Fall 2017
It has certainly been an exciting (and busy) fall! A big move to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia from Summerside, PEI meant saying goodbye to some very special people and students, but also meant the excitement of starting the Lesperance School of Dance in Dartmouth. Classes have been tons of fun with some very keen students - some little highland stars in the making! (If you haven't signed up already, don't worry - I'm still accepting students until my classes are full, so spread the word).
Weekly Skype lessons have also begun with some equally keen students, some of who are up at 6am to squeeze their lesson in before school... now that's dedication! A big congratulations goes out to Skype student Roshandra from PEI (also a student at the College of Piping), who won the high aggregate trophy in her Novice group at both the Forever Highland competition in Saint John, NB and the Jane Dunnett Memorial Competition in Moncton, NB, and who moved up to the Intermediate category!
On the performance side of things, I was lucky enough to spend a week in Ottawa in September with Change of Step (some of my favourite gals around!), performing in shows as part of the Festival of Small Halls with both The Outside Track, and Canadian fiddle icon Ashley MacIsaac. In October, I had the incredible opportunity to perform in the Celtic Colours International Festival, accompanied by traditional piper and Gaelic singer Allan MacDonald, Scottish piping group Seudan, Cape Breton step-dance group Fileanta and Québecois group Bon Debarras. The show was broadcast online worldwide on the Celtic Colours live feed. Dancing with so many talented individuals was nothing short of inspirational, and made me feel unbelievably fortunate to have these opportunities to share highland dancing with the world.
A huge thanks to everyone who has shown me so much support, getting the word out about my classes and welcoming me to Nova Scotia. I'm so excited to be here and very much looking forward to what lies ahead!
