Highland dancer Emily Brown added another trophy to her collection after winning a competition in Sydney on the weekend. 32983
By Bridget Brady
EMILY Brown is flinging her way to the top after being crowned the Australasian highland dancing champion on the weekend.
And the Cranbourne dancer is preparing to pack her bags and head to the home of highland dancing in Scotland for the 2009 Cowal Highland Gathering next month.
Emily celebrated her 17th birthday in style on Sunday, winning her age group of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds during the Grand Australasian Championships in Sydney.
The Hampton Park Secondary College student said she was thrilled to have won the competition, making it the fifth time she has won the championships.
Emily started highland dancing when she was four years old and has more than 70 competition wins to her name.
“I love it. I train pretty much every day before and after school. It’s challenging and a bit different.”
Emily said her mother’s heritage inspired her to continue dancing.
“My mum was born in Scotland and she used to dance. She loves watching me.”
Emily was even more determined to train harder for this year’s Australasian championships after missing all of last year’s competitions with a stress fracture.
She trains at Speyside Dance Studio with a local highland dancing group.
Her teacher, Cathy Ress, said Emily was making a very impressive come-back after her injury.
“Emily has such a passion for highland dancing that she wouldn’t trade a day off for anything,” Ms Rees said.
Emily said her aim was to finish in the top six in Scotland.
“I’m really excited about it.”
