MEET THE IRISH DANCE ACADEMY OF ALASKA
Lauren Crowe-Mueller, TCRG, ADCRG
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.
In addition to spending much of 1999 and 2000 touring nationally with “Dancing on Common Ground,” Lauren is also a two-time qualifier for the World Irish Dance Championships. Lauren and her husband Jim appeared on the cover of the December 2000 issue of “Irish Dancing Magazine.” In 2005, she earned her TCRG, teacher’s certification, with the Irish Dance Commission (CLRG), and in 2017 she earned her ADCRG, adjudicator’s certification.
Lauren is also a member of SAG/AFTRA and appeared in nationally syndicated television programs including TNT’s “Leverage” and NBC’s “Grimm.
Jim Mueller, TCRG, ADCRG
Jim is a native of Portland, Oregon. He learned his first Irish steps as a post-graduate hobby, then went on to become a successful international competitor, placing 2nd at the North American Championships and 4th at the All-Irelands.
Jim is a Western US Regional Champion and three-time qualifier for the World Irish Dance Championships. He spent 1999 and 2000 touring nationally with “Dancing on Common Ground,” and with his wife, Lauren, appeared on the cover of the December 2000 issue of Irish Dance Magazine. In 2003, Jim earned his TCRG, teacher’s certification, and now travels throughout North America much of the year judging Irish dance competitions. In 2012, Jim was elected Vice President of the North American Feis Commission, the first teacher to be elected to the executive board. Jim currently serves within the office of the Western Regional Board and has authored a Ceili book entitled, “Rince Fóirne Caillte: Thirty Lost Figure Dances.”
Miriam Dean, TMRF
Miriam TMRF has a certification with An Coimisium le Rinci Gaelacha
(Irish Dance Commission). She was born in Dublin, Ireland. She was a dancer with the Farrell Sisters School of Irish Dancing in Rochester, N.Y. The Farrell Sisters were Sarah Keegan and Bridget Maloney; Miriam’s mother and aunt.
Miriam founded the Keegan Academy of Irish Dancing and started teaching Irish Dancing in 1992.
Miriam founded the Irish Dance Academy of Alaska in 1997.
Eden Barrington, Dance Assistant
Eden Barrington started Irish Dancing at the age of 7 and was one of IDAA’s first group of dancers, where she continued to dance until her college years.
Jumping to 2016, while 4 months pregnant, she and her husband became Southern Region Champions. She last competed at NAIDC in 2021 placing 17th in the US.
Her two sons, Declan and Olen, have now started dancing to carry on the love of Irish dance. Mrs. Barrington plans on dancing until she’s 80 years old
Diana Hard, Dance Assistant
Diana Hard has been immersed in Irish dancing since the age of five, following in the footsteps of her third-generation Irish dancing family. Under the guidance of her mother, Miriam Dean, and Patricia Hall with McTeggart Irish Dancers in Alaska and Arizona, Diana honed her craft and developed a deep passion for the art form. She holds a BA in General Studies with a focus in Education and English from the University of Nevada-Reno.
Now based in Anchorage, Diana runs a successful esthetics studio specializing in permanent makeup. She shares her home with her husband, two dogs, and two cats. Diana is thrilled to re-engage with Irish dance, both learning and teaching under the mentorship of Lauren Crowe-Mueller.
Annie Margeson, Dance Assistant
Annie is a former IDAA student and now dance instructor who has experience teaching many different dance styles. While she was competing in Irish dance, she became the third female dancer from Alaska to qualify for the World Irish Dance Championships.
She has always had a special place in her heart for IDAA and is excited to return again this fall as the Dance Instructor for the Monday night regular classes.
Andrea Pavlovic, dance assistant
Andrea started Irish dancing at the age of 6 under Ms. Miriam Dean. She danced through high school and college, after which she began to assist Ms. Miriam with teaching beginner dancers in 2018.
She continues to enjoy teaching dancers of all ages and levels, and hopes that her little boys will want to dance when they get older.
MEET THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Randall Evans
President
Hannah Albertson
Secretary
Shannon Clem
Member at Large
Jasper Dillbeck
Vice President
Beau Disbrow
Member at Large
Rebecca Dillbeck
Member at Large
Lisa Longlet
Treasurer
Kyla Evans
Member at Large