Belgium Tattoo Blog- Day 2
After a long day of travelling and sightseeing in Amsterdam, we were treated with a sleep in which was well needed. Once we finished eating some breakfast, we made a quick trip to the supermarket. We then hopped on the bus for a big day of rehearsals.
We rehearsed our dance with Te Ahikaaroa where we began to see it all come together! We continued our rehearsals before making our way to the arena for the first time! We ate some dinner before heading outside to continue perfecting our dances. Now off to get a good nights sleep before another big day of rehearsals tomorrow!
Isla and Estelle x
Belgium Tattoo Blog - Day 3
Friday 3rd October:
A bright and early start to our day today, with breakfast at the hotel and then on the bus to the venue!
Our day of dancing began here. We started with a few runs of our Aotearoa item with the Te Ahikaaroa group, before moving onto our pipes and drums and Pure Blarney items. This was a great adventure putting our choreography to live music!
We enjoyed some lunch, ran our dances some more, indulged in dinner, learnt the finale, then got ready for the full dress rehearsal.
It’s been a long day, now resting before heading into our first shows Saturday!
Keighley & Rachel
Belgium Tattoo Blog - Day 1
We started our trip with a practice together with Te Ahikaaroa Kapa Haka group on Sunday night at STAC before meeting bright and early at Christchurch airport Monday morning.
Our first flight took us to Singapore where we spent Monday evening cooling off in the pool and getting a good nights sleep after a long flight. Tuesday, we braved the heat and humidity, visiting Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, and Chinatown before heading back to the airport for our second overnight flight to Amsterdam.
We arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning where we met up with Neryda and headed into Amsterdam Centraal on the train. In much more manageable weather, we visited Anne Frank House and did a canal tour all together. We then split off into groups to explore Amsterdam a bit more. Some of us visited the Van Gogh Museum while others tried out stroop wafels and did a bit of shopping.
We finished our day back at the airport to pick up Ariana, Dani, and Mhairi, collect our luggage and jump on a bus to get to us all to Oostende for a long awaited sleep before our first rehearsals tomorrow!
Signing off,
Brooke and Olivia
Conference registrations
Reminder: Conference Registration with Reduced Fee Closes on 31st July!
Registration forms can be found on our website under Resources > Downloads.
We’ve lined up some amazing guest speakers, engaging workshop topics, and dedicated sessions for dancers. Plus, don’t miss out on the Saturday Night Function, where we’ll be acknowledging the recipients of the Diploma and Service Awards.
The conference is a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow dancers, teachers, and judges while completing your upskilling.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Heart of Highlands 2025 Tour Ticket sales
Ticket sales for both our Auckland and Palmerston North shows are now open!
Be sure to see this spectacular showcase of celtic legends told in highland dance by the internationally acclaimed Highland Dance Company of New Zealand. Learn the stories behind the classic dances of the highlands of Scotland brought to you by this innovative Company of New Zealand’s top highland dance talent joined by young dancers from across the country in each city.
AUCKLAND trybooking.com/nz/YME
PALMERSTON NORTH trybooking.com/nz/YMG
Academy Technical Training Course - Step Dance 2026
The Step Dance Academy Technical Training Course was to be held in Christchurch 21/22 February 2026, unfortunately, we have had to change the date to the following weekend 28th February, 1st March, due to the original dates clashing with the Edinburgh Tattoo in Auckland.
See December newsletter for further details.
"Heart of Highlands" North Island Tour
EXCITING PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY FOR NORTH ISLAND SHOWS – AUGUST 2025
A revised version of the highly successful Highland Dance Company of New Zealand show “Heart of the Highlands” will be staged August 2025 in two North Island venues Palmerston North and Auckland. The production is a spectacle of Highland dance, music and song, telling the story of the history of our five Highland dances.
The Highland Dance Company of New Zealand invite highland dancers interested in being a part of this production to apply to join the cast of “Heart of the Highlands”. There are limited spaces, and priority will be given to dancers within the local regions if numbers exceed the spaces available.
Dates
AUCKLAND
Friday 22 August Rehearsals from 4pm onwards
Saturday 23 August Rehearsal with Dance Company in morning, followed by dress rehearsal in afternoon
EVENING PERFORMANCE
Sunday 24 August Master classes with Julie Hawke, Robyn Simmons, and Dance Company
PALMERSTON NORTH
Friday 29 August Rehearsals from 4pm onwards
Saturday 30 August Rehearsal with Dance Company in morning followed by dress rehearsals in afternoon
EVENING PERFORMANCE
Sunday 31 August Master classes with Julie Hawke, Robyn Simmons, and Dance Company
PRODUCTION FEE
There will be a Production Fee which will cover all show tuition and rehearsals, and show t-shirt. Sunday master classes are optional with an extra fee applied to attend these.
Production Fees will be Juniors and Intermediates $70; Seniors $100.
Master Classes will be an additional $50 for all ages.
Dancers will be provided with a show t-shirt plus costume accessories which they will wear combined with their own basic black dancewear (details to be advised) for the shows. All dancers will also wear their own kilts for one item.
Application forms are available on the Website, Resources, Downloads and applications close 30 April. Teachers please pass this onto your pupils.
Academy Technical Training course
The Academy Technical Training Course was held in Christchurch 22/23 February with Tutors Pamela Fleming and Kimberley Mavor
This course covered Highland Examination grades and was very successful
