Two Scottish ensembles are back at this year’s BC Highland Games in Coquitlam — one to promote the group’s latest CD, the other to showcase its highland dancing talent.
Two years ago, the Kailyarders made their debut as a band at the games and, now, they are supporting their sophomore album, titled The Black Well, a collection of tunes by Collin Wade.
Wade said the Kailyarders — also made up of Chris Williscroft (bass, mandolin, guitars), Bruce McKillican (according, tin whistle, vocals) and, as of St. Patrick’s Day this year, Nicole Ensing (Irish drum, vocals) — will play traditional and modern songs during its hour-long games gig.
“The last time we were there, it was great,” Wade said. “We had a full audience before us.”
But prior to their show at 2:20 p.m., Shot of Scotch will show its stuff for the fourth year.
Co-founder Susan Nase said the performance company will have four members on stage plus 10 adult students — some of whom are new to the dance, others who practised it growing up.
Nase said they will kick up seven or eight traditional and contemporary pieces — a typical set for the troupe, which is known to perform at festivals, and at private and community events.
Nase co-founded Shot of Scotch in 2011 in New York City while she was pursuing tap career. There, she met fellow highland dancers Kendra Monroe and Kathleen Currie Hall, both natives of North Carolina who also had a passion for Scottish dancing and wanting to teach the craft. The company took off and, within the year, was asked to perform at the famed Lincoln Center.
The next year, Nase’s artist visa was up and she had to return to Canada. But when Currie Hall got a job as a linguistics professor at UBC, Nase decided to call Vancouver home.
The pair — along with Alison Ward, who performed in Paris and Monaco with the York Regional Police Pipe Band — opened the second Shot of Scotch, with lessons out of Broadway Ballroom.
Nase said its core of 11 dancers are “all extraordinary women. We have professionals, a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist and an engineer and people in the movie industry. It’s so exciting to see them thrive but I think Highland dancing attracts those Type A personalities.
“Highland dancing is an art of perfection. You want to improve to push yourself constantly. And it’s also a fun way to keep in shape and have that link to our Celtic culture. There is definitely a sense of community when we get out there and share the experience,” Nase said.
• Tickets for the BC Highland Games, which are sponsored in part by The Tri-City News, are at the gate June 18 at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park (1299 Pinetree Way). Admission is $15/$10/$5 (no charge for kids under six). Visit bchighlandgames.com for more information.
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