Most people picture Highland dance as a totally individual thing: you practice your own corrections, perform on your own, and compete on your own. And in many ways, that’s true; aside from the reel and most choreography, Highland dancers are focused on their individual journey, progress and future. Over the years, we found that this can feel isolating or boring to some kids, especially newer ones, and many of our students were more likely to carry on dancing if they found or had a friend in class with them each year. Cue the gears in our heads churning to life! How do we go about taking an inherently individual sport and create a collaborative team feel, both in class and out? How do we prevent competitive jealousy and build love and friendship between active competitors? Could it be done? The task sometimes felt Sisyphean, but through a ton of education, experience and pure goofiness, we think we’ve figured it out (at least a little bit)!
The way we structure our classes looks a lot more like a collaborative group effort than a solo endeavour. It’s important to us that dancers learn the value of personal growth and supporting others to be their best. It might seem counterintuitive, but we’ve seen it again and again; when dancers lift each other up, their own dancing improves too. Noticing what someone else does well can spark improvements in your own technique, and building each other up with kindness creates threads of connection that last beyond the studio.
Here are a few of our favourite ways we build those connections and create a team feel in class, and at performances and competitions:
Peer Feedback
If you’ve ever watched a CSHD class, you’ve likely seen some version of peer feedback in action. This might look like dancers observing each other’s steps and offering insight, keeping track of how many times a tricky move goes right, or clapping when a specific technique shows up mid-dance. Sometimes the feedback is constructive; other times, it’s all about hyping each other up, especially before competitions or performances.
We adjust peer feedback based on age and level, but across the board, we’ve seen some wonderful benefits:
It sharpens the watching dancer’s eye for technique when they have to pinpoint it on someone else
- Hearing the same correction from more than one person can help it matter, making it stick
- Giving and receiving feedback builds empathy, confidence, and resilience. We can’t stress enough how important a skill receiving constructive criticism will be in their adult years!
Most of all, it creates the sense that your peers want you to succeed
Warm-Up Buddies
If you’re at a competition, look for the group of dancers laughing and stretching together. That’s probably us! To an outsider, it might seem like a small thing, but warming up as a group does a lot behind the scenes.
- Friendly faces and light-hearted energy help ease nerves
- Group focus and intensity can help set the tone for the day, ensuring dancers are in the right headspace and correctly warmed up
- Group warm-ups give dancers a sense of belonging to the bigger picture, making sure that the day isn’t just about medals
- It creates a “team bubble” that helps block out stress and distractions
Some dancers thrive on this shared energy; for others, it’s a simple way to stay grounded and focused. Either way, it helps our dancers walk into their events feeling seen, supported, and ready.
Mixed-Level Magic
At CSHD, our classes aren’t sorted strictly by age or level. Instead, we intentionally blend abilities and experience. It’s one of the things we’re most proud of. Here’s why:
- Newer dancers get to learn right beside their role models, which builds motivation and helps them grow faster
- Older or more experienced dancers step into leadership naturally. They know they’re being looked up to, and that inspires them to bring their best
- Everyone stays focused on their own journey, which helps reduce comparison or pressure to be in a specific level
We’ve also noticed it helps ease questions from parents about what class their dancer “should” be in. (We could probably write a whole post just about this topic!) But mostly, it makes classes feel lively, joyful, and connected. Dancers feel like they’re part of something bigger and they can clearly see their own progression mapped out in other dancers’ journeys.
Leadership Loop
When dancers turn 14, we offer them the chance to start learning how to teach as junior instructors (JIs) and most of them jump at it! It’s one of the most powerful tools we have, both for strengthening our community and helping individual dancers grow.
- Teaching requires our JIs to break things down and deliver each piece in a way a child could understand, deepening their own understanding, so they often level up their own dancing
- Younger dancers see their role models and idols as leaders, which helps them envision their own future in dance. They don’t have to be a top competitor to be a top dancer – whether or not competitions are their favourite thing, teaching offers them a place for them to fine tune their craft and stay involved
- Junior instructors bring something special to the studio: they’re still actively training, so their insights are fresh and incredibly relatable. And let’s face it, they’re cooler than us simply by being teens
A teacher who is still dancing has a lot of insight and value to pass on to their students, while also keeping that connection to active dance improvement alive. They’re the perfect bridge between the dancers and teachers at the studio, bringing everything full circle and ensuring those connective threads of group bonding are strong.
So there you have it; some of our favourite ways to make Highland dance feel a little less solo, and a whole lot more connected. Are these ideas revolutionary? Maybe not. But we’ve found that this focus on community helps our dancers feel supported, stick with dance longer, and truly enjoy their journey.
And to us, that’s the real win.