This morning and afternoon were filled with step dance lessons and a lunchtime ceilidh at the Celtic Music Site. Now it was time to see some of those steps and Cape Breton music in action.
As I mentioned yesterday, I had bumped into my new friend Burton at the ceilidh and we were both headed to the show “Soirée Chez Gélinas” in Chéticamp. It’s a young Acadian step dancing group that’s performing at the local school theatre, called “La Swing du Suete.” (This area is well known for the suetes, strong southeast winds that can get up to 200 km per hour.)
Now, taking two cars to the same place is silly, so I went for a quick visit at Burton’s place in Whycocomagh and met his siblings before we left for a night out on the town.
We arrived early at the school because the group was doing a workshop with me before they had to get ready. Of course, Burton and the artistic director of the group, the effervescent Paul Gallant, knew each other. Burton also knew some of the families involved, so there were many reunions all ‘round.
The show began at 8:00 pm and we settled into our front row seats. What took place next was far beyond what I thought I would see. La Swing du Suete is a group of dancers and musicians who are still teenagers. There was even a younger sister there who was 7 years old and holding her own with the older kids.
They were absolutely outstanding. It’s not that I didn’t have high standards for this show, but the natural talent that oozed from these kids was remarkable. They clearly loved dancing and performed like true professionals.
What I Liked:
- Watch out for this group. Trust me, Paul Gallant is about as passionate as you can get and is doing significant things in this small Cape Breton community of Chéticamp. The group’s enthusiasm and youth is contagious.
- The school theatre was also impressive. Comfortable seats, wonderful sound and top notch equipment were a surprise to see outside of a big city.
- The step dancing was different then the traditional Cape Breton style. Acadian step dancing seems to be faster (I’m told the fiddlers speed it up because they get so into it) and they do a lot more clogging/stomping type steps.
Copyright 2009 Lori Henry
Great article Lori!!!
Thanks for your visit..and come again anytime”
Cheers
Paul Gallant
Thanks for stopping by, Paul! As you can tell, I had such a wonderful time seeing the show. I will let you know if I’m ever in the area again- it’s pretty likely, seeing as how much I love Cape Breton!