Kay Seppala leads the Kivajat Dancers. As a folk dance instructor, she helps keep Finnish heritage alive in the Copper Country. And introduces heritage to new generations. Recently the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at MSU announced Seppala will receive a 2025 Michigan Heritage Award for her dedication to Finnish culture and the Kivajat dancers. She says truly the award acknowledges the great individuals who dance in the program.
It’s been a joy to be a part of this group and the best part of it all is that these kids are really great. They love to dance. You get them together, if there’s no music they’ll dance. so, the award is not just to me, it’s to all of us. – Kay Seppala, Instructor, Kivajat Dancers
During the summer Kivajat welcomes cruise ships at the Houghton Waterfront. And throughout the year the group performs at various cultural and community events such as Heikinpaiva, Juhannus, and Pasty Fest. The program even travels to Finn Fest in Duluth each year.
We’ve gone to Finland three times and we’ve done amazing fundraisers and the community has embraced us and helped us with that. Audience participation is always fun because as I say folk dancing is the dance of the people. – Kay Seppala, Instructor, Kivajat Dancers
Kivajat includes close to 50 dancers. Seppala says many enter the program and are encouraged by friends at school. Some have progressed through the ranks starting dancing with Kivajat at five years old.
and they work up through the ranks and my teen group is really quite good right now and the only limitation is me. I don’t have enough experience or knowledge to advance them so I have been blessed with a grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation to travel to Finland this fall. – Kay Seppala, Instructor, Kivajat Dancers
Students in the program wear traditional Finnish peasant clothing during performances. Seppala says each creates their own regalia. Through the support of the community and inclusion at various events during the year Kivajat keeps Finnish heritage alive, and offers a space for young people to explore talents.
And it’s also, children love to move, they love to dance, and it’s certainly different than training ballet or whatever, it’s just more of a folk thing. Folk dancing is the dance of the people. – Kay Seppala, Instructor, Kivajat Dancers
Next Wednesday the Kivajat dancers will perform on the Houghton Waterfront pier at 11:30 am, before traveling to Duluth at the end of July for Finn Fest. Learn more about the Kivajat dancers online. The kivajat dancers are sponsored by the Finnish American Heritage Center as a program of Finlandia Foundation National.
