Masterton teen Ella Phillips got “the best Christmas present ever" in the form of the chance to appear in one of the most
celebrated cultural festivals of the world. Ella, a spirited Highland dancer
has been selected to perform in the 2016 Edinburgh Military Tattoo to be held
at Westpac Stadium next month. The Tattoo which is considered one of the
foremost show of Scottish dance and music and military precision, will feature
about 1200 performers at its platform.
Ella, a year 9 student at Solway College, will be
one of the youngest Highland dancers in a team of 65 performing at the Tattoo
from Scotland and all ove rthe New Zealand and is the only dancer belonging to
Wairarapa. It is a gruelling task to prepare for such a esteemed task with Ella
working hard to bring her fitness up to scratch and mum Jenny is saving every
penny for her costume and food needs.
Ella began to learn Highland dancing at age 6 while
she was living in Australia and she started taking classes with Scoti Dance in
Wellington every Saturday while returning to Wairarapa. She has participated in
both New Zealand and Australian championships and performed at the annual
Turakina Highland Games. But performing at the Tattoo will be her biggest
challenge, so she is spending most of her holidays committing the complicated
choreography to memory and doing 12-hour rehearsals ahead of opening night.
