Highland pair among world's best

Two CHB highland dancers, Abby-Jane Taylor, 13, and Holly Keir, 12, have returned with a swag of prizes from a six-week stint competing at Highland dancing championships in New Zealand, Australia, and Scotland.

Both girls are students of the Julie Appleton-Seymour School of Dance based in Waipukurau. Abby-Jane won every dance in the under-16 years class at the New Zealand Championships. Holly won the New Zealand title for dancers aged 12 years and under.

In Sydney, Abby-Jane was awarded the trophy for the most outstanding dancer at the competition. Both girls were first equal, and shared the best dressed dancer trophy.

They were also first and second in the Premier National Dance Title.

Both girls qualified to dance in the Special John McFarland Memorial Sailors Hornpipe event, open to the top two dancers in each age group. Abby-Jane won the title, beating dancers eight years her senior.

In Scotland, they competed in a four-week championship circuit in the build-up to the World Championships in Dunoon where they faced dancers from Canada, the US, South Africa and Australia. Both girls danced their way to second placings in their world championship title events.

This qualified them to dance in the Juvenile World Championship Title under 16 years, up against the top 20 dancers in the world.

Abby-Jane was awarded fifth placing overall in the world under 16 years.

Teacher and mentor Julie Appleton Seymour says both girls danced superbly, but she felt they peaked a week too early.

"We have decided that from now on we are only going to go on the circuit for two weeks before the world championships. The girls are well enough known now and I think they are strong enough to go in at the last minute, so they are fresh and at the top of their form for the worlds."

Abby-Jane and Julie acknowledged the assistance given to them by the Infinity Foundation, and the girls thanked the CHB Festival Committee and CHB Boxing Club for their support.