Highland Dance Class

Please note that registration for Dance is currently closed for 2026.  Please complete the Highland Dance – Waitlist Registration Form to be placed on a waiting list.

We will emphasize the importance of proper warm-ups and stretches as well as cool downs to keep in condition. Daily classes will include basic technique in all levels. Championship steps will be reviewed thoroughly in the Intermediate and Premier classes. One Highland dance will be taught each day with general review on the last morning. National dances will also be taught each day at all levels with a general review on the last morning. We will also be teaching theory in all levels every day in regular classes.
It is mandatory that each student arrive in top physical condition! Students must begin to increase their practice time in the months PRIOR to the start of School. It is imperative students be able to dance for 45-minutes for four times a day. By increasing strength and stamina before arriving at OSAS, injuries will be prevented.

Gemma Baillie is a member of the BATD and represents Granite City festivals as a deputy delegate on the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing. She is an RSOBHD registered adjudicator and was an RSOBHD competitor for 22 years for which she danced with Wilma Tolmie, she won many championship titles over the UK including the UKA, BATD, British Open and European Championships. She also qualified to dance in the world championship finals 14 times and finished in the top six in the adult world championships in 2003, 2008 and 2009. After finishing competing, Gemma enjoyed dancing at the 2013 Basel International Tattoo and more recently, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo when it was on tour in Australia and New Zealand. Together with Rachel Mclagan, Gemma organised the 2010 charity highland dancing concert, assemble and leap to honour the 60th anniversary of the board whilst raising over £8000 for action Duchene and the MS Society Scotland and in 2013 ran a charity highland dancing competition in Aberdeenshire in aid of breast cancer campaign.

Daniel Carr began dancing at the age of three with the Sheila Milne School of Dance in Owen Sound, Ontario. He received world class training in highland dance from Mrs. Milne as well as ballet, modern, jazz, tap and musical theatre from top instructors that came from all over the world. Some highlights of his highland dance career included winning major championships throughout Canada, US and Scotland including the Ontario, Canadian and World championships. Daniel teaches highland along with Leslie MacDougall in Cambridge, ON. Prior to the pandemic, he was very fortunate to teach workshops throughout North America and UK.
Aside from dancing, Daniel plays bagpipes and teaches local students in Collingwood, ON. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he focused his time on finishing up some educational goals and completed teachers college in Toronto. He is also a member of the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance and Alpine Canada and has taught/coached skiing for 15+ years in the Collingwood area.
He is thrilled to be asked to teach at OSAS after attending as a student in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Elizabeth Gollan was trained by Frances Paterson in Edinburgh, Scotland in Highland, Ballet and Tap. She is a Life Member and Fellow of the BATD, and a Fellow of UKAdance.
Previously a teacher and director of Paterson School of Dancing for over 30 years she now teaches dancers of all levels at her own school.
Elizabeth has trained dancers who have won championship titles in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, France, Canada, South Africa and the United States, as well as the RSOBHD UK Champion of Champions.
Having spent 27 years working in the Finance Sector, Elizabeth changed job direction in 2016 and is now Director of Administration of the RSOBHD.
Elizabeth is honoured to have been asked to lecture at the Ohio Scottish Arts School. She is sure the dancers will work hard and have a wonderful time.

Mary Beth Klein (Miss B to her students) began dancing at the age of 10 in Kansas City. With no certified teachers in area, she had to travel monthly for lessons. She studied under teachers Jean Forbes (Texas), Betty Lawrence (Oklahoma), and Sheena MacDonald (Scotland). The majority of her instruction was under Sheila Mittig in Detroit, from whom she began taking lessons with in 1973 and remained with throughout her career.
Highlights of her competitive career include winning the Scottish Championship and Juvenile World Championship at Cowal (1976), and the Junior World Championship (1977). Mary Beth held the title as being the only American to ever win two World Championships in Highland Dancing from 1977 until 2015. B has been teaching Highland for 50 years and is a life time member of BATD and member of SDTA. She also holds a BA degree in Dance from the Conservatory of Music/Kansas City and a separate BA in Physical Education & Heath. She is honored to be returning to OSAS which holds special memories for her.

Mary Munro resides in Burnaby, British Columbia. She is a Fellow and Examiner of the B.A.T.D. and she is also on the SOBHD Adjudicators Panel. Mary’s teachers were the late Dorothy Christie and Heather Jolley. She is very grateful to both of these ladies for sharing their knowledge with her especially during her competitive years. As a dancer, highlights of her competitive career included winning the Adult Canadian Championship, and finishing First Runner-up in the Adult World Championship. As a judge and teacher, she has had the opportunity to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, and also extensively throughout North America. Her students have won many open and closed championships. Besides teaching full day kindergarten in North Vancouver, she also runs a dance program at school. She finds this very rewarding as it is an opportunity to give back to the school community. Mary served as Treasurer of ScotDance Canada for 11 years and she also held the same position with ScotDance BC for 11 years. She is the current Treasurer for the BC Highland Dancing Association in Vancouver.
Mary is looking forward to returning to OSAS and to an enjoyable week filled with both hard work and fun.