Hororata Highland Games

Dancers from the Canterbury Region of the New Zealand Branch RSCDS regularly perform demonstration dances for the public at the annual Hororata Highland Games.  With this year being the 100th anniversary of the Society those demonstration dances were complimented with a massed dance devised for the Games with the intent to get as many members of the public involved as possible.  The dance devised by Graeme Plank, lead teacher at the Tam O’Shanter SCD Club in Christchurch, included formations based around the competition disciplines at the Games and designed to be simple enough for all to join in with.

The “Hororata Heavies” is the name given to the competitors at the Games, hence the name given to the dance.  The dance was promoted on The Breeze Radio Station with the aim of getting 100 people to join in a massed dance led by radio presenters Hilary and Fitzy.  On the day we achieved that, and then some.  The first time through the dance was performed by those who had joined in some of the practice sessions, including experienced dancers, and filmed from above with a camera drone.  The second time through it was filmed with a roving camera with even more of the public, officials from the Games and many of the “Heavies” joining in too. 

The dance was performed straight after the opening ceremony on the 11th of November 2023 and was very well received.  You can read more about it on the Hororata Highland Games website here and see the full instructional video on the Tam O’Shanter Club YouTube channel.