Paulshof girls from Duncan Studio of Celtic Dance move to the top at international competition

The Duncan Studio of Celtic Dance formed in 1988 offers highland and Irish dancing to boys and girls of all ages and experience levels in Paulshof, Sandton.

Five dancers from the studio, Anastasia Strouthos, Meaghan Killey, Shannon Wesson, Robyn Viljoen and Catherine Came, accompanied by the studio owner and teacher Susan Theron and teacher Bernard van der Kuil, travelled to the UK to compete in The All Scotland Irish Dance Championships in Glasgow, and the City of Birmingham Irish Dance Championships in Birmingham.

For some of the dancers, it was their first time competing overseas and it gave them an opportunity to compete against the world’s best Irish dancers and gain valuable experience.

All of the dancers did exceptionally well to place in their preliminary events at the All Scotland championships. They went onto Birmingham a week later and amassed an even more impressive medal tally. Came and Strouthos came second in their respective preliminary events while Wesson placed third, Killey fourth and Viljoen fifth.

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They also all placed consistently well in their solo grades, bringing home many medals and trophies, as well as in the team competitions, known as ceilis.

“We are very proud of all the dancers and delighted that they have continued to keep South African dancers very much on the map so to speak,” commented Theron.

The girls were all self-funded and had to arrange fundraisers to enable them to travel and compete overseas. These fundraisers involved dancing for corporate events, weddings and birthday parties, as well as the studio’s inaugural Mad Hatters Tea Party held earlier this year.

Edited by Stacey Woensdregt

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