When I was delving into the School of Scottish Studies archives last year, for a project celebrating 70 years of the Sound Archives, I came across this interview by Calum MacLean in 1952 with Peter MacDonald from Glenmoriston.  Peter talks about about travelling dance masters and dance classes in Torgyle. It’s a wonderful interview and so great to hear native, mainland Gaelic from just 10minutes up the road from where I grew up in the Great Glen. (I will post a transcript of the interview in Gaelic and the English translation below this blog post) Peter “Struy” MacDonald was an uncle of ..read more

It was a delight to be asked by Dr Lori Watson (University of Edinburgh) to perform at the Living Archive concert, celebrating 70 years of the School of Scottish Studies & Archives, as part of the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival. The Sound Archive comprises over 33,000 recordings on Scottish life, folklore and the traditional arts, which have been collected across Scotland, in Gaelic, Scots and English, since the 1950s. As a student at the University of Edinburgh I studied Scottish Literature & Ethnology. So I was very excited for the opportunity to delve back into the ar ..read more

​In 2019 I was lucky to receive support from Tasgadh (a fund devolved from Creative Scotland and managed by Fèisean nan Gàidheal) for professional development in percussive movement. I traveled to Montreal in Quebec, Canada, to learn about traditional Quebecois dance from local tradition bearers as well as from artists who draw upon traditional culture in choreography.  ​I attended a 5-day Percussive Dance Lab comprising workshops in different forms of percussive movement led by Sandy Silva, Nic Gareiss and Yiota Peklara. The Lab was organised in collaboration with ZØGMA Collec ..read more

​Bliadhna mhath ùr! Happy new year!!! ??✨I have some exciting news to share with you for 2019, kicking off with Celtic Connections this month! ??? I’m very lucky to be involved in some really diverse and interesting projects. ​Friday 25th January 2019, 7.30pm Performance at Celtic Connections with TOSTA BANDA Glasgow Royal Concert Hall  Saturday 26th January, 1.30pm - 3pm Step Dance & Body Percussion Workshop with Sophie Stephenson ARC Fitness, Glasgow Caledonian University Sunday 27th January, 1.30pm - 4pm TradBeats with Eilidh Munro (Gaelic song), Bigg Taj (Beatbox) and Soph ..read more

I am very excited to announce that I will be running step dance classes at the Gaelic College on the Isle of Skye through the summer. In addition to weekly step dance taster sessions for students attending short courses in Gàidhlig and music, there will also be a series of step dance workshops aimed at people in the local community and open to everyone.     In 2003, aged 12, I came to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye for the first time to attend a week of step dance classes with Harvey Beaton from Cape Breton and Donal Brown from Scotland (of The Scottish Step Dance C ..read more

Eadarainn: A Sophabulous Steps and RoughCoastAudio collaboration, featuring Naomi Harvey (vocals), Lauren MacColl (violin/viola), Ewan MacPherson (tenor banjo/mandolin/guitar/ programming) and Sophie Stephenson (step dance). Nominated for Best Music Video, Filmg Alba Awards (2014). Today, puirt-à-beul (Gaelic mouth music) is most often sung for listening to rather than dancing to, despite its deep routed connection with dance traditions. Eadarainn re-instates mouth music within the context of dance by setting an old port-à-beul to modern dance ..read more

In 2013 I was delighted to be awarded the Lisa Ullmann Dance Scholarship which allowed me to follow my passion for step dance across to the Canadian Maritimes. I travelled to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia to meet with dancers and explore Cape Breton and Acadian dance traditions within their community context.  Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island Step Dance Trip 10th July – Tuesday 30th July 2013 ​ To travel to the Canadian Maritimes and experience first-hand their music and dance culture had been a dream of mine for many years. I was introduced to Cape Breton step dan ..read more

“Let me open the gates and let you into my fiddle world...”   That was Alasdair Fraser last week in Benbecula, for the University of the Highlands and Islands' symposium and workshop on Scottish fiddle music. Alasdair shared with us a world of multilingualism and diversity through the sound of the fiddle, which has the capacity for a plurality of voices - a mouth piece of many communities each speaking in their native language. The story of the fiddle is also one of travel, emigration and cultural exchange. At the concert in the evening, Alasdair and Natalie took us on a journey whic ..read more

I am very excited to announce that Sophabulous Steps will be teaming up with Ben Miller to put on a DANCE EVENT in aid of Highland Hospice on Saturday 15th June in Fort Augustus Village Hall.  The Highland Hospice is an extremely important local charity. They provide support for the physical, psychological and social needs of adults suffering incurable, life limiting diseases across the Highlands. The hands on care they provide, heavily relies on the support of donations. In the effort of fundraising for this important and indispensable ..read more

Whilst studying towards a degree in Scottish Ethnology, I did research into the step-dance tradition in Scotland and in Cape Breton as part of an Emigrant Traditions course at the School of Scottish Studies. As part of the research I sent out questionnaires to many step-dancers, to explore the evolution of the tradition and the similarities/differences between the transmission and performance of step-dance in these two places. My informants included Dawn Beaton, Mary Janet MacDonald, David Rankin, Tara Rankin, Mats Melin, Nic Gareiss, Michelle Greenwell, Abbie MacQuarrie, Seonag Buxton and Dei ..read more