with awards for dancers who performed the most minutes in 2025, with everyone who performed in at least one show earning a medal and the top five who performed the most minutes getting trophies! The top five dancers are…..

🏆 In fifth place, with 675 minutes performed, Shannon!
🏆 In fourth place, with 695 minutes performed, Clara!
🏆 In third place, with 795 minutes performed, Griff!
🏆 In second place, with 1005 minutes performed, Stella!
🏆 And in first place, with 1255 minutes performed, Catherine!

We also had our biggest white elephant gift exchange yet, with over 20 gifts being given! Highlights include an amazing hanging disco ball decoration, a huge pack of electrical tape (iykyk), an amazing bird mug, and the biggest glob of slime you’ve ever seen. There were delicious snacks and desserts shared by all (WHO made those pistachio cookies?! They were amazing!) and wonderful memories made.

From our hearts to yours, happy holidays! We hope you stay safe and warm and get to spend time with those you love most. If you get a break from dance, enjoy it! St. Patrick’s Day prep starts back up in January! ☘️

Western U.S. Region Irish Dance Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America CLRG Irish Dancing Commission

🏆 OIREACHTAS RESULTS 🏆

This year we sent more dancers than ever to the Western US Regional Oireachtas with seven dancers competing across two days! We had an 86% recall rate which we are absolutely thrilled with. This was a major accomplishment for us - several of our dancers were returning to competition after years away and one dancer competing at their first major ever. We also had some great results at the mini-feis on Sunday! We are so proud of all of our dancers and can’t wait to celebrate with them at our holiday party in a few weeks!

As an additional win, Katie found out this weekend that she passed her subspecialty boards! She’s now a board-certified child psychiatrist! Huge congratulations to you, Katie, we are so proud of you! All that hard work has really paid off! 🎉

Without further ado, let’s get into the results:

✨ ALY ✨
🏆 2nd place, Adult U40 Traditional Set

✨ CATHERINE ✨
17th place, Adult U40 Traditional Set

✨ CLARA ✨
7th place, U12 Traditional Set

✨ KATIE ✨
🏆 4th place, Adult U40 Traditional Set
🏆 1st in Prizewinner Adult Treble Jig

✨ LEXI ✨
27th place, Adult U40 Traditional Set
3rd in Beginner Adult Reel
3rd in Beginner Adult Light Jig
3rd in Beginner Adult Slip Jig
🏆 1st in Beginner Adult Single Jig

✨ SHAE ✨
7th place, Senior Men’s Solos

✨STELLA✨
11th place, U8 Traditional Set
3rd in Advanced Beginner Treble Jig
2nd in Prizewinner Light Jig
3rd in Prizewinner Single Jig

CLRG Irish Dancing Commission Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America Western U.S. Region Irish Dance