An Daire Academy:
Flathead Valley Irish Dance


Northwest Ballet School's Dance Art Center

1411 1st Avenue West Kalispell, Montana  


FAMILY

FUN

FITNESS

An Daire Academy of Irish Dance was founded in 2006 by the husband & wife team of Jim and Lauren Mueller.   Like the oak tree from which the name comes, the school has branches throughout the western region.  In July 2020 Claire Gutschenritter and Lauren Crowe-Mueller launched An Daire Academy: Flathead Valley Irish Dance, now offering classes in both Kalispell and Whitefish.  Our dancers learn the benefits of hard work, strong character, and deep roots in an environment focused on family, fun, and fitness.​

Instructors

Lauren Crowe-Mueller, TCRG, ADCRG

Director & Dance Instructor

Lauren hails from Portland, Oregon, where she was a 1988 Rose Festival Princess.  Trained in musical theater before applying her talents to Irish dancing, she has appeared on “Prime Time  Country” and “Live At The Grand Ole Opry,” danced with The Chieftains, and  performed at renaissance festivals throughout the United States.

A two-time qualifier for the World Irish Dance Championships, Lauren spent much of 1999 and 2000 touring nationally with “Dancing on Common Ground.”  In addition, she appeared with her husband, Jim, on the cover of the December 2000 issue of “Irish Dancing Magazine.”  In 2005, Lauren earned her TCRG, teacher’s certification with the Irish Dance Commission (CLRG), and in 2017 earned her ADCRG, adjudicator’s certification. Lauren has also appeared in nationally-syndicated television programs including TNT’s “Leverage” and NBC’s “Grimm.”


Claire Gutschenritter

Dance Instructor &  Flathead Valley Director


Claire Gutschenritter began dancing at eight years old after her grandparents brought her to see a Riverdance performance in Chicago.   As a youth, she trained and performed in Chicago with the Sheila Tully Academy of Irish Dance and the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance.  After graduating from Northwestern University, Gutschenritter earned her master's in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in music from the University of Montana.  A former dancer with Missoula Irish Dancers, she has been teaching both Irish dance and grade school in Kalispell since 2012.