Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Fiddlin and Steppin

Both stepdancing and fiddling have a large place in traditional Ottawa Valley culture. Previously, I've mentioned and shown clips of both. but we had never attended the Pakenham Fiddle and Stepdance Competition before. So we remedied that this past weekend.

All ages came from all around the province for the event. It must be nice, especially for the younger set, to get together with peers of similar interest and talent. Let's face it, this is a subculture that exists way under the radar of popular culture, so it must be helpful for the kids to know they're not alone, particularly those who come from an urban area such as Toronto.

In any event, a grand time was had by all. At the conclusion, around 11:30 Saturday night, the fiddlers and stepdancers who remained in the hall congregated on stage for an impromptu performance. The fiddlers are lost in the background, but the following short clip shows the stepdancers doing their thing. I'm glad we stayed for the finale. It always amazes me how both fiddlers and stepdancers can put on such a show without any preparation.

5 comments:

Barry said...

I had no idea step dancing was so popular in the Ottawa Valley. I keep thinking of it as an East Coast phenomena.

Great to see it alive and (can I say it) kicking!

KGMom said...

AC--you are one lively senior, aren't you. Was that you I spotted up on stage? ;-)

Anonymous said...

That looks like what we call clogging. You were clogging too weren't you?
QMM

ChrisB said...

It looks like great fun, especially if you have young joints, my old pins wouldn't cope with more than a few minutes.

Woman in a Window said...

My mom MADE me take highland dancing when I was a kid. I bemoaned it. I wish I'd kept it up.

Great finale.