A Timeless Art

A Timeless Art Cape Breton Step Dance Collective sharing the dance culture of Gaelic Nova Scotia through storytelling, mentorship, visual arts, exploration, and performance.

05/19/2025

A warm hello from A Timeless Art! Hope the spring season is putting a bit of a spring in your step, like the crew here from last’s concert in Mabou. A tri-annual tradition, and one that almost ends with a Scotch Four, the Mabou Hall Concert’s are a staple in the sharing of our traditions, in music, song, and dance.

With music from Kenneth MacKenzie and Andrea Beaton, dancers last night included Melody Cameron, Jenny MacKenzie, Blair MacDonald, and Gerard Beaton.

If in this neck of the woods at the end of next month, we do it all again during the Mabou Ceilidh Days Festival.

02/10/2025

We were so blessed to be part of the magic and amazing energy in all that is happening at Beinn Mhàbu. Last Friday we had a little chat with the incredible students and lecturers. An incredible conversation, wonderful dancing and music. What an inspiring University program! Check it out if you haven’t already.

01/30/2025

Hi Folks,

We’re very excited to announce a recent collaborative partnership with Beinn Mhàbu as their artists in the community. On the weekend, we gathered for our first meeting and we look forward to some inspirational work ahead of us. The energy at Beinn Mhàbu is truly inspiring at the moment and we were so blessed to have a quick visit with our friends and amazing artists Neil Pearlman and Katie McNally whom are the current artists in residence with the Shannon Residency. We had a beautiful, uplifting visit, tunes and steps.

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10/16/2024

We’re reviving a few old steps for a show tonight in Louisbourg! Just missing Melody. ☺️ We love Celtic Colours!

03/25/2024

For this video I chose to dance to Mrs. Josie MacNeil.

I was drawn to Josie MacNeil because I liked the lift she put into the tunes as she sang them and I enjoyed the little comments she made between songs.

Josie MacNeil resided in Glen Albert, Big Pond. Her father’s first language was Gaelic. Mrs. MacNeil worked as an educator in the school system and was an active volunteer in Cape Breton’s Gaelic cultural community.

Mrs. Josie MacNeil volunteered well into her 70’s as musical director of the Cape Breton Harmony Nine Singers. This acappella singing group of nine young women performed at a number of summer festivals and venues in Cape Breton and PEI.

Josie’s grandniece, Joanne MacDonald described her as being “fiercely passionate about promoting and preserving the Gaelic”. At the age of seventy-seven, while still working with the Cape Breton Harmony Nine Singers, Josie stated in a newspaper interview, “ I feel that in Cape Breton, they should boost and encourage children who are trying to keep the Scottish culture alive. The old people are dying. Must our culture die, too?”

I approached this video a bit differently than my past ones. The dance is centred in the video. The flame in the candle on the left represents this culture that we must “keep burning”. The faded scenes on the right can be thought of as visualizations of the tunes being sung.

Many thanks to Effie Rankin, Margie Beaton, Hannah Krebs and Shelly Campbell for helping with research and translation of the Gaelic songs used in the video and to Joanne MacDonald for providing the photo of Mrs. Josie MacNeil.

The audio for this video is excerpts taken from a 1975 interview recorded by John Shaw in Big Pond. The Mrs. Josie MacNeil portion of the audio starts at 27:57 in the link below:

http://beaton.cbu.ca/atom/audio/T-1105.mp3

Cairistiona Chaimbel - Christy Campbell

I will build a house at end of the road
Bonny and sweet Christy Campbell
I will build a house at end of the road
Bonny and sweet Christy Campbell

COMA LEAM BUNTATA CHARACH - I Dislike Scabby Potatoes - (Sung to the melody of the tune, “Jenny Dang the Weaver”)

I dislike scabby potatoes unless they were buttered
I dislike scabby potatoes unless they were buttered
I dislike scabby potatoes unless they were buttered
Unless they were buttered

Peigi Raonaill ‘ic Thearlaich - Peggy Ronald Charlie - (Sung to the melody of the tune, “Paddy on the Turnpike”)

Peggy Ronald Charlie
She is nice and Bonny

Peggy Ronald Charlie
She is nice and Bonny

Peggy Ronald Charlie
She is nice and Bonny

Peggy Ronald Charlie
She would eat the maragan and everything that was in them

Thank you to Celtic Colours International Festival and Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs

Melody









03/18/2024

A great little audio clip taken from a ceilidh in Benacadie in 1963, now found in the Beaton Institute archives, we believe the singer to be Mrs. Alec Kennedy of Deepdale. The song "O Gur Misde" recounts the melancholy departure of men from Inverness County as they journey to work in the coal mines of Glace Bay and New Waterford. Those referred to in this song were from Egypt Falls and Pipers’ Glen. The composer was Angus MacFarlane, a farmer in Margaree. Full lyrics and translation found here: http://beatoninstitutemusic.ca/gaelic/cumha/

O gur misde hè gur misde,
O gur misde leam mar thà chuis,
Misde leam gun d’ rinn thu gluasad
Null gu tìr a’ ghuail a thàmh ann.

Oh I am sad, I am sad,
Sad for what has happened,
Sad that you have moved
Over to the land of coal to live.

A big thanks to Shannon MacMullin and Stacey MacLean for pointing me in the right direction and lending their vast knowledge once again.

There's such a rich flavour to her beautiful Gaelic. I love her spirited delivery especially on the line, 'le bhith ‘g òl air do dheoch-slàinte' ~ having a drink to your health. Although in a milling tempo, it was easy to dance a bit of jig, strathspey, and reel steps to her great timing. More of this song and the ceilidh can be found at: https://beatoninstitute.com/ceilidh-at-benacadie

Still on the hunt to find her first name - if you know it, do comment below. Thanks for watching, listening, and learning with us. 😊

-Margie

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs








03/11/2024

Today we share with you a set of steps honoring another Gaelic voice of the past. Here we have Archie Alex MacKenzie of Rear Christmas Island.

In this recording collected by John Shaw in 1980, Archie is singing a strathspey, “Ma Tha Bhean a Dhìth Oirbh” and then “Ho ro na Riobainean”. I was struck by Archie’s version of the reel and his jigging at the end. I could really hear the rhythm of the guitar in his voice and it inspired me to dance. This dance moment for me was a real spark or reminder of how the Gaelic language, tunes and step dancing are intrinsically interwoven. You’ll find a version of this tune on Beòlach’s album Variations (The Gift Box Set) with our dear friend Patrick Gillis on guitar. It is playing regularly in this house and is often danced to!

Although there’s no relation, our son Archie Alex MacKenzie (who is four years old) has the same name. He was pleasantly surprised by my choice of recording 🎻🎹👞👞👩‍👦❤️

You can find out more about Archie Alex MacKenzie, a bit about his contribution to the Gaelic culture, his lineage and his life at the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/LanguageInLyrics/posts/and-just-in-time-for-christmas-the-history-of-christmas-island-parish-our-fifth-/833409954120569/

The link to the original recording collected by John Shaw in 1980:

https://stfx.cairnrepo.org/islandora/object/stfx%3A5556?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=6ac2ffa95e45effb0e3c&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=8

A special thank you to Mary Jane Lamond for leading me to the first puirt à beul name, John Shaw and Shannon MacMullin for your help in finding more information about Archie Alex MacKenzie and Patrick Gillis for the tune!

Jenny MacKenzie

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs









03/04/2024

"Thug mi rùn 's chuir mi ùidh", also known both in Scotland and in Nova Scotia as "Nighean Bhàn Ghrùlainn", is sung here by my paternal grandmother, Maggie Ann (Cameron) Beaton on the occasion of her 85th birthday. Grandma always had this song in her repertoire. As a love song, in some places, it is slowed right down into a much slower tempo, but around Cape Breton, it was usually sung in jig time. Maggie Ann and her brother Finlay Camron, routinely sang this song (found at the beginning of this clip: http://beaton.cbu.ca/atom/audio/T-0384-Side1.mp3?fbclid=IwAR035MoH82Bgr7cL8xGyndlX1p98gmbn5brPZiu8LdimFFPbR9uFkIAqyX8). While I can't be sure, there is a good chance my father, Donald Alex Beaton recorded Finlay's version on reel-to-reel, much like he did so many great gatherings of his mother and uncle and aunts. Gaelic songs were the absolute fabric of their being.

When there was a bit less snow, I trotted down to the barn on my parents' property to record this piece, nestled in amongst family relics, including a fishing barrel that my grandfather, Red John, would ship smelts to the USA, a lobster trap he used on his boat, the Judy Lynn, and a rocking chair that my mom would have rocked myself and later my sister Margie in. Although not visible in the video, Grandma always had a rocking chair in her home as she did on this night in the video, and it was always adorned with many rosary beads to pray on, any time of the day. Maggie Ann was full of the best spirit and generosity, and her family gathered this night to celebrate her as they would many times yet to come. If I could only show you the rest of the video from the end piece, you would get to see even more of her character. Please enjoy this video, a love song full of love to her and what she created for us through music, culture, language and dance.

I'm grateful to Shannon MacMullin for her in-depth assistance on the history of this song. We are so fortunate in Nova Scotia to have continued generations that take up the mantle and continue to immerse themselves in the history and culture of this area, and the resources they have fostered thanks to the vision of many to make these resources so tangible for folks like myself. On page 15 of this version of An Rubha, you can find a full listing of the song and its verses as sung by Jamie MacNeil: https://highlandvillage.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/inline/documents/an_rubha_2020_may_-_final.pdf?fbclid=IwAR20jGe2y65wxk109MPCShLB6TB0gbDMh6nKCQIpeGBwSzCQCJ3uZmNOP4Y

Dawn

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs









02/26/2024

Who’s up for a few steps on this cold winter morning? -15° here as I write this so this’ll help get the blood moving!

Songs in Gaelic come in all shapes and sizes. Long and short, slow and fast, happy and sad. This port à beul was collected from a ceilidh in Benacadie in the early 1960s. We are unsure of who is singing this particular tune. At this ceilidh Peigi Ailein Nic Ruairdh (Peggy McIntyre), Mrs JP MacLean (may have been Bean Jack Pheadair from Rear Christmas Island) and Mrs Catherine Patterson all contributed.

Having such a lilted feel to dance to does all of the work. One just has to fall into the rhythms of such a singer or player and the rest just happens.

You can listen to the full recording here http://beaton.cbu.ca/AtoM/audio/T-44a.mp3

Thanks to the fancy camera work of Wendy MacIsaac, and to Finlay MacDonald at the The National Piping Centre in Glasgow for the use of that amazing space. Special thank you to John Shaw and Shannon MacMullin for assistance with the historical research.

- Mac

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs








02/19/2024

It was my true honour to not only participate in this special project with the Timeless Art crew, but get to team up with the legendary Lauchie Dan N MacLellan, a gentleman I never met, to create something together 46 years after the recording was made.

Featured here are three quick songs from Lauchie; Ho ro cha d'fhuair thu 'n Cadal, also known as Hoch Ho Johnny Lad, Ho ro ghoid thu 'Nighean or Jenny Dang the Weaver, and 'Nuair dh’èugas Dòmhnull Mac 'ic Iain.

All recorded at his home in Dunvegan in 1978 by his good friend John Shaw, this is just the tip of the iceberg of all that Lauchie contributed to our collection over the years, as evidenced in their collaborative release from 2001 Brìgh an Òrain/A Story in Every Song. I pieced them together for this clip, then danced nearby to Dunvegan, along the wharf on the Broad Cove Marsh road. It seemed only fitting to pay my respects to the land he loved, where he harnessed his stories and songs, and passed his love of culture on to his beloved offspring of whom are also contributing to endeavours here and around the world. Bidh sinn ga chuimhneachadh. We will be remembering him.

-Margie

A huge thanks to Màiri Britton for her help on lyrics and translation to first puirt Ho Ro Cha d’ Fhuair Thu an Cadal

Ho ro cha d'fhuair thu 'n cadal
Anns a' leap' ùr a-raoir
Ho ro cha d'fhuair thu 'n cadal
Hup! a' chaileag bhòidheach

Ho ro cha d'fhuair thu 'n cadal
Anns a' leap' ùr a-raoir
Ho ro cha d'fhuair thu 'n cadal
Ged a' chaileag bhòidheach

Rough translation:
Ho ro, you didn't sleep
In the new bed last night
Ho ro, you didn't sleep
Hup! the beautiful girl

Ho ro, you didn't sleep
In the new bed last night
Ho ro, you didn't sleep
Despite the beautiful girl

Info and lyrics to last two puirt found here:
http://www.celticlyricscorner.net/lamond/horoghoid.htm
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/107005?l=en

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs









02/12/2024

There is a treasure trove of entertaining, incredibly rich voices, stories, songs, tunes and history of the Gaelic people of Nova Scotia available online. So when we at A Timeless Art began this research into the archives, we had a lot of fun choosing our puirt à beul to create videos to. Today I share with you a set of steps honoring the voice of another Gaelic tradition bearer from Cape Breton; Alasdair Mac Coinnich ‘ic Iain ‘ic Iain (Sandy Kenny Morrison) from Wreck Cove.

This particular recording came from the website An Drochaid Eadarainn and was collected by Ralph Rinzler in the late 1960s. I was drawn to this recording of Sandy Kenny Morrison because of the lift in the way he sang and his soft spoken nature that is so clear at the end of the track. I also enjoyed how rhythmical the space was after he sang the words to the last reel. He was speaking English at that point in the track when he says “and it goes”, and stayed in the rhythm of the last puirt à beul as well as the final melody, and it worked to dance to!

~ Jenny MacKenzie

For more information on Alasdair Mac Coinnich ‘ic Iain ‘ic Iain visit:
https://www.androchaid.ca/alasdair-mac-coinnich-ic-iain-ic-iain-puirt-beul

Puirt à Beul:
Calum Crùbach
Nead na Circe Fraoich/ Am Muileann Dubh
Nam Amadan ‘Nam Amadan a Bha Mi Riamh

Celtic Colours International Festival
Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs









02/05/2024

Hinn, Heinn Thog Iad Amach

As the snow continues to fall in Nova Scotia, it’s dance time in a sunny spot to brighten the day. I’m fortunate to get to bring you dance video number three in our series, dancing to the singing of Mrs Margaret MacLean of the Boisdale area.

As was common in the writing of Gaelic songs there, songs were written to poke fun at their neighbours. In this song, the writers imagine comical situations for their residents and capture at that time how the outside world was threatening the Gael’s way of life.

The scene for this video spinning madly around was shot in the building where I work, the Eltuek Arts Centre in Sydney. Thanks to Jonathan Kanary for the use of his glass top pedestal and thanks to Margie Beaton (from Eriskay) for help on the research of this song. And if you start to feel dizzy, either focus just on my feet, or better yet, put the phone down and have a step yourself!

Dawn











Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig / Office of Gaelic Affairs
Celtic Colours International Festival

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51779 Cabot Trail
Saint Anns, NS
B0E 1B0

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