2025-2026 Enrollment Now Open!

Come Watch Us Dance!

Two adult Highland dancers stand on the stage at a Scottish festival. Several young children, who were in the audience, have come up onto stage too to learn how to do a dance. In the background, is the rest of the audience. The stage and audience are all under a large white tent.

Teaching the wee ones a traditional step: Pas de Basque

Four Highland dancers and a pipe band perform on stage. In the background is a sign reading Burns Night Celebration.

Dancing alongside our longtime collaborators, the Washington Scottish Pipe Band

Dancers at ASHD have many opportunities to perform throughout their dance careers - our newest dancers start out at parades and retirement homes, while our most experienced dancers perform professionally across the country, including...

U.S. Air Force Band Holiday Concerts
Sean Heely's A Celtic Christmas
The Washington Tattoo
New York City Tartan Day Parade
St. Andrew's Society of Washington, D.C.

and many more, including weddings and other private events. Performances can range from a single dancer and piper, to a full company of premier dancers, to a large group of dancers of all ages.

Upcoming Performances

November 15: St. Andrew's Society of Washington DC Tartan Ball
December 6: Alexandria Scottish Christmas Walk Parade
December 11: Sean Heely's Celtic Christmas at The Strathmore
December 14: ASHD End-of-Year Holiday Recital

Book Dancers for Your Event

Three girls wearing Highland dance outfits and competition numbers stand in first position on a stage. A woman hands one of them a medal.

A dancer's leg is pointed straight in front of her while dancing on a stage. The top half of her body is cut off, but you can see her blue and white kilt swishing, her matching argyle knee socks, and her competition number pinned to the front of the kilt. In the background, other dancers are waiting next to the stage for their turn

Highland dancing is unique because it is also a solo competitive sport. Competitions help dancers set goals, learn good sportsmanship and stage presence, improve their technique, and forge connections with dancers from across the country.

Interested in competing? Talk to your teacher! Most dancers will need to have taken at least one full semester of class before they're ready for competition. We highly recommend attending a competition as a spectator first so you get a feel for what it's like and you know what to expect.

Local Competitions

Apr 12, 2026: NYC Highland Dance Competition
Apr 25, 2026: Southern Maryland Celtic Festival
Virginia Indoor Highland Dance Competition
May 16, 2026: Fairhill Scottish Games, Elkton MD
Pat Johnston Memorial Competition, Cary NC
Sep 5, 2026: Virginia Scottish Games, The Plains
Sep 13: Ligonier Highland Games, Ligonier PA

All the above competitions are within a couple hours drive of Alexandria. Find a complete, up-to-date list of competitive events across the country on the ScotDance USA events calendar.

Workshops & More

February 6-8, 2026: Marguerite Reid Memorial Highland Dancing Workshop, PA
July 2026: The Washington Tattoo Highland Dance Workshop, Washington DC
June 27-July 3, 2026: Ohio Scottish Arts School
School of Scottish Arts, NC (July)
Fit for Reel - online, held periodically

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