Highland Dancing

The Glengarry Highland Games bids you a Hundred Thousand welcomes! Spectators and competitors alike can expect to enjoy the very best of what this successful event has to offer.

Come join us and experience the athleticism and rich history of the Scottish Highlands as Highland Dancers from around the world take the stage.  All competitive events are sanctioned by the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (RSOBHD) which was formed in 1950 as the world governing body of Highland dancing. The RSOBHD is responsible for certifying competitions, instructors and adjudicators, standardizing dance steps and attire for competition as well as establishing rules and protocols for all competitions.

All competitions will take place in the arena commencing Friday morning with Primary, Beginner, Novice and Intermediate events followed by Restricted and Premier National competitions. The Glengarry Highland games Open Championship will take place on Saturday where you will be charmed by the perfection and proficiency of champion dancers competing for this prestigious title.

GET READY FOR AN INCREDIBLE WEEKEND OF HIGHLAND DANCING EVENTS!

Full Schedule of Events and Entry Form Coming Soon!

Registration

2025 registration coming soon! For more information, email dancing@glengarryhighlandgames.com

Judges

Dawn Fraser

Dawn started her dancing career at the age of 4 as a student at the McKay School of Dancing in Glenrothes where she was taught by the highly respected Sheila McKay and Anna Bain.  Dawn spent her entire dancing days with Anna and Sheila and she is indebted to them both for giving her the knowledge, inspiration and passion for dance.

With the dedication of her teachers and parents, Dawn had a very successful competitive career winning around 40 Highland Championships, including the Scottish, British and Commonwealth titles.

Dawn is now a respected teacher and is fortunate to have many dedicated, hard-working students in her class who have enjoyed competitive success at home and overseas.  She has produced champions in every age category, her students winning multiple major championships including Scottish, Scottish National, British and Commonwealth titles.  Due to this, Dawn is regularly invited to conduct professional workshops throughout the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Dawn has also enjoyed much success as a choreographer having won the Highlands and Islands music and dance choreography challenge on several occasions.

She is a Fellow, Examiner and SOBHD delegate of the UKA.  She is also an adjudicator on the SOBHD worldwide judging panel and has had the pleasure of adjudicating major championships both at home and overseas.

As well as her love for highland, Dawn also has a background in ballet, tap, modern, majorettes, cheerleading, scottish country dance, line dance and zumba and holds a professional qualification in each of these styles

Carolyn Spears

Carolyn Spears is from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her family is from Pictou and direct descendants of the Ship Hector settlers who arrived in 1773 from Scotland. Carolyn is a Fellow and life member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing (BATD), and is currently chairperson of BATD Maritimes. Carolyn has been a member of the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing since 1986.

Carolyn began dancing at the age of six under the instruction of Marie Urquhart.  Carolyn had a successful competitive career, and represented Nova Scotia at the Canadian Championships. From 1979-1985 she had the honour to perform with the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo.   During the summer months, Carolyn attended the Gaelic College in St. Anns, Cape Breton, where J.L. MacKenzie taught each year. In 1986 she spent the summer in Scotland where she trained with Jessie Stewart Haggarty, with whom she is indebted to for giving her the skills of highland dance theory. To this day she looks back and uses that knowledge and the teaching techniques that she had learned during this time.

Carolyn is on the executive of many other associations as well. She is the President of Celtica Highland Dance Society and organizes a Highland and Choreography Competition. She is currently a member at large of the Halifax Highland Dance Association and organizes the BATD Highland Festival. She is a member of ScotDance Nova Scotia and represents her province on the Board of Directors of ScotDance Canada. Carolyn was on the organizing committee for ScotDance Canada Championship Series (SDCCS), in Halifax in 2023 and was the Chair of the awards committee for the event. She is the Chair of the awards for SDCCS 2026 in Moncton.

Carolyn is the director of her own school of dance “Carolyn MacKenzie Spears School of Highland Dance” which began in 1982. Since that time, Carolyn has trained dancers from beginner to champion. Her dancers having had the opportunities of performing at various Military Tattoos throughout the Maritimes, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, and The United States. They have travelled to Cuba where they performed throughout Havana and have danced in the Tartan Day Parade in NY.  Carolyn’s students have been successful over the years to bring home perpetual awards on numerous occasions from “The Sadie Simpson North American Scholarships”.

Carolyn is honoured to have been invited to judge this prestigious event and would like to wish all participants good luck and hope they have a very memorable experience.

Jennifer Worthen

Under the instruction of Janice Macquarrie, Jennifer successfully competed for 15 years and represented Nova Scotia at the Canadian Championships for 10 years, placing in the top 6.   Jennifer is a 4-time Provincial Champion dancer and a Silver Medalist in the Scottish Championships.

Jennifer is a Fellow and Examiner with the SDTA and has been a member of the RSOBHD Judges’ Panel for 29 years. She has enjoyed judging throughout Canada, United States, Australia, and Scotland. Jennifer had the honour of judging the World Championships in 2022!

Jennifer has been teaching highland dance for 39 years and runs a large successful dance school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Her students have won many championship titles including Provincial, Atlantic Canada Open, ScotDance Canada Open, and the Canadian Championships! Some of her students also won the North American SDTA James L. McKenzie Scholarship.  Besides her passion for teaching dance, Jennifer was also an Elementary school teacher for 20 years.

Jennifer served as an Office Bearer for ScotDance Canada for eight years, both as Secretary and Vice-President.  She was a member of the organizing committee for the ScotDance Canada Championship Series in 2011, 2017, 2019 and chaired this event in Halifax in 2023.  Jennifer is also a member of the organizing committee for the SDTA North American Scholarship & Conference.

Jennifer is thrilled to be judging the Glengarry Highland Games!

Pipers

Sean Wereley, Daniel Carr, Jamie Douglas