Username: Emzmum
Why did you choose your username? It was my mum who set up the account and she calls me Emz.
Name: Emma-Jane Stewart
Member since: 2007
Years Dancing: 5 and a half years.
Age: I'm 12 years old, 13 in about a week.
Board: (SDTA, UKA, BATD)UKA
What tartan do you wear for your kilt, and is there a specific reason why you chose it? I wear the Green Lennox, no particular reason, I went to the kilt shop originally to buy an Aboyne then we saw that tartan and I loved it so we got that for a new kilt.
Tell us a bit about your other costumes.
Do you wear a white dress or an Aboyne for nationals? I have a Purple Lennox Aboyne.
What colour is your jig dress? Currently green but I am having a new one made which is red.
What colour is your hornpipe outfit? Currently Navy but I am getting a new one made which is white.
What brand of Ghillies do you wear? I wear Bobby Munro.
What is the name of your school and teacher? Delma Wilson School of Dance.
How/when did you know you wanted to be a dancer? After my first competition I fell in love with it.
Why did you choose highland? My mum just saw the ad in the local newspaper for it so we thought I'd try it and now I couldn't imagine anything else.
Do you take, or have you taken, any other forms of dance? No, I have never done anything other than highland.
What makes you love Highland dance? So many things, the feeling I get when I'm on stage dancing nothing compares to it, the people you get to meet from all over the world, experiences non-competition and competition, so many more.
If you could describe your dancing in only 1 word, what would it be? hard-work
Do you compete? If so, what level are you in? Yes I do, I'm in Premier.
When is your next competition (if applicable)? I think it is the last weekend in February.
How do you think you'll do there? I'm not sure, I'll try my hardest and see what happens.
What has been your most memorable competition moment? Probably coming 3rd in the European Championships last year or winning Cowal medals.
What has been your most memorable non-competitive achievement? I loved doing our dancing shows last year, it was great fun.
Do you remember your first competition and how you did there? Yeah, it was my local games but it was moved inside because of the rain and I got a 2nd in the Swords.
What do you enjoy most about competitions? I enjoy obviously being up dancing, getting awards is great and also getting to see my friends who live far away.
Do you have any superstitions? Not really although I always kind of have the same routine in the mornings of competitions.
What is the most difficult thing for you about Highland? Practising is always hard work but I love it and it pays off.
What's the easiest? Nothing is easy about Highland ha ha!
What are your best and favourite steps? I really like the quick times in Swords.
What are your worst and least favourite? I don’t have any least favourites but this year I'm finding reverse points very hard!
Anything you are still working on? There’s nothing I'm not working on ha ha.
Do you ever feel the pressure to quit? No, not really I love it too much. If I ever feel stressed about dancing I just think of what I want to achieve.
What are your favourite dances? Probably the Swords and Hornpipe.
How often do you take class? 3 or 4 times a week.
How frequently do you practice? Every night when I don't have dance class or a competition.
What do you generally work on when you practice on your own? I work on whatever my dance teacher has told me in previous lessons.
Do your friends and family support your dancing? Yes, very much.
Do you hang out with your dance friends outside the studio? Yeah, my best friend is at my dance school and I'm with her all of the time.
Approximately how many times per year does your dance school perform? Last year we had two concerts but do small things throughout the year too.
Does your school hold a recital? We did one last year.
If so, what does it generally consist of? It was just many choreographies from all of our dancers we had solos, duets, trios and group ones.
How would you describe YOUR teacher? Amazing, really caring, helps me so much!
Who are your dance idols? David Wilton of course.
What has been your most embarrassing dance moment? Probably not knowing I had won an overall trophy then having to go on the stage and collect my trophy wearing my tracksuit and trainers!
If someone completely unfamiliar with Highland dancing asked you why you did it, what would you tell them? It is really enjoyable but very hard work, it is worth it though.
May we have a peek inside your dance bag? Yes, I have dancing pumps, my notebook, garters, socks and my drink.
What other activities do you have besides dancing? I don't have much time for other activities between school, dancing and homework but I do like photography and I'm into fashion.
Have you ever taken a break from dancing? Not for very long, only a short period of time from injury, maybe about 2/3 weeks.
Have you ever had to overcome any problems to get to where you are today? Not really, just a few injuries.
Describe your ideal dance class. The one that I go to, a great teacher and great people.
Do any of your dance friends/class mates go on DDN? Yeah, most do.
What’s your biggest regret? Not starting dancing earlier.
If you were told you could no longer dance after today, what would you do? I would cry my eyes out, then try to fix the reason I would not be able to dance.
And how would you spend this last day? Fixing the reason I wouldn't be able to dance, ha ha. So that it wouldn't be my last day.
Thanks for the great interview!
Catherine 
