Tartan Pride Highland Dance Team:
12 Years of Great Choreography and Colourful Costumes
VANCOUVER - "It's been 12 rewarding years," Joan Murray, director of Tartan Pride, sums up her experience with the Highland dance team. “Twelve years ago I was invited to take a group of Highland dancers to southern France for a series of concerts. It was too good an opportunity to let pass, so I formed a team of premier dancers, did some choreography with the girls who were very enthusiastic, and within months Tartan Pride was off to France. It was a wonderful experience!
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| DANCERS with the Tartan Pride Highland Dance Team. |
"Of course, the group wanted to stick together and do even more exciting shows. In fact, two of the original dancers have continued to this day and several others have returned. I suppose we have become a family and it's still as much fun as ever."
And busy too. The 20 or so dancers who comprise Tartan Pride have since performed in Scotland, Holland, and Austria, as well as Disneyland. Tattoos, Highland Games, concerts, ceilidhs, and cruises – they are all exciting as far as these young ladies are concerned.
Tartan Pride has performed with brass bands such as the Welsh Guards, numerous pipe bands, the Vancouver Fiddle Orchestra, and well-known Celtic groups, Blackthorn, Skystone, and Tiller's Folly.
They also bring with them their own pipers, so there is always music when Tartan Pride is in town. Although proficient in the standard Highland and National dances, the team is best known for its choreography and colourful costumes. Locals may best remember Tartan Pride's many performances at the B.C. Highland Games in Coquitlam, countless Burns Nights and ceilidhs, as well as an array of events in aid of charities.
Their next public performance is their own fund-raiser, “A Celtic Ceilidh" to be held at the Scottish Cultural Centre in Vancouver on April 30. This, the eighth annual ceilidh, will feature Blackthorn, and a guest appearance by the Vancouver Police Pipe Band.
Tickets for “A Celtic Ceilidh” are available from members of Tartan Pride or by calling (604) 576-1619.
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