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21 Sep 04 - 09:24 AM (#1277271) Subject: Chieftains/Jon and Nathan Pilatzke From: DMcG I was at a Chieftains concert last night with Jon and Nathan Pilatzke as guests, performing Ottawa Valley Dance. If you get the chance, see them! Here's a clip from a website, reviewing a Chieftain's show last last year: Little did we know that the dancing would easily equal the outstanding musicianship on this special program! Very impressive were the Nashville Irish Step Dancers (feature coming soon) and especially a couple of Canadian brothers, Jon and Nathan Pilatzke. The Pilatzke name is no doubt about to become a household word in the Celtic community! These two are simply astounding. Not only do these "maniacs" take the audience by storm via their energetic and dynamic stepdancing style, but Jon plays the fiddle with the Chieftains at times as well! The brothers hail from the Ottawa Valley of Ontario, Canada, where they started stepdancing at the tender ages of 4 and 5. Jon then picked up the fiddle at age 9 and he is adept in both classical and Celtic styles, having won the Canadian Duet Fiddle Championships twice and been invited for two consecutive years running to play in the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Championships. An accomplished stepdancer, singer, and actor, he appeared in Swingstep, the Canadian mega-musical that played at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto during 1999 and 2000, and Fireweeds, which had a lengthy run at Toronto's Canadian Stage. He was also in Bowfire. Nathan, aptly named "Crazy Legs," is one of the most respected instructors of stepdance in Ontario and also works in Ottawa as a computer programmer for the Canadian government. |