Dancing Through Life

Hello, and welcome to "Dancing Through Life". a photobook that is all about my life as a highland dancer and how it shaped me into the woman I am today. When I was born my aunts were highland dance teachers that owned a studio in St. Catharine's ON. Canada. I Started my dance journey in that studio with them learning how to Highland Dance. At age three just after my first show I moved to a different city called Waterloo. When I moved I danced with my aunts far less since the distance was so far but I still tired to go and be there as often as I could. A few years later I started school at 5 years old and during this time my teachers and parents noticed that I was always walking into objects or falling down a lot. They figured I was just clumsy and thought nothing of it. I also struggled to stay focused in school and my learning suffered due to this. the more I struggled the more my parents worried and wondered if there was more to the story. So they had me tested for Autism. After years of testing they discovered that I was diagnosed with Dyspraxia (or developmental co-ordination disorder) and a Non-verbal Learning Disorder. Knowing all of this my parents feared that I would always struggle in life and worried weather or not I would find my place in this world. But they and a few wonderful people never gave up on me including my new Highland Dance teacher Debra who I started dancing with when I was 6 years old. she always believed that I could overcome my balance issues and helped me become the woman I am today. She took me under her wing and taught how me how to Highland Dance for almost 10 years. Over the years we worked together to build my balance and my confidence, this allowed me to get better and better at my craft. It also allowed me to make friends and grow as an individual which made me a stronger person. This book is to show that story and that struggle but also show the fun and loving memories that came along with it. I hope you can enjoy walking down memory lane with me, thanks for reading.

From Heather Maclean