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Nelson Highland Dancers Invited to Dance with the Best
Nelson Highland Dancers Invited to Dance with the Best
The bright lights of the stage beckon for a trio of the Nelson regions top highland dancing talent. Three local dancers have been invited to join the New Zealand Highland Dance Company for their Blenheim performance of Journey of the Celts.
Holly Webster (15), Nicole Jones (14) and Tiffany Gilchrist (14) have been regularly travelling to Blenheim for rehearsals over past few weeks and are heading into two full days of intensive preparations prior to the performance hitting the stage on Thursday evening. (29 Aug)
In the vein of Riverdance, Journey of the Celts is the story in dance of the Scots migration to Aotearoa and the preservation and growth of their cultural heritage. The Nelson dancers will be performing with 30 of New Zealand’s elite highland dance talent including past and present New Zealand Champions, complemented by world class piping.
The New Zealand Highland Dance Company has performed in the United States and in China as well as a number of events in this country, including the Rugby World Cup celebrations prior to the England Scotland rugby match.
Holly, Nicole and Tiffany come from Nelson’s only Highland Dancing studio, Helen’s Highland Dancers. Studio Director Helen Gilchrist says to perform together with members of the New Zealand Highland Dancing Company is an incredible opportunity for the highly talented local dancers.
She says Highland Dancing is a traditional form of dance, but has become more popular in recent years as opportunities arise for more contemporary performances with modern music, creative costumes and clever sets and lighting.
Helen Gilchrist is very proud to have students dancing at this level. “Highland is a highly technical form of dancing requiring not only demanding physical fitness, stamina and endurance, but also the ability to perform precise and specifically timed movements.”
Journey of the Celts opens on Thursday at The Marlborough Centre in Blenheim before touring to Christchurch.
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