Dancers make positive steps

Highland dancers from Speirs School of Dance in Rothesay enjoyed their recent trip to the Dunoon Highland Dancing Festival.

Pictured left to right: Kiera Rutherford, Lucy Cameron, Aiden Scicluna, Anna McIntyre, Lexi Sutherland-Brown, Holly Black, Kayleen Rutherford and Megan McCormack. Missing: Eleanor McCartney and Eilidh Fisher.

All the school’s dancers picked up medals for their efforts at the event on April 14, with Anna McIntyre and Holly Black also each winning a trophy.

Margaret-Anne Speirs from Speirs School of Highland Dance, which was established in 1996, was delighted with her dancers’ success. She said: “I was really pleased for them. It’s the start of the season so that’s them starting to get out. I’m very pleased.

“Everyone that went over got placed which was nice. Sometimes somebody gets left out. So that makes a difference to everyone coming back happy. And it gives everyone a boost to keep going .

“They will work even harder to improve next time. It gives them the confidence to do better.

“Everybody cheers everybody else on. I’m very lucky that I have got a very close school. I have got a lot of kids who are really encouraging with each other. That side of it is very good here.

“Especially the ones that do well. They push the others. It’s a team effort.”

Parent Charlotte McIntyre, whose trophy-winning daughter Anna has been at the school for 10 years, said: “The kids go two nights a week and put a lot of hard work in so it’s nice to see them get rewarded.

“It was a good day. There was a lot of us parents there. It’s the same every year, well organised and busy.”

Full results for Speirs dancers:

PRIMARY 6 YEARS

Lexi – 1st Pas de Basque, 3rd Bas de Basque and High Cuts, 1st Fling, 1st Swords

BEGINNERS

Eleanor 3rd SeanTruibhas, 6th Special Fling.

Aiden 3rd Sean Truibhas, 3rd Reel, 6th Special Fling, 3rd Flora

Holly 5th Fling, 1st Reel, 4th Special Fling, 3rd Lilt

Anna 4th Fling, 2nd Sword Dance, 4th Sean Truibhas, 2nd Reel, 2nd Special Fling, 4th Flora, 5th Lilt

Kayleen 4th Reel, 5th Flora

NOVICE

Lucy 6th Fling, 1st Swords, 6th Sean Truibhas, 5th Reel, 2nd Special Fling, 4th Flora, 3rd Lilt

Megan, 5th Flora, 6th Lilt

PREMIER

Kiera 3rd Swords, 4th Sean Truibhas, 6th Reel, 4th Highland Laddie, 6th Flora, 5th Lilt

Eilidh 6th Swords.