The Triubhas News is pleased to present it's 29th issue with Tori a.k.a Lil_scottiedog

Username: Lil_scottiedog.
Why did you choose your username? Well my mom is Scottiedog440 and I wanted to make it clear that we were related!!
Name: Tori Lines
Member since: February, 2008
Years Dancing: almost 8 years
Age: 13
Board: BATD

What tartan do you wear for your kilt, and is there a specific reason why you chose it? Right now I'm wearing Green Traquair, but I'm getting a new kilt made out of Christina Young. I didn't pick Traquair my mom bought it off of eBay when I was growing out of my old kilt. And honestly I don't know why I picked Christina Young I just like it!

Tell us a bit about your other costumes.
Do you wear a white dress or an Aboyne for nationals? Aboyne (Its green like my kilt) Cape Breton Tartan.
What colour is your jig dress? I have both colors so I switch off, depending on my mood!
What colour is your hornpipe outfit? I'm white all the way!

What brand of Ghillies do you wear? Toe and Heel Gold.

What is the name of your school and teacher? Walton School of Highland Dance. Tracey is my teacher.

How/when did you know you wanted to be a dancer? I was taking ballet and my brother wanted to dance but he wasn't allowed to take ballet until he was 7 (he was 4) so my mom found a dance that he could do when he was only 4 years old. He has since quit and I've quit ballet!

Why did you choose highland? It was something my brother could do. Also we watched a show and there was a boy dancing that’s how my mom picked what dance form to do.
Do you take, or have you taken, any other forms of dance? Yes ballet until I was about 8.

What makes you love Highland dance? Everything about it! The dances, my teacher, the friends I've made competing and so much more.

If you could describe your dancing in only 1 word, what would it be? I can't really, it changes each time I dance! I guess graceful.

Do you compete? If so, what level are you in? I have just started Premier.

When is your next competition (if applicable)? Windsor, Canada in February.
How do you think you'll do there? I always do pretty well at Windsor, so around 5th's and 6th's or better I hope, but we'll see!

What has been your most memorable competition moment? When I got my first trophy in Novice in Windsor!

What has been your most memorable non-competitive achievement? Getting a letter from our state Senator, about my dancing, it was pretty cool!

Do you remember your first competition and how you did there? Yes I do! I got a Fifth in the Triubhas!

What do you enjoy most about competitions? The people mostly but I love dancing in front of people and since there aren't a lot of shows that’s where I get to do it!!!

Do you have any superstitions? Yes, I have this one hairpin that I always have to have in my bun! It is yellow, my friend and I spray-painted it when we were making her sister’s Halloween costume. She was Kraft Mac N Cheese.

What is the most difficult thing for you about Highland? Turn-out.
What's the easiest? Pointing my feet.

What are your best and favourite steps? Best would be the inverted toe, heel in the hornpipe. Favourite is the same I love that step!
What are your worst and least favourite? I hate the Flora yuck!

Anything you are still working on? Village maid, Scotch Measure and Blue Bonnets

Do you ever feel the pressure to quit? Never, I love it some much! I couldn't live with out dancing!

What are your favourite dances? Hornpipe and Laddie

How often do you take class? Two times a week.
How frequently do you practice? As often as I can but, I'm really busy with school and I'm a cheerleader and we practice everyday until about 5:30pm. My mom says I was born dancing because I dance around the kitchen all the time.

What do you generally work on when you practice on your own? Whatever my teacher points out at the last lesson!

Do your friends and family support your dancing? Yes a lot of my friends come to my comps, and all of my family goes to all the shows I perform in!

Do you hang out with your dance friends outside the studio? I wish I could, but we are all really busy! I babysit one family but that’s the only social time with HD friends. Plus we all live so far apart.

Approximately how many times per year does your dance school perform? Only once or twice but I dance at school shows that we have!

Does your school hold a recital? Yes about 2 times a year!
If so, what does it generally consist of? The Irish school we share space with invites us to dance every year but the schedule does not always allow for us to do that. Last year we had a competition the same day.

Would you rather have a strict or an easy-going teacher? She's pretty easy- going but a great teacher and so much fun!
How would you describe YOUR teacher? One of the nicest people I've ever met! She is very supportive and comes to all the competitions with us.

Who are your dance idols? Kate DeGood all the way! It’s so cool she dances with my teacher also so I learn a lot from her too!

What has been your most embarrassing dance moment? When I fell through a stage at a show! I wasn't hurt though!

If someone completely unfamiliar with Highland dancing asked you why you did it, what would you tell them? It's so much fun and keeps me in top shape for anything else I want to do.

May we have a peek inside your dance bag? Sure why not, It's extremely messy with about 8 pairs of shoes, athletic tape for my ankle, Band-Aids and other first aid stuff, a notebook, hairpins and clips, old snacks and crumbs and maybe some sand too!

What other activities do you have besides dancing? I cheer on my schools cheerleading quad, and I'm a harpist and a bassist!

Have you ever taken a break from dancing? Only once when I had a horrible ankle injury!

Have you ever had to overcome any problems to get to where you are today? Working on my turnout is an ever lasting problem.

Describe your ideal dance class? First we warm up on our own then we jump to music, then my teacher asks all the girls what we want to start with. After that dance we work on picky things like perfecting steps and stuff, then she splits the competing levels up and then we work on this years champion steps! And all the girls talk a lot!

Do any of your dance friends/classmates go on DDN? Not really, my parents go on but, I've met great people from DDN.

What’s your biggest regret? I'm not sure!

If you were told you could no longer dance after today, what would you do? And how would you spend this last day? I would cry! Then I would spend the whole day dancing, then ask my teacher for a private lesson to learn all the dances I did not know.

Thanks to Tori for being interviewed! Look for the next issue near the beginning of February!

Catherine

Thanks Catherine, for the latest issue. It was fun getting to know Tori better

Great interview. Love the photos. You look so different with your hair down in the cheerleader pic.

Thanks Catherine and Tori, that was a lovely interview and its great to see the TN continuing.

Thank you Catherine for selecting her and posting all her pictures. She feels very honored to have been chosen. Thanks for the nice comments!

Thanks to all , here is a new photo to add from cheer competition this past weekend. She has never been able to curl her hair but here is how it turned out after following the coach's instructions. I think it looks like an Irish wig. It was so fun, maybe we should do it when we have a jig next, what does everyone think? We could bun it up after for the highland section.

Hiya Tori
Your hair is so cool. I think you should wear it like that. It will look nice.With you doing the jig first you would be able to have your hair like that. The pictures are very nice.
I will love to see you in your new Christina Young outfit. I would of picked it aswell as it so different and a lovely colour.
great interview it was intresting.
bye bye jenny xxx

Thanks for another great issue! Love all of the pictures.

The Triubhas news is back!!

Very nice Tori! Nice hair too!

I enjoyed reading this, but I didn't see any mention of where Tori is from. . .is that too much info? Just wondering. . .

We are from the snowy cold Midwest, Michigan, in the United States. Thanks for asking.We are looking forward to our first competition this year in Windsor Canada and going to Hawaii in April.

Victoria

You look fabulous in the photographs and so grown up.
Good luck in Windsor, we are probably not going.
Hope to see you and your mum soon.

scottiedog440 wrote:

We are from the snowy cold Midwest, Michigan, in the United States. Thanks for asking.We are looking forward to our first competition this year in Windsor Canada and going to Hawaii in April.

Oh you are sooo lucky to go the games in Hawaii! I wish we could go, we're thinking about planning to go a couple years from now though.
I'm from CA, by the way, it's raining now but we had a couple days of 60+ degree weather a couple days ago.

We would take 60+ in a second! It has been so cold here this year with tons of snow, many below 0 days so far. Beautiful but we are ready for a little break from it all. We have had 2 snow/cold days off from school and I am sure will have more coming in February and March still. Hawaii sounded just great to us so we are going.
Scotsgal1- The hair was really fun, you know how straight her hair is. We may do it for a Jig someday now that we know how. It would be super fun!

Great interview, You are lucky going to Hawaii.

that was great ... I love reading about other dancers!
keep up the news!