19 hours ago
Regina highland dancer heads to national championship for 7th straight year
For the seventh straight year, the highland dance community will see Regina dancer Courtney Horejda representing Saskatchewan at the Scotdance Canada Championship Series.
'We're just so excited, it's such an honour to represent Saskatchewan,' Horejda said. 'We get to wear the Saskatchewan tartan, and it's a great opportunity to see all different parts of Canada over the years and meet lots of different people.
Horejda has had an extensive career in the sport, starting at just three-years-old.
Growing up, she has been training at the Summerfield School of Highland Dance, with owner Anette Summerfield, who has been her instructor since she was five-years-old.
Horejda has also brought her own skills to the teaching world, where she teaches kids as young as two years of age. She teaches two classes: the 'Tartan Tots,' which teaches kids ages 2-4 the basics of dancing.
'We'll have certain songs that teach the foundations of highland dance,' she said. 'Sometimes there's nursery rhymes and stuff, so we make highland dance movements into something fun and digestible for toddlers.'
She also teaches a competitive class, which has a range of ages.
It's a full circle scenario for Anette Summerfield, who has seen Horejda develop into a star, as well as someone for younger kids to look up to in the studio.
'She is the role model in our dance studio, and she is definitely the ambassador of highland dancing in my mind,' Summerfield said. 'All of our little ones look up to Miss Court. They strive for the same level of dancing that she is able to do.'
Since the school opened in 2013, Summerfield sees some similarities that have been passed down.
'Courtney probably encompasses what I would call the 'all around talent dancer,' where she has an eagerness to be competitive,' Summerfield said. 'I think what helps Courtney is that there's a softness that comes as well, which is her love for dance. So she can kind of soften that sort of competitive edge with her passion for dancing.'
The Scotdance Canada Championship Series begins on July 5-9 in Ottawa, where participants will be evaluated on four dances: the sword dance, highland fling, the highland reel and the seann triubhas.
Horejda and 18 Saskatchewan participants, including four Regina participants, hope to return home with a little hardware and some lifelong memories.
