Edited by hylndlas (107168) on 2009-09-13 23:10:45 .
Edited by hylndlas (107168) on 2009-09-13 23:11:23 .
The Triubhas News is pleased to present it's 38th issue with
Username: DiscoDiva54
Why did you choose your username? I wanted something dance related and 54 is my favourite number.
Name: Sophie Durand
Member since: 2008
Years Dancing: About 4, I started when I was 5, then I stopped and age 7. I decided to pick it up again last January. So I have done highland for about 4 years, but I have done other types of dance all my life.
Age: 16
Board: BATD
What tartan do you wear for your kilt, and is there a specific reason why you chose it? I wear Pink dress McKellar, I chose it because it was pink (my favourite color) and not many people had this tartan. I thought I would stand out.
Tell us a bit about your other costumes.
Do you wear a white dress or an Aboyne for nationals? I wear an Aboyne. I don’t know the name of the tartan. But I would like to wear a white dress because my costume is too small!
What colour is your jig dress? It’s forest green
What colour is your hornpipe outfit? It’s navy blue
What brand of Ghillies do you wear? I wear toe and heel gold
What is the name of your school and teacher? The Heather McNabb Dance School. My teacher is Heather.
How/when did you know you wanted to be a dancer? Since the age of three when I started Ballet.
Why did you choose highland? I chose it because my mother is Scottish, and not many people do highland, so I wanted to try something different.
Do you take, or have you taken, any other forms of dance? Yes I have: Ballet-Jazz, Classical ballet and Hip-Hop
What makes you love Highland dance? I love it because the dances are the same worldwide, so you can dance the exact same dance as a dancer coming from another country. I also like the footwork, it’s interesting.
If you could describe your dancing in only 1 word, what would it be? AMAZING
Do you compete? If so, what level are you in? Yes I do, I’m in novice right now, I need 2 more stamps.
When is your next competition (if applicable)? As far as I know it should be in November
How do you think you'll do there? Hopefully well.
What has been your most memorable competition moment? At the highland games in Montreal August 3rd 2008. I messed up my fling, so I didn’t place and kicked the sword. I was sure I wasn’t going to get the trophy, but when I heard them call my name my facial expression was so funny because it was so unexpected.
What has been your most memorable non-competitive achievement? When my dance friend and I were featured in the news paper for highland dancing.
Do you remember your first competition and how you did there? At the time I was young. But I can remember the first one I did once I started highland again. I placed 1st in the Sean Triubhas and 2nd on the fling if I can remember well.
What do you enjoy most about competitions? I like meeting other dancers from far away and hanging out with my other dancing friends.
Do you have any superstitions? Yes, I always wear my hairpiece, without it, I don’t do as well!
What is the most difficult thing for you about Highland? The sword dance, I always kick it! It’s a miracle if I get off the stage and the sword hasn’t moved.
What's the easiest? National dances, I tend to place better in them rather than highland, I also like them better.
What are your best and favourite steps? My best step is the balance step in the Hullachan and my favourite step is the last step of the jig.
What are your worst and least favourite? My worst step if the last step of the sword and my least favourite step is the last step of the barracks.
Anything you are still working on? Yes, trying to be less tired at the end my dances. I’m working on my endurance.
Do you ever feel the pressure to quit? Sometimes when I don’t do well at competitions, but I usually get over it the next day. But I don’t want to quit.
What are your favourite dances? Lilt, Flora and Jig
How often do you take class? Only once a week.
How frequently do you practice? Everyday if a competition is near, if not, I sometimes dance around the house for fun.
What do you generally work on when you practice on your own? Leaps and split high cuts
Do your friends and family support your dancing? Yes they do, they come to competitions and shows.
Do you hang out with your dance friends outside the studio? Well, one of them, because we are in the same class at school. We were friends before highland dancing. If not, I don’t because they are all younger than I am.
Approximately how many times per year does your dance school perform? It really depends. I would say about 4 times, but it might be more. We perform on holidays like Canada Day or Robbie Burns night.
Does your school hold a recital? No we don’t. we aren’t enough dancers.
Would you rather have a strict or an easy-going teacher? Easy-going, dancing is just for fun.
How would you describe YOUR teacher? She is great! She is easy-going but tells us when we aren’t doing something right. She pushes us, but not too much! She’s a fabulous dance teacher.
Who are your dance idols? I don’t really have one, but I have seen some girls at competitions that I could only dream of dancing as well as they do like Elise Quinn. If not I think that Taraneh Krispil is an absolutely amazing dancer. I wish I could have half of their talent.
What has been your most embarrassing dance moment? When I was in Beginner, I had to dance with tiny little girls, even if there were older people in my group. I was always stuck dancing beside the smallest ones there.
If someone completely unfamiliar with Highland dancing asked you why you did it, what would you tell them? I would tell them that I do it because It’s great fun and it keeps me in shape.
May we have a peek inside your dance bag? Of course, there’s two pairs of Ghillies, my jig shoes, a water bottle, hair elastics and dance shorts.
What other activities do you have besides dancing? I like to do photography, make videos and pageantry.
Have you ever taken a break from dancing? I have taken a break from Highland for figure skating. I stopped it to get back into highland.
Have you ever had to overcome any problems to get to where you are today? No I haven’t.
Describe your ideal dance class. Lots of stretching to be more flexible, then do all of the dances that are normally in competitions. Go over steps I need to work on and then learn new dances.
Do any of your dance friends/class mates go on DDN? Yes they do.
What’s your biggest regret? Quitting when I was younger, I wish I would have never given it up.
If you were told you could no longer dance after today, what would you do? I would probably cry for a long period of time, but still be involved with the highland community. I would attend the competitions and help out.
And how would you spend this last day? I would spend my last day dancing all over the place! I would dance my whole life out on that one day.
Thanks for the great interview! Sophie, you mentioned that your next comp could be November, does that mean Kingston in November?
Catherine
