See Deiseil at the Dingwall 800 Celebrations
Hosted by Feis Rois at Dingwall Town Hall
Thursday 27th August
7:30pm
Running time 1 hr 30 with a short interval.
Tickets available here.
There will also be a family friendly stepdance workshop on Sunday 30th August at 1:30pm (1 hour).
Special guest Sophie Stephenson
We are delighted that we will be joined by Sophie Stephenson for the second half of the show.
Hailing from Fort Augustus, on the south shore of Loch Ness, Sophie Stephenson is a dancer who is dedicated to promoting and passing on the step dance tradition and has performed and taught across Scotland and internationally. Rooted in tradition yet driven by innovation, her work explores the deep rhythmic connections between language, music and movement within Gaelic culture. Sophie's passion for the traditional arts is rooted in her Highland upbringing and participation in cèilidh dances, music sessions and local fèisean from a young age. With an academic background in ethnology, Sophie has a deep-rooted respect for the tradition bearers and the historical context of the Gaelic culture in which music, song, dance, story and community were all so interconnected.
Introduced to step dance by Harvey Beaton at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, Sophie continued to build on her repertoire of steps, learning from dancers including Donal Brown, Frank McConnell, Deirdre Graham, Jane MacNeil and Margie Beaton. In 2012, research into performance contexts and the traditions of the Taigh Cèilidh in Scotland and Canada formed part of her honours degree in Scottish Literature and Scottish Ethnology, with the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2013, she was awarded the Lisa Ullmann Dance Scholarship which allowed her to follow her interest in emigrant traditions across to the Canadian Maritimes. She travelled to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia to meet with dancers and explore Cape Breton and Acadian dance traditions within their community context.
Sophie has a fresh and exciting take on the tradition, combining old and new steps, within her own style, and has collaborated with artists including Dàimh, Capercaillie, Carlos Nuñez and The East Pointers, and performs regularly with world-class flautist and uilleann piper, Calum Stewart. Sophie has also developed ‘TradBeats’, a project which brings together the core elements of voice and movement through rhythm, with Gaelic mouth music, beatboxing, step dance and body percussion.
Sophie recently established Sgoil Dannsa, to keep the heartbeat of Scottish Step Dance alive in the Highlands and beyond - through in-person and online classes (in both Gaelic and English), digital resources, and an interactive seminar series which connects dancers, academics, researchers and tradition bearers.
Sophie’s social media:
www.facebook.com/sophiestepdance
www.twitter.com/SophStepDancer
Watch Sophie dancing with Alison on the Isle of Skye!