Yeates Academy Summer Camps + Workshops
Yeates Academy of Irish Dance, 4231 North Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97217
About
Yeates Academy Summer Camps + Workshops include Irish dance, storytelling, music, arts and crafts, dance games, and both hard shoe and soft shoe Irish dance. Campers and workshop participants may watch videos of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, review soft shoe dances, learn new dance steps, learn hard shoe steps and rhythms, and take part in ceili (team) dancing and traditional set dances. The Traditional Set Dance Workshop is also part of the program offerings.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Week-long, half-day camps and workshops typically held over 5 days in July or August
Jigs for Kids™ is a 5-day camp that celebrates Irish culture and traditions through storytelling, music, and dance, and all campers receive a Yeates Academy t-shirt as part of their registration. The Yeates Beginner Studio Workshop + Summer Camp is a 5-day camp that includes an introduction to hard shoe and soft shoe Irish dance, review of soft shoe dances, learning new dance steps, and an introduction to ceili dancing, and all campers receive a Yeates t-shirt. The Yeates Novice Studio Workshop + Summer Camp is a 5-day, week-long half-day camp that includes learning hard shoe steps and rhythms, ceili dancing, and traditional set dances, and all campers receive a Yeates t-shirt.
The Yeates Academy of Irish Dance and Yeates Academy Performance Dancers were established in Portland, Oregon in 1985, and the school opened its doors in 1985. The Yeates Academy of Irish Dance is an accredited Irish dance school through the Irish Dance Commission (CLRG) and is Oregon’s longest running accredited Irish dance school, as well as the longest running Irish dance school in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The school has been the leading force for Irish culture and dance in the Portland area since its inception, and many dancers have reached championship status and have gone on to qualify to dance at the US Regionals and Nationals, and the World Championships.
The leadership team includes Sinéad Yeates, TCRG – Owner, Director, & Senior Instructor; Breda Yeates – Owner/Director; and studio directors Sinéad Yeates and Breda Yeates. Teaching staff include Sinéad Yeates, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance teacher with 20 years of experience as an accredited Irish dance teacher; Meaghan Feeback, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance instructor since 2014; Meghan Bjerke, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance instructor since April 2020; and Michael Smith, TCRG & ADCRG, a world-renowned Irish dance choreographer. In September of 2021, Sinéad Yeates was awarded a global Irish Dancing Teacher Award from Irish Dancing Magazine.
The program’s stated mission is to provide a fair, safe, and comfortable teaching environment for students, with a family-oriented environment where each student is encouraged to reach his or her potential by listening and accepting feedback from teachers. The mission also states that experienced teachers are committed to providing a quality Irish dance education with a spirit of building self-esteem and confidence.
Workshops are described as a standard component of Irish dance education and essential for the competitive dancer, and entering competition (feiseanna) is encouraged but not required. It is a requirement for all dancers competing in feiseanna to participate in workshops as part of their training. Dancers attending major competitions such as Oireachtas, Nationals, and World are required to attend the Michael Smith workshop, competitive Novice/Prizewinner dancers are required to attend at least one Michael Smith workshop a year, and Preliminary/Open Champions dancers are required to take the Michael Smith workshops. In the event that a dancer cannot take the Michael Smith workshop due to unforeseen circumstances, a percentage of the workshop fee is charged so that the material can be focused on in class.
Workshop participants are instructed to wear a t-shirt and shorts and bring Irish dance soft shoes or ballet shoes, jazz shoes, or tennis shoes. Participants are asked to bring their own water bottle and snack each day with the camper’s name on all items. Irish dancing shoes are not required for new beginners and camp dancers, but students registering for the Yeates Beginner Studio Workshop must have hard shoes. The cancellation policy states that all camp registration fees are refundable up to 30 days before the camp start date, minus a $20 admin fee, and cancellations less than 30 days out are non-refundable.
Last updated July 4, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Week-long, half-day camps and workshops typically held over 5 days in July or August
Jigs for Kids™ is a 5-day camp that celebrates Irish culture and traditions through storytelling, music, and dance, and all campers receive a Yeates Academy t-shirt as part of their registration. The Yeates Beginner Studio Workshop + Summer Camp is a 5-day camp that includes an introduction to hard shoe and soft shoe Irish dance, review of soft shoe dances, learning new dance steps, and an introduction to ceili dancing, and all campers receive a Yeates t-shirt. The Yeates Novice Studio Workshop + Summer Camp is a 5-day, week-long half-day camp that includes learning hard shoe steps and rhythms, ceili dancing, and traditional set dances, and all campers receive a Yeates t-shirt.
The Yeates Academy of Irish Dance and Yeates Academy Performance Dancers were established in Portland, Oregon in 1985, and the school opened its doors in 1985. The Yeates Academy of Irish Dance is an accredited Irish dance school through the Irish Dance Commission (CLRG) and is Oregon’s longest running accredited Irish dance school, as well as the longest running Irish dance school in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The school has been the leading force for Irish culture and dance in the Portland area since its inception, and many dancers have reached championship status and have gone on to qualify to dance at the US Regionals and Nationals, and the World Championships.
The leadership team includes Sinéad Yeates, TCRG – Owner, Director, & Senior Instructor; Breda Yeates – Owner/Director; and studio directors Sinéad Yeates and Breda Yeates. Teaching staff include Sinéad Yeates, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance teacher with 20 years of experience as an accredited Irish dance teacher; Meaghan Feeback, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance instructor since 2014; Meghan Bjerke, TCRG, an accredited Irish dance instructor since April 2020; and Michael Smith, TCRG & ADCRG, a world-renowned Irish dance choreographer. In September of 2021, Sinéad Yeates was awarded a global Irish Dancing Teacher Award from Irish Dancing Magazine.
The program’s stated mission is to provide a fair, safe, and comfortable teaching environment for students, with a family-oriented environment where each student is encouraged to reach his or her potential by listening and accepting feedback from teachers. The mission also states that experienced teachers are committed to providing a quality Irish dance education with a spirit of building self-esteem and confidence.
Workshops are described as a standard component of Irish dance education and essential for the competitive dancer, and entering competition (feiseanna) is encouraged but not required. It is a requirement for all dancers competing in feiseanna to participate in workshops as part of their training. Dancers attending major competitions such as Oireachtas, Nationals, and World are required to attend the Michael Smith workshop, competitive Novice/Prizewinner dancers are required to attend at least one Michael Smith workshop a year, and Preliminary/Open Champions dancers are required to take the Michael Smith workshops. In the event that a dancer cannot take the Michael Smith workshop due to unforeseen circumstances, a percentage of the workshop fee is charged so that the material can be focused on in class.
Workshop participants are instructed to wear a t-shirt and shorts and bring Irish dance soft shoes or ballet shoes, jazz shoes, or tennis shoes. Participants are asked to bring their own water bottle and snack each day with the camper’s name on all items. Irish dancing shoes are not required for new beginners and camp dancers, but students registering for the Yeates Beginner Studio Workshop must have hard shoes. The cancellation policy states that all camp registration fees are refundable up to 30 days before the camp start date, minus a $20 admin fee, and cancellations less than 30 days out are non-refundable.
Last updated July 4, 2026.
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