The Judges and Pipers

USIR 2021 Judges and Pipers

THE JUDGES

ALLANA BROWN, SCOTLAND

ABOUT ALLANA

Born in Angus and brought up in Fife, Scotland, Allana Brown has been involved in Highland Dancing for most of her life being trained by Betty Haggart then Frances Paterson. She has been the principal of her own Academy of Dancing for over 45 years. Students, from primary to adults, successfully compete at competitions and championships as well as participating in shows and festivals throughout the world. As well as teaching in her own school she enjoys teaching dance to children with special needs in secondary schools.

She is a Fellow and examiner of the SDTA and a Fellow of the BATD and UKA. She currently is a delegate for the SDTA on the SOBHD and serves on the judges, registration and technical committees. The Dancing Convenor for the Forth Bridges Festival Society, Andrew Carnegie Charity Festival and Inverkeithing Highland Games, she is responsible for the organisation of competitions at these venues.

She has had the opportunity to visit the USA, South Africa, Canada and Japan conducting workshops, lecturing and adjudicating at championships and competitions. She is very much looking forward to judging in Ponte Vedra at the 2021 USIR.

BILL TROOK, CANADA

ABOUT BILL

Born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, Bill has been an active teacher, adjudicator, examiner and choreographer for over 35 years. His students have won many championship titles throughout North America and Scotland, including four Canadian Championship titles. In addition, his students over the years have successfully finished in the top six in the Juvenile, Junior and Adult World Championships.

Bill began Highland dancing at a very early age with his first teacher, Pat Horlor. Over the years, his teachers and mentors have included Angus MacKenzie, Heather McGregor and Evelyn Jones.

He is a Member of the World-Wide Judges’ Panel for the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (S.O.B.H.D.); a Fellow, Examiner and Life Member of the Scottish Dance Teachers’ Alliance (S.D.T.A.); Independent Member of ScotDance Canada and Honorary Life Member of the Alberta Highland Dancing Association.

Bill is the immediate Past President of ScotDance Canada but actively serving on the following committees; Judges Selection (Chair) and Advisory. In 2017, Bill was honoured to accept an invitation to join the Technical Advisors Committee for the S.D.T.A. He’s also the Immediate Past President of the Edmonton Highland Dancing Association and Alberta Highland Dancing Association. Co-Director of the 2011 and 2015 World Highland Dancing Conference and in 1986, 2000 & 2012 chaired the ScotDance Canada Championship Series held in Edmonton.

Bill has traveled extensively throughout Canada, United States, Australia, South Africa and Scotland adjudicating, examining and conducting workshops. In 2006, Bill traveled to New Zealand to conduct workshops and had the honour of judging their first SOBHD Championship and then returned in 2007, to adjudicate the first New Zealand National Championship.

In 1995, along with his teaching colleague Kelly Abrahart, Bill opened the Strathcona School of Dancing where they continue to teach together. Bill works full-time as a Senior Account Director for Sabre Travel Network.

CHERYL ROACH, AUSTRALIA

ABOUT CHERYL

Cheryl has been teaching dance for 55 years. A former Champion herself, she has produced many quality dancers holding both Australian and Overseas titles. Cheryl has judged and tutored dance workshops throughout Australia and Overseas. Cheryl was the first Australian Judge to judge at the World Championships Scotland. Cheryl still enjoys both teaching and judging and is at present on the Executive of ABHDI.

Cheryl as a choreographer has been involved in various dance projects which have been challenging, innovative and outside the boundaries of traditional highland dance, eg "Needfire"; a Performing Arts Project 2007/8, and in 2017 Cementa 17 Contemporary Arts Festival in Regional Australia, and “Scotland the Brave” and “Celtic Mist” at QPAC Brisbane. Working in collaboration with the Performing Arts has provided exciting opportunities both for the dancer and the choreographer not available within the traditional competitive dance scene.

OzScot Australia, under Cheryl as director/choreographer was established in 2002 and showcases highland dancers from all over Australia.

OzScot has performed at International Events throughout the World 25 times, and 2019 saw OzScot move into International Cultural Events performing in Crimea and Russia with great success.

OzScot is known throughout the world of highland dancing as an innovative dance group, who excel in contemporizing traditional steps and movements, as well as producing highly synchronized dance movements and formations that impress both the traditional and modern audience.

EilIdh McMillan, SCOTLAND

About Eilidh

Eilidh started dancing at the age of 3 and was taught by her mother Aileen Robertson. Eilidh is a 3-time Champion of Champions receiving the Oscar award from the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD). She is an 11-time United Kingdom Champion and also holds British Open, Commonwealth, Scottish, Northern Canadian, & North American titles. In her competitive career she won 90 Championship titles in the Junior and Adult classes. She placed many times in the top 6 in the World Championships in all three categories - qualifying 9 years in a row. In 1998 she won the Scottish Championship at Cowal and placed 4^th in the Juvenile World Championship at the age of 12. Her main triumph was being awarded 5^th place in the Adult World Championship and gaining the award for the top Scottish Dancer in the World Championship in 1996.

Eilidh is a Fellow & Examiner of the Scottish Dance Teachers Alliance (SDTA) and serves on the Highland Committee. She is a Delegate on the SOBHD representing the Australian Board of Highland Dancing Inc, and an Adjudicator on the SOBHD Worldwide Panel of Judges.

Eilidh still performs at corporate events & international military tattoos and has danced in Las Vegas, Virginia, Berlin, Zurich, Basel, and China. She was appointed Dance Captain at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo for 2014 & still enjoys performing in Edinburgh. Eilidh teaches at the Aileen Robertson School of Dancing in Ayr, Crosshill & Coylton.

Eilidh is delighted to be judging her first USIR in Ponte Vedra.

gillian lawrence, scotland

ABOUT GILLIAN

Gillian Lawrence lives in Cruden Bay in the North East of Scotland and along with her sister, Rhona, teaches at the Lawrence Dance Academy based in Peterhead. The Academy has produced champion dancers gaining major titles both in the United Kingdom and Canada, including the World Juvenile Championship. Gillian is also a Primary school teacher and has been heavily involved with choreography at her school.

Gillian has been a Fellow and Examiner with UKAdance, qualified in multiple dance forms, and a Member of the BATD and SDTA for many years. She has given professional lectures for UKAdance at their annual conferences and was part of the team that. published the most recent UKAdance Highland and Scottish National syllabus.

Gillian is a delegate for FUSTA on the SOBHD, a position she has held for a number of years. She became a Member of the World Wide Judges’ Panel of the SOBHD in 1988 and has since judged championships, competitions and highland games across Scotland, Europe, the United States and Canada. Gillian also helps to promote, organise and co-ordinate highland dance competitions and championships for Grampian Festivals and UKAdance. Gillian is delighted and honoured to judge the USIR.

jacqueline smith, canada

ABOUT JACQUELINE

From the age of 3 Jacqueline was trained in ballet, jazz, and tap and began Highland, her true passion, at the age of 7. She had the pleasure of being taught by Helen Allison, Delma Wilson and Sandra Bald Jones. Throughout her competitive dancing career she won numerous titles across Canada, the United States, Australia and Scotland. Highlights include being the Ontario Provincial Champion 7 times, Canadian Inter-provincial Champion 6 times, Juvenile World Champion (1988), Junior World Champion (1989), Adult World Champion (1993, 1996), and Australian Champion of Champions and Grand Australasian Champion (1996). She was the first dancer in North America to win all 3 World Champion Sections held at Cowal, Scotland.

Jacqueline is an adjudicator on the SOBHD Judges’ Panel, a Fellow and Examiner with the SDTA, and a Member with the BATD. She has had the opportunity to adjudicate and conduct workshops throughout North America, Australia and Scotland. She opened her dance studio in 1998 in Milton, Ontario, Canada where she lives, has two teenage children and works as a High School Guidance Secretary. Over the years studio dancers have won many awards internationally, including Provincial, Canadian, North American Championship Titles and runner up titles at the Commonwealth and World Championships.

Jacqueline is extremely grateful to Highland Dancing for the places she has been, the lifelong skills she has learned and the friends she has met. She looks forward to continuing to teach, judge, and examine, passing on her passion to others for many years to come. Best of luck to all dancers competing at USIR 2021!

THE PIPERS

Brian Green, usa

ABOUT BRIAN

Brian Green has been piping for over 40 years. He began learning the pipes at the age of 9 after watching a performance of a Highland piper, Scottish snare drummer and Highland Dancer at his elementary school in upstate NY, receiving his early instruction from Dr. Harold Kirkpatrick.

Brian has been actively piping for Highland dancing for over 25 years. He received valuable feedback on dance piping from Jeannie Brauns (founder of the Braemar Highland Dancers in upstate NY) and pipers Jimmy Fee and John Recknagel.

Brian also competes with pipe bands, having participated in bands at all levels. He is currently a member of The 78 th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, a Grade 1 pipe band from Burlington, ON. Brian now lives in Gurnee, IL (approx. 40 miles north of Chicago) with his wife Pam (a former highland dancer and current Scottish snare drummer), and daughters Courtney (tenor drummer) and Fiona.

This will be the fourth time that Brian has piped at the USIR (prior years: 2015, 2016 and 2018) and he is looking forward to coming to Jacksonville to pipe this year!!

Donald MacPhee, SCOTLAND

ABOUT DONALD

Donald MacPhee is a member of the RSPBA Adjudicators panel and the Piping representative on the APMB. After a successful pipe band career he retired from pipe band competition at the end 2014 accumulating 34 Major Championships, 8 Champion of Champions titles, 6 World Championships and 2 Grand Slams while a member of the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.

Some of his solo major successes are Former winner (ceol beag) at both the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting, The New Zealand Piobaireachd Society’s Gold Medal, The Donald MacDonald Quaich .The Former Winners MSR at the Scottish Pipers Association professional contest, the overall solo piper award at the Cowal Highland Gathering and winner of The Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting.

Donald is well known for Piping for Dancers which he is delighted to be asked to pipe at this 2021 US Championships. He has produced over the past 25 years 3 Piping for Dancing Professional recordings - the latest "The Definitive Collection" which is highly acclaimed by dancers, teachers and examiners.

Donald holds a Graduate & Senior Teachers Certificate from the Institute of Piping as well as the Advanced Certificate and Teachers Certificate from the RSPBA. He is also a well respected and travelled solo Adjudicator on the Competing Pipers Association supplemental list of solo Adjudicators for active competitive pipers and a Visiting Assessor and External Verifier (Scottish Bagpipes) with the SQA ( The Scottish Qualifications Authority). He teaches for the Argyll and Bute Council at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh and lives happily with his wife Christine, a former 6 time World Highland Dance champion in Alexandria where he is a successful Reed maker.

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