Our Mission
To promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the Irish culture through dance. We are dedicated to teaching students as individuals, instilling a positive self-confidence in our dancers and helping them to achieve their highest level of this unique form of dance.
Performance Requests
The Celtic Academy performs for various organizations and functions in the greater Dayton and southwest Ohio area throughout the year, with the highlight being around St. Patrick’s Day. Call us, 937-238-7792, to book a performance for your event or send an email to celticacademydayton@gmail.com.
Our History
The Celtic Academy of Irish Dance is Dayton’s premier Irish Dance School having been voted Best of Dayton by Dayton Magazine and Dayton.com. Under the direction of Mary Laffey Beemsterboer, the Celtic Academy is known for its family atmosphere enabling a fun and growing fellowship among the dancers, teachers and parents.
Within our positive environment, our teachers are continually working hard and creating innovative ways to help every dancer achieve his or her goals in this unique & intricate form of dance. Instilling the importance of striving for excellence in both the competitive and non-competitive arenas, the dancers of the Celtic Academy Dance Like Champions and Love Like Family.
Receiving awards on the local, regional, national and world levels, the Celtic Academy Youth and Adult ceili teams have titles from the Mid-America Regional Championships, and our teams and soloists have won medals from the Mid-America Regional Championships, North American Irish Dance Championships and the prestigious World Irish Dancing Championships. The Adult Group alone holds an impressive 7 Mid-America Region Championship titles.
As Dayton’s premier Irish dance school, the Celtic Academy has performed with National & Internationally known bands Gaelic Storm, The Elders, Scythian and We Banjo Three. St. Patrick’s Day is the highlight of the year, with performances at over 70 locations, as well as many performances throughout the year for various organizations and functions, including the United Irish of Dayton Celtic Festival, the A World A’Fair, the Ohio Renaissance Festival and the Harlem Globetrotters. Always in high demand, the Celtic Academy feels privileged to be able to share the joy of Irish Dance not only within Dayton but also its surrounding communities.