Seppälä Honored for Work with Kivajat Finnish Folk Dancers (Originally published in the Ontonagon Herald)
Written By:
Fern Malila
Submitted by Fern Malila • Originally published in the Ontonagon Herald, Volume 144 No. 34, Wednesday, August 20, 2025
After 20 years and over 800 folk dance rehearsals, Kay Martin Seppälä, formerly of Ontonagon, was honored for her work with the Kivajat Finnish Folk dancers at an evening of dance at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. Sponsored by Michigan State University, the Michigan Heritage Awards honor individuals who continue their family and community folk traditions with excellence through practice and teaching, or individuals who are recognized as outstanding community leaders in the maintenance, documentation, or presentation of traditional arts.
Kay Seppälä began folk dancing in 1976 with the Kisarit Finnish American Folk Dancers of St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from Ontonagon High School, she lived in Minnesota until 1997 when she moved to Hancock, MI, and founded Kivajat Dancers. The Kivajat Dancers are sponsored by the Finnish American Heritage Center. What started as an after-school dance class has expanded to a performance group for children in grades 3-7 in 2004, a teen dance group in 2013, and finally a group for children aged 5-7 a few years later. Involvement in Kivajat requires weekly practices, with regular performances at local community events and festivals throughout the year. As of 2025, there are approximately 53 dancers involved in the group. Some of her students have Finnish heritage, but there are many who participate simply because of the importance of Finnish American culture in the region, regardless of their own ethnic background. She has taken the group to Finland three times as part of Tanssiva Turku, an international children’s dance festival. Always looking to expand her knowledge and skills, Kay will travel to Finland in 2025 to refresh her repertoire as part of a grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation.
Her award was presented during a Kivajat performance at the Finnish American Heritage Center. She was recognized by Micah Ling, Associate Director, MTAP and Curator of Michigan Traditional Arts Research Collections, MSU Museum. In addi- tion, she received a plaque presented by Greg Markkanen, State representative for Michigan’s 110th District, and recognition and gifts from Jim Kurtti, Honorary Consulate for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Clare Zuraw, Director of the Heritage Center’s Finnish American Folk School and author of Kay’s nomination, and representatives from the Kivajat dancers themselves.
