Scottish dancer learns step dancing in Maritimes, then takes the next step

Not long ago there was little step dancing in Scotland — but with some help from Maritime instructors step dancing is returning, and moving in new directions.

"It's really only in the last 20, 30 years that people have been dancing again," said Sophie Stephenson, who teaches at Skye Space Studio at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College in Skye, U.K.

"That's really having learned from people that have come over from Cape Breton who have taught people over here and then they've gone on to teach."

Stephenson was dancing at a young age — Highland, ballet, tap — and first encountered step dancing at a workshop at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. She was immediately taken with how the dance fit into her interest in traditional music.

"This was something which was more in tune with the music and laid back," she said.

Next steps

She followed her new passion to the Maritimes, both Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island.

She discovered a rich variety in the tradition. Islanders immediately picked up she had been trained by a Cape Bretoner. She learned new steps and approaches on the Island, both from the Scots and from the Acadians, who had their own entirely different style.

Stephenson has taken what she's learned in new directions.

 "[What] is very popular in the Scottish traditional music scene is this idea of fusion," she said.

"I'm trying to make sure [my work] is relevant in a contemporary Scottish context."

Stephenson recently collaborated with a Basque musician, and has another project where she works with Djembe rhythms.

"Step dance could go down new avenues in Scotland where it perhaps hasn't in Cape Breton. It's exciting times."

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