Dancing their way from Lewis to Basel
Fourteen Highland dancers from Lewis are heading for Switzerland to take part in the first competitive festival organised in the city of Basel/Basle, in the north-west of the country.
The dancers are from the Stornoway-based Sharon Mackinnon School of Dance and its chair, Rhianna Maclennan, said this week: “It has been a very last minute effort.
"We only decided in early October so we have been on a mad rush to organise fund-raising to allow all of our dancers to go fully funded.
“Our Highland dancing teacher put it on our committee chat that she had seen the Basel competition being advertised. One of the parents said ‘let’s go’ and that was it.
"There are 14 dancers, all girls aged between eight and over 21. Our own daughter, Orla, is the youngest.
“We fly out on November 28th and the girls will be competing the next day. We are estimating a total cost of between £10-12k. We have done quite well so far on our fund-raising and will continue to fund-raise once we are back home”.
The Basel Highland Dancing Christmas Competition was “approved and added to the RSOBHD website” on October 4th, prompting the initial interest.
The Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing is the governing body which also runs the World Championships annually at the Cowal Games.
For whatever reason, the art of Highland dancing is of serious interest in Basel.
In August, one dancer became the first Swiss competitor in the World Championships at Cowal and there were two Basel girls in Glasgow last weekend to attend masterclasses run by the Scottish Dance Teacher Alliance.
There is also a City of Basel Caledonia Pipe Band and an annual tattoo which featured Flings and Things Highland Dancers, with fiddle accompaniment – well worth a look on YouTube under Basel Tattoo 2025.
The very best of wishes to the Lewis dancing ambassadors!