Highland dancers off to national competition
Ard-Mhor School of Highland Dance hold year-end party in Peterborough
Two local Highland dancers qualify for Canadian National Championships
The local Ard-Mhor School of Highland Dancing will send two dancers to Calgary for the 2018 National Championship from June 29 to July 4.
The two girls, both 11, Islay Moore and Ella Horner, will compete in The ScotDance Canada Championship Series (SDCCS)— which has anywhere from 800 to 1200 dancers from all over the country.
“I don’t think the girls understand how big of an event it is,” said Lynn Mooney, the girl’s dance instructor.
Highland Dancing is the national dance of Scotland, according to Ben Johnson from History and Heritage UK.
“Whilst the majority of dancers now entered are female, the roots of these ritualistic dances lay with warriors imitating epic deeds from Scottish folklore,” Johnston states.
On Friday evening, the Highland dance school held a showcase at the Riverview Park and Zoo, on McBride Island, where they performed one of the most famous highland dances, called the Sword Dance.
The sword dance was first performed before the Swedish King John III at a banquet held at Stockholm Castle in 1573, according to History and Heritage UK.
The dance was actually a plot to assassinate the king and the swords were to complete the deed—but no signal was ever given and the king lived another day.
Mooney mentioned that the two girls just recently completed their British Association of Teachers Dance exam and were both highly commended and received the highest level you can attain.
“They are strong competitors and they will represent the school very well,” Mooney said.
Last Saturday at the Cobourg Highland Games, Horner won silver and bonze. Moore has won two over-all trophies this season and is moving into a higher-level division at nationals.
The two girls did not qualify for nationals because they have entered into Beginners and Novice, which are open divisions.
This nationals will be Horner’s first time competing so she selected the beginners division. For Moore, she had competed before and so this is her second year and she is entering into the novice division.
The premier division is the only one that requires qualification. The premier division is compiled of extremely skilled dancers who have been competing for years.
The nationals are held in different Canadian cities each year. Last year, the event was held in Prince Edward Island.
Mooney is devastated she cannot make it this year to help support her girls; however she hopes the next nationals will be held in Toronto.
“I am unable to go but possibly next year! Because they alternate out west, central and then back to the East. So next year I should be able to go if it is held in Toronto,” Mooney explained.
Mooney, as well as being a highland dance instructor, also drives a school van for local children with special needs.
“I am heavily involved with dancing and I love working with kids—they are awesome,” Mooney said.