Abstracts
Abstract
The Red River Jig is a fiddle tune and a dance form that have particular resonance for First Nations and Métis peoples in Northern and Western Canada. Here I follow the dance form’s practice across diverse settings in time and space. This article is a part of a larger project in which I am analyzing the nexus of Métis identity, performance, and heritage; using Michael Herzfeld’s concept of “social poetics” (2005) to gauge the Red River Jig not only as a representative form of Métis heritage, but as a performative form that emerges in social interaction. Here I first chronicle its performance through time and then describe its form and manners of learning this form in contemporary contexts in Alberta and Western Canada more generally. Finally, I examine the Red River Jig, or aspects of the Red River Jig, emerging in other dance forms as well as other performative circumstances beyond the categorical boundaries of music and dance to consider the social poetics of the Red River Jig within greater spheres of practice.
Résumé
La gigue de la Rivière Rouge est une mélodie jouée au violon ainsi qu’une danse qui ont une résonance particulière pour les Premières Nations et les Métis du nord et de l’ouest du Canada. Je m’intéresse ici à la pratique de ce modèle de danse dans différents cadres temporels et spatiaux. Cet article fait partie d’un projet plus vaste dans lequel j’analyse le lien entre l’identité, la représentation et le patrimoine métis en utilisant le concept de « poétique sociale » de Michael Herzfeld (2005) pour évaluer la gigue de la Rivière Rouge non seulement en tant que forme représentative du patrimoine métis mais encore comme une forme performative fruit de l’interaction sociale. En premier lieu, je retrace ici sa mise en scène à travers le temps avant de décrire sa forme et son mode d’apprentissage dans des contextes contemporains en Alberta et dans l’ouest canadien plus généralement. Enfin, j’analyse la gigue de la Rivière Rouge, ou certains de ses aspects, telle qu’elle émerge dans d’autres danses ainsi que dans d’autres contextes performatifs au-delà des frontières catégoriques de la musique et de la danse, afin de considérer les poétiques sociales de la gigue de la Rivière Rouge à l’intérieur de sphères de pratiques plus vastes.
Appendices
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