October 9–17, 2026
| date | Friday, Oct 16th 2026 @ 7:30 pm ADT |
| venue | Savoy Theatre |
| locale | Glace Bay |
| price | $65/$55/$45 |
| washroom | Yes |
| seating | Reserved Seating |
The names Jean MacNeil and Eileen Forrester are synonymous with traditional Cape Breton step dance, highland dance, and music. Tonight family, friends, and former students will gather to pay tribute to the legacies of these two pioneering women. Jean MacNeil’s lifelong love of music started at home in Washabuck, Victoria County. Growing up, she would accompany fiddlers on the community’s first piano and developed a deep knowledge of the tunes. She was also an extraordinary step dancer and teacher, dancing at local Scottish concerts at a young age. Jean would go on to teach step dancing at Colaisde na Gàidhlig [the Gaelic College] in St. Ann’s and abroad including in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. A gifted songwriter and tune composer, Jean was the house piano player at the Rollie’s Wharf weekly traditional music sessions for many years. And she made sure her children knew how to play music, teaching them to play by ear at home and ensuring they also had a formal education in music. One of Jean’s greatest legacies, The Barra MacNeils, will share memories and much more about who their mom was, and what she meant to them and to so many others. A dancer and teacher for 61 years, Eileen Pottie Forrester was a true ambassador for the Scottish culture and heritage of Cape Breton Island. Eileen was a champion dancer winning many awards, scholarships and bursaries, performing at Expo ’67 in Montreal, Québec and at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. She began teaching dance in 1965, founding the Forrester School of Dance, and throughout her 50-year teaching career, Eileen trained and mentored thousands of students in the art of Highland and Celtic dance, bringing them to competitions around the world, as well as having them appear in numerous stage and television productions regionally. Eileen was also an accomplished soprano and founding member of the Cape Breton Chorale. In 2015, Cape Breton University awarded Eileen an honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa). Eileen’s daughters, Shendle Smith, Shannon Forrester, and Shara Martell will join members of the Forrester Dancers in honour of their teacher, mentor, and mother tonight.
Hailing from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island, the Barra MacNeils are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. Since their self-titled debut in 1986, the MacNeil siblings—Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle, and Sheumas—have woven together a 40-year legacy ...
Brenda Stubbert is an extraordinary fiddler, pianist, and composer whose name has become synonymous with Cape Breton fiddle music. Deeply rooted in the distinctive music of Industrial Cape Breton’s Northside, she grew up surrounded by wonderful musicians, including her father—a highly respected fiddler and ...
Tracey Bailey grew up with deep roots on Cape Breton Island. She comes from a family of well-known musicians including her mother, Brenda Stubbert, and grandfather, Robert Stubbert, and many aunts and uncles who played fiddle and danced as well. She started step dancing ...
Born on Cape Breton Island and nurtured within its rich musical heritage, fiddler Kimberley Fraser has built a distinguished career, performing all over the world at venues from Afghanistan to Victoria. She holds degrees in Violin performance from Berklee College of Music—where she was ...
Malcolm MacNeil is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist from Cape Breton Island. Currently based in Halifax, MacNeil is quickly developing a reputation as one of the region's most versatile and reliable side musicians. He can regularly be seen performing with fiddlers, folk singer-songwriters, and jazz ...
For more than 60 years, the Forrester Dancers have been ambassadors of Cape Breton’s rich Scottish dance traditions. Founded in 1965 by the late Dr. Eileen Pottie Forrester, the group features accomplished, award-winning junior and senior dancers from the Forrester School of Dance and ...
The Forrester Sisters—Shannon, Shara, and Shendle —have shared a lifelong journey in dance, one that began as young children under the guidance of their mother, the late Dr. Eileen Pottie Forrester, founder of the Forrester School of Dance in Cape Breton. Raised in a ...
Shawn MacDonald has been playing the fiddle for more than 50 years. Born into a musical family, he picked it up at the age of four and never put it down. Shawn was a long-time member of the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association, taking lessons ...
Originally from Ironville, Cape Breton, Dan MacDonald began playing the fiddle at a young age, under the instruction of his father, Lloyd MacDonald, himself a well-known and respected Cape Breton fiddler. His early immersion in the strong musical culture of Cape Breton Island informs ...
Susan MacLean, a native of Washabuck now based in the Sydney area of Cape Breton, is a pianist, fiddler, composer, and dedicated educator rooted in the island’s rich musical tradition. She has taught Cape Breton–style piano accompaniment since the mid-1990s at Colaisde na Gàidhlig ...
Michael Campbell was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and grew up in the small community of Ohio, Antigonish County. He began piping at the age of 9 as a student of Pipe Major Ian McKinnon, now of Rawlin’s Cross fame. Over the years, he ...
As a tenor, voice teacher, director, coach, clinician, and academic, Mr. Cathcart is a multi-faceted, dynamic, and in-demand artist whose career spans the worlds of opera, musical theatre, jazz, pop, concert performance, commercial performance, and recording. With more than 245 productions, concerts, and recital ...
Born and raised in Sydney, Margaret MacPherson has been performing on stage for over 20 years. While working full time as an oncology nurse at our cancer center, Margaret still finds time for the arts, singing and playing piano being her passion. She has ...
Breagh Kelly is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter. After graduating this May with degrees in Business Administration and Community Studies, she is launching her solo career while performing across Nova Scotia this summer with her band, Coastline. She recently released her debut single "Was It Something ...