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Meet the Clan Davidson Dance School, leading the way in bringing traditional highland dancing to Northern Ireland.
The Origins
The Clan Davidson Dance School was started in 2005 by Laura Davidson based in Newtownards, South Belfast. Drawing from her roots Laura wanted to call the school Clan Davidson as her maiden name was Davidson and the school are a team who gather people together who have the same interests and commitment building a strong family unit. Just like the Clans of old!
The Emblem
The emblem for the dance school is the a stag which is worn on all of the team tracksuits. Laura explains why they opted for the stag and we love the Bambi analogy:
The Stag is the Clan emblem of Clan Davidson, and in the wild a Stag leads and guards his family teaching the family lessons, new skills and independence. Like Bambi they learn to stand on their own feet.
Tartan
When I asked Laura if the School wore the Davidson tartan she explained although they do wear Clan Davidson tartan from time to time they tend to stick to Dancer tartans for their outfits. Dancer tartans traditionally have a lot of white within the tartan pattern and have a lovely fresh, colourful look perfect for young dancers. Laura did say one day she'd love to design the Dance School's own Davidson Dance Tartan. We can't wait to see this come to life!
Competitions
In its ten year history the school has travelled wide and far to take part in numerous dance competitions. From the major Scottish cities such as Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh to Toronto - Canada and more recently, Disneyland Paris. Imagine the levels of excitement when you combine Mickey Mouse and the bagpipes!
A little closer to home the dance school have also performed for Action Cancer, the Belfast Tattoo and Dalriada festival on top of all this they often visit elderly care homes and shopping centres to share their love of Highland Dance. As you can see from the cheeky faces below the fantastic range of ages and personalities guarantee a very special performance every time. Long live Highland Dancing!
Do you love Highland Dancing? Would you like to share your story with us? Email us your pictures and comments as we love to hear what you are up to!
