05-05-2009 | Medals Galore at the BATD Festival of Dance! Highland dancers from The College
of Piping & Celtic Performing Arts of Canada won top honours this weekend
at the B.A.T.D. (British Association of Teachers of Dancing) Festival of Dance
in Milford, Nova Scotia.On Saturday, May 2, nine young Highland
dancers competed in both traditional and choreography events.Ariana MacFarlane of Summerside, Alysha
Trenholm of Summerside, and Laura Johnston of Kinkora, all won overall trophies
for accumulating the most points in their respective categories.Kate Ross of Summerside, as well as Trenholm
and Johnston, also received scholarships for demonstrating strong potential in Highland dancing.Additional medalists included Hayley Porter
of Hunter River, Siobhan Doyle of North Rustico, Carly MacKenzie of Summerside,
Kaylee Perkic of Summerside and Mya MacFarlane of Summerside.
In the choreography events, The
College of Piping took home gold medals in four separate categories.“Lassie
Come ‘n’ Dance With Me” won the category for groups with less than 3 years
experience, while “Highland Hoedown”
placed first in the event for 3 years or more experience.The College’s Senior Dance Company, made up
of Lacey Fischer, Mary Laura Coady, Alicia Webster
and Lindsay Munro, placed first in
the Pro-Am category with their dance entitled “Flying Feet”, while also winning the trophy for the overall highest
mark across all Pro-Am entries in the Traditional category.In addition, Fischer took first place in the
Professional category with her solo, “Scottish
Fantasy” and Johnston
won bronze with her solo, “Mhari’s
Wedding”.Highland
dancing students at The College of Piping are taught by Lacey Fischer and Lindsay Munro.
