Local Highland dancer competes at national championship
July 20, 2023 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Highland dancers representing the East Region at the United States Inter-Regional Championship in Portland, Oregon, this weekend. Photo courtesy Highland Dance Vermont
Anna Brundage, 16, of Waterbury will compete in the United States Inter-Regional Championship in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday representing the East region.
The competition is hosted by ScotDanceUSA, an organization established in 1980 to promote Scottish Highland dancing and culture in the United States. Anna qualified for the national championship in May when she placed third runner-up in the East Region Closed Championship in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
The five-day ScotDanceUSA national event will host hundreds of dancers from across the United States, Canada, and Scotland to compete in open competitions, choreography, and the North American Championship. The United States Inter-Regional Championship part of the event is only open to the approximate 130 dancers who qualified at their six regional events. Dancers are judged individually and will compete in the Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Seann Triubhas, and Strathspey & Reel of Tulloch.
Anna Brundage at the East Region Championship in May. Photo by Highland Dance Vermont
Anna said she is looking forward to the opportunity to compete at the national championships. "I’ve worked hard toward this goal for several years and I am excited to see it come true," she said. “I’ll be sharing the stage with some of the best dancers in the world and I look forward to seeing them perform and learning from them.”
Anna is a student of Katherine Levasseur, director and instructor of Highland Dance Vermont. She has taken Scottish Highland dance lessons at Green Mountain Performing Arts in Waterbury for 12 years, studying under teacher Heather Morris until 2022, and has been competing for 10 years. She also studies and performs Irish dance and is a member of the school's Celtic Company performance ensemble. Anna is a junior at Harwood Union High School where the school mascot is a Scottish Highlander. She plays goalkeeper on the girls varsity soccer team and bass clarinet in the school concert band. She is also involved in extracurriculars including Model United Nations and the speech and debate club.
“Proud is an understatement,” Levasseur said. “Anna worked hard to achieve her placement at the regional event and I look forward to seeing her shine on the national stage as well. I’m especially impressed with how she balances a tough academic workload, extracurriculars, sports, and her dancing. Anna will represent all of us–Vermont, the East Region, and her hometown of Waterbury well.”