By Paul Williams

Highland Dance

The Victoria Highland Dancing Association (VHDA) recently held its annual Winter Dance Competition at Lambrick Park Church, an event designed to celebrate the talent and skill of Highland dancers from across the Province of British Columbia. The competition featured multiple age categories, each fiercely contested, and aggregate winners who garnered the highest points across multiple dances in each category were recognized.

The recipients of this year’s awards in each age category are as follows: Waylon McArthur and Estelle Stevenson in the Primary Category; Ava Nicol and Bailey Malbon in the Beginner Category; Kaia Hodson and Poppy Wagg in the Novice Category; Ailia Suzuki (Cassandra Karras School of Highland Dance) and Zoe Nash in the Intermediate Category; and Allison McBride (Brigadoon Dance Academy), Morgan Woiden (Celtic Rhythm), Nicola Theim (Bon Accord Highland Dance School), and Annalise Lam (Brigadoon Dance Academy) in the Premier Category.

The John Cecil Parrish Trophy is a highly prestigious award presented to the top premier overall dancer based on points earned across all categories. This year, Nicola Theim (Bon Accord Highland Dance School) and Annalise Lam (Brigadoon Dance Academy) were the recipients of the award.

After the conclusion of VHDA’s Winter Dance Competition, we would like to extend our congratulations to all the winners!