Held at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, 39 dancers from across the Wakatipu, Dunedin and Timaru, competed in the Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Irish Jig, Sailor’s Hornpipe, Seann Triubhas and Reel O’Tulloch in front of adjudicators Annetta Cowie, Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand Otago Centre vice-president, and committee member Jackie McBride.
Ms Dalton, the first Highland dancing teacher in the resort, also attracted the New Zealand Academy of Highland Dancing Conference to the resort — it was finally held in 2022, having been cancelled, due to Covid, the previous two years.
Part of the difficulty in establishing a competition in Queenstown had been fitting around other long-standing events, held all over the region, along with finding a suitable venue.
"It’s been really hard, particularly in Queenstown, because there are so many events ... that getting adequate hall hire was really hard.
"We played with so many dates and we have to take into consideration other competitions around the area as well.
"It’s been really difficult, but it’s worked really well at this time."
Ms Dalton hoped the Queenstown Highland Dance Competition would become an annual event, and the community would continue to grow in the Wakatipu.
