Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 484 0 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 The step-dancing of the Scotch Gaels in Nova Scotia is the last living exam- ple of a form of dance that waned following the great emigrations to Canada that ended in 1845. The Scotch Gael has been reported as loving dance, but step-dancing in Scotland had all but disappeared by 1945. One must look to Gaelic Nova Scotia to find this tradition. Gaelic Cape Breton Step-Dancing, the first study of its kind, gives this art form and the people and culture associated with it the prominence they have long deserved. Gaelic Scotland’s cultural record is by and large pre-literate, and refer- ences to dance have had to be sought in Gaelic songs, many of which were transcribed on paper by those who knew their culture might be lost with the decline of their language. The improved Scottish culture depended proudly on the teaching of dancing and the literate learning and transmission of music in accompaniment. Relying on fieldwork in Nova Scotia, and on men- tions of dance in Gaelic song and verse in Scotland and Nova Scotia, John Gibson traces the historical roots of step-dancing, particularly the older forms of dancing originating in the Gaelic–speaking Scottish Highlands. He also places the current tradition as a development and part of the much larger British and European percussive dance tradition. With insight collected through written sources, tales, songs, manuscripts, book references, interviews, and conversations, Gaelic Cape Breton Step- Dancing brings an important aspect of Gaelic history to the forefront of cultural debate. John G. Gibson is the author of Traditional Gaelic Bagpiping, 1745–1945 and Old and New World Highland Bagpiping. He lives in Judique, Nova Scotia. Since its inception as an institutionalized discipline in the United States during the 1980s, performance studies has focused on the interdisciplinary analysis of a broad spectrum of cultural behaviours including theatre, dance, folklore, popular entertainments, performance art, protests, cultural rituals, and the performance of self in everyday life. To date, no systematic attempt has been made to consider how this methodology is being taught, applied, and rethought in Canadian contexts, and Canadian performance studies scholarship remains largely unacknowl- edged within international discussions about the discipline. This collection fills this gap by identifying multiple origins of performance studies scholarship in the country and highlighting significant works of performance theory and history that are rooted in Canadian culture. Essays illustrate how specific institutional conditions and cultural investments – Indigenous, francophone, multicultural, and more – produce alternative articulations of “performance” and reveal national identity as a performative construct. A state-of-the-art work on the state of the field, Performance Studies in Canada foregrounds national and global performance knowledge to invigor- ate the discipline around the world. “Distinguishing itself from the dominant national American and British inflections of performance studies, this volume’s strong Indigenous compo- nent to its conception of performance studies in Canada marks out new terrain for performance studies internationally.” Michael McKinnie, Queen Mary University of London Laura Levin is associate professor of theatre and performance studies at York University. Marlis Schweitzer is associate professor of theatre and performance studies at York University. P E R F O R M A N C E S T U D I E S • H I S T O R Y P E R F O R M A N C E S T U D I E S • T H E AT R E S T U D I E S S P E C I F I C AT I O N S McGill-Queen’s Studies in Ethnic History June 2017 978-0-7735-5059-9 $55.00A CDN, $55.00A US, £47.00 cloth 6 x 9 528pp 9 maps, 6 photos eBook available S P E C I F I C AT I O N S June 2017 978-0-7735-4985-2 $39.95A CDN, $39.95A US, £34.00 paper 978-0-7735-4984-5 $120.00S CDN, $120.00S US, £103.00 cloth 6 x 9 480pp 56 illustrations eBook available Gaelic Cape Breton Step-Dancing An Historical and Ethnographic Perspective john g. gibson Placing the phenomenon of Gaelic Cape Breton step-dancing into an historical perspective. Performance Studies in Canada edited by laura levin and marlis schweitzer Tracing performance studies paths in Canada.