The Boston Kiltics, a Celtic band from Boston, perform in the traditional Cape Breton style and in December they are bringing the music, dance and song of the Highlands to your city! Fast footwork and fantastic fiddling combine for a high energy evening!!!You'll learn the Mabou Set - still danced in the village of Mabou, Nova Scotia today - from dancers and musicians who will fill you with the joyful and energetic spirit of the Scottish tradition in North America!!!
The rich Celtic heritage of Cape Breton Island, from which all four members' families hail, pours out of this quartet as they play and dance to traditional Scottish and Irish tunes.
Dancers Pamela Campbell and Christine Morrison are two of Boston's best Cape Breton style step dancers and have been known to kick up their feet and strut their stuff! The two have been recently seen step-dancing with fiddling sensation, Natalie MacMaster.
Fiddler Doug Lamey is the grandson of the legendary Cape Breton style fiddler Bill Lamey. Doug has been seen all over Boston's Celtic scene where he presents this style of fiddling in such a way that most can hardly keep their feet still.
Guitarist Cliff McGann, a Boston area musician and storyteller is multi-talented when it comes to his performances in the Celtic arts. Guitar, Tin whistle, and Gaelic singing are just a few.
All four members together make up an enthusiastic and exciting show! You won't want to miss this one!!!
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What is Cape Breton Set Dancing?
It's the dancing traditionally done to fiddle music on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, an island populated primarily by descendants of the Scotch settlers of the 1800's.
How does it differ from contradancing? from square dancing?
Dances are regular events in Cape Breton villages and towns and dances from different locations, while similar, are unique to that place and are the dances of choice there. We will do a set dance from the village of Mabou on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This set, the Mabou Set, is most simply descirbed as a three-part circle dance, the first two parts danced to jigs, and the third to reels. It is danced in two circles with the two circles interacting during the third part. In the community of its origin it is danced without calls because the villagers all know the dance. We will provide calls because we'll have only a small contigent of Cape Breton-descended Bostonians at our dance. Many Cape Bretoners moved to Boston over the last century because work was hard to find at home and plentiful in the American city down the coast. Hence, a community developed in Boston, and this community, too, developed its own dance: the Boston Set. This one more closely resembles a typical New England square dance.