Highland dancers from around the world set to compete in Halifax

Nearly a thousand dancers from all over the world are in Halifax this week for the 2023 ScotDance Canada Championship Series.

The opening ceremonies happened Sunday at the Halifax Convention Centre. Competition begins Monday and runs through Thursday.

The Canadian Highland Dance Championships are part of the event and will be held on Tuesday.

Event chair Jennifer Worthen says it’s great to host the event in Halifax because of the Maritime connection to Scottish culture.

“This is a very important year because it marks the 250th anniversary of the landing of the ship Hector,” she said. “It brought a lot of Scottish culture to this area.”

Lower Sackville’s Maelle Naime says she wanted to get into Highland dancing after seeing her mother dance. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)

The Hector is famous for having been part of the first large migration of Scottish settlers to Nova Scotia in 1773.

It’s the first time Halifax has hosted the ScotDance Canada Championship since 1991.

Worthen said the dancers were getting very excited warming up for the opening ceremony.

“My mom was a Highland dancer and I went to a concert and I saw people dance and I was like, “I want to dance like that,” said 12-year-old Maelle Naime, who is from Lower Sackville, N.S.

Dancers from nine Canadian provinces, the U.S., Scotland, Australia and Northern Ireland are competing in the event. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)

She says she’s been dancing since she was four and has competed across the country. “My favourite part is the friends you make while you’re dancing,” Naime said.

She said that is especially true at events like ScotDance because you make friends from everywhere. “So, you don’t get to see them if you don’t do dance.”