World Champion Highland Dancer Dances the Sword Dance
Gareth Mitchelson, a world-renowned Highland dancer and choreographer, danced the Sword Dance as a World Champion Highland Dancer. He has won the Senior World Highland Dancing title four times and has performed globally at different events. Since 1985, Mitchelson has been presiding as the director of the Celtic Spirit Dance Company.
Today, we delve deeper into Gareth Mitchelson's remarkable career in Highland dancing and his philanthropic endeavors with Action Duchenne and the Eileen McCallum Trust. Mitchelson started his Highland dancing journey while still in school, as a part of the British Caledonian Airways pipes and dance corps.
Throughout the years, he has garnered numerous accolades, among them are four Senior World Highland Dancing titles from 1985-1988. All of these were won at the Cowal Gathering in Dunoon, held on the last Saturday of August annually. In his professional role with the Celtic Spirit Dance Company, Gareth has choreographed for a multitude of festivals and royal shows across Scotland, composed music for a variety of Scottish dance forms, and has had two appearances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Gareth, a fervent advocate for the preservation of traditional Scottish dance forms, has been making them more accessible to the public through his company, Celtic Spirit. The company fuses both traditional and contemporary styles, resulting in a modern interpretation of ancient dances. Gareth also plays an active role in several professional bodies, such as the Tayside Highland Dancing Association, British Association of teachers of Dance, United Kingdom Alliance, and SOBHD, where he has been an adjudicator since 1988. He also serves as the director of Scottish Dance Traditions. Beyond his career in Highland dancing, Gareth and his wife, Donna, have been actively raising awareness and advocating for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy since their son's diagnosis in 2008.
Gareth Mitchelson, an outstanding dancer, has leveraged his platform to champion Action Duchenne and the Eileen McCallum Trust. His support extends beyond words, as he has developed a website (toeandheel.com), designed Highland dance pumps, launched a series of instructional DVDs, and crafted software scrutineering packages for significant Highland dancing events globally. Mitchelson is unwavering in his efforts to promote Scottish dance traditions, both professionally and personally. We seize this opportunity to express our gratitude for his remarkable contributions! His impact in the Highland dancing world is truly phenomenal.
