Celtic Rhythms Highlights

Celtic music and dance show held in Toronto, Ontario at the Palmerston Library Theatre on February 25, 2011. Musician Steafan Hannigan, played guitar, bagpipes, bodhran and banjo with well-known Celtic fiddler, Saskia Tomkins. Saskia also played the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish stringed instrument. The Gilchrist-Canavan School of Irish dance provided dancers, including three of their Eastern Canadian champions, in a program of a soft shoe slip jig and reel and pounding hard shoe treble jig, set dance and treble reel. The Sheryl Joyner Highland Dancers soared with their North American champion dancer and students for a mix of traditional highland dancing of the strathspey, reel, seann truibhas, and the Flora and some modern choreography. The Toronto Women's Sword company provided contrast to the Highland Sword dance with their powerful precision team Rapper Sword dance. The second half of the show was a rousing jam session with fiddler Jim McGee and his accordion-player daughter, Anne, joining Steafan and Saskia. The event was organized by the University of Toronto Celtic Society and sponsored by St. Michael's College, University of Toronto.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Celtic
• music
• dance
• Irish
• Scottish
• Highland
• Steafan
• Hannigan
• Saskia
• Tomkins

[allisonforfornsed]

wow, around 2:24, is that like, a Longsword dance, sort of like the ones they do in Yorkshire and other places?

[marilynkayrichards]

@allisonforfornsed You are right. It's actually a Rapper Sword Dance. They were terrific!

[allisonforfornsed]

lovely highland dancing at 0:22

[marilynkayrichards]

@allisonforfornsed Yes. The highland dancers were lovely and so graceful.

[nchune]

looks like a blast!

[marilynkayrichards]

@nchune It was terrific! The stage and sound were so good, the Irish dancers literally thundered. I'll be putting up lots more videos soon of the dancing and the music. I've got a solo Highland dancer video coming up next. She's lovely, precise and elegant.

[marilynkayrichards]

@clarabells22 I'm sure you'll get there. Keep practicing. Good luck in your dancing.