Kay Seppälä began folk dancing in 1976 with the Kisarit Finnish American Folk Dancers of St. Paul, Minnesota. Originally from Ontonagon, MI, she lived in Minnesota until 1997 when she moved to Hancock, MI, and founded Kivajat Dancers. Kay is known throughout the Copper Country (the local name for Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula region because of the history of copper ore mining from the 1840s-1960s) for her contributions to the continuity of Finnish American culture, having taught hundreds of students through her role as a dance instructor. Hancock is a cultural hub because of the high concentration of people with Finnish heritage.

Kay’s Kivajat Dancers are sponsored by the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. 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. At any time, there are around 40 students enrolled in the Kivajat classes. 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.

While the Kivajat Dancers’ performances are a beautiful spectacle, it is Kay’s dedication to sharing the stories and oral histories associated with each dance that deeply enriches the understanding of her audiences. She explains the details of the traditional costuming and origins of each dance. As her recommender Clare Zuraw wrote, “Quite simply, Finnish folk dancing is alive in the Upper Peninsula because of Kay Seppälä.”

In addition to her contributions to Finnish folk dancing, Kay plays the Finnish  small kantele. This zither-style plucked string instrument is the national instrument of Finland. She has taught kantele playing to dozens of people in the area over the years and leads the Ilon Kaiku Kantele Ensemble at the Finnish American Heritage Center.